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2023 CO-OP Drought Operations Archives

2023 CO-OP Drought Operations

November 22, 2024

The Washington, DC, metropolitan area experienced unusually dry conditions in the summer and fall of 2023, and flows in the Potomac River fell to levels requiring the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) to conduct drought response activities in support of the major regional water suppliers: Fairfax Water, Loudoun Water, WSSC Water, and the Washington Aqueduct, a Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This report provides a brief summary of these activities and of related issues and discussions that arose. It also documents the take-aways of a Post-Drought Operations Review meeting that took place on November 3, 2023, and a subsequent meeting of the CO-OP Operations Committee on November 17.

2022 Washington Metropolitan Area Drought Exercise

May 24, 2023

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (WMA) relies on the Potomac River for over three-quarters of its water supply. The area’s three major water suppliers (“CO-OP suppliers”), Fairfax County Water Authority (Fairfax Water), Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water), and Washington Aqueduct (a Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) participate in a cooperative system of water supply planning and management. This participation includes joint funding of water supply storage in reservoirs located upstream of the suppliers’ Potomac River intakes and coordinated operations during droughts.

During times of drought, the Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) plays a crucial role in coordinating water supply operations. By coordinating withdrawals from the Potomac River, Patuxent, and Occoquan reservoirs, the CO-OP staff help ensure that water resources are being utilized efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the system. When the forecasted flow in the river is not sufficient to meet expected demands, the CO-OP staff make requests for releases from upstream reservoirs. These demands include the water supply needs of the WMA and an environmental flow-by of 100 million gallons per day (MGD), or 155 cubic feet per second (cfs), on the Potomac River below the Little Falls Dam near Washington, D.C.

The ICPRB CO-OP section conducts an annual drought exercise to maintain readiness for drought conditions. These exercises serve as a platform for CO-OP staff to evaluate and discuss water management strategies with relevant stakeholders, prior to a real drought scenario. The activities aid in training CO-OP staff on regional agreements, tools, and decision-making processes. Moreover, they offer participants the chance to refine their communication processes and enhance organizational efficiency.

This report describes activities conducted during the 2022 Drought Exercise. The virtual training took place on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, November 15-17, from 7:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Communications during the exercise were via telephone, email, and Microsoft Teams, and all operations were “simulated.” Stakeholders received twice-daily email reports on “actual” precipitation, river flow, water withdrawals, and “simulated” operations and reservoir storages. This year’s exercise included the following elements:

A regional Drought Coordination Technical Committee (DCTC) conference call to discuss potential water use restrictions associated with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) “Warning” stage,
Communication with Washington Aqueduct on the Low Flow Allocation Agreement (LFAA) thresholds, and
Data collection and operational forecasts through CO-OP’s Data Portal and daily flow forecast tool to determine the need for “simulated” releases from Little Seneca and North Branch reservoirs (Jennings Randolph and Savage).

Considerations for Monitoring Microplastics in the Non-Tidal Potomac River

December 9, 2022

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin’s 2022 Clean Water Act Section 106 Potomac Basin Water Quality Improvement grant included an activity to “assist water suppliers in VA, MD, and DC in developing microplastic sampling and analysis methodologies and conduct field sample collection.” This white paper, which explores the feasibility of a microplastic monitoring program in the nontidal Potomac basin, represents the output for this activity. Section 2 describes considerations for collecting and processing samples for microplastics analysis. Section 3 provides a brief explanation of analytical methods and quality control recommendations for the detection, quantification, and identification of microplastics.

Potomac River Water Quality at Great Falls: 1940 – 2019

November 12, 2021

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates Washington Aqueduct and provides drinking water to the Washington, D.C. area. Washington Aqueduct routinely samples its source of water, the Potomac River. Each year, it reports the monthly averages for basic water parameters and several pollutants and metals. Reports since 2001 are available online. Reports from 1905 to 2000, however, had limited distribution and their legibility has faded over time.

Dr. Norbert A. Jaworski recognized the historical value of these reports. To prevent their loss, he digitized the monthly values for several parameters. The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) later updated his dataset through 2019 and checked the entered data for accuracy. This report focuses on changes in temperature, hardness, pH, total solids, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate over the 80 years since ICPRB was formed in 1940. Visual representations (“heatmaps”) and trend analysis show significant increasing trends in all these parameters except nitrate. The report is intended to introduce the historical Washington Aqueduct water quality data to a broader audience and highlight their potential value to Potomac studies.

The Supplemental Materials document contains additional graphical representations of the data.

See the video summary of the report:

Rapid Response Survey of Cyanobacteria Toxin Levels Downstream of North Fork Shenandoah River Algal Bloom After Tropical Storm Ida, 2021

October 22, 2021

The Virginia Department of Health issued a Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) Advisory for a 53-mile stretch of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River on August 10, 2021 (Figure 1, left). Samples from multi-species algal mats on the river bottom contained harmful levels of toxins produced by cyanobacteria. Three weeks later, Tropical Storm Ida passed over the North Fork, dumping torrential rain on the watershed. Sharply rising streamflows were expected to scour the benthic algal mats, potentially lysing their cells and releasing toxins as they washed downstream. The ICPRB’s Emergency River Spill Model (ERSM) indicated the scoured material’s leading edge would reach the Potomac River mainstem by September 2nd – 4th and Great Falls near Washington, D. C. by September 3rd – 6th.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality staff confirmed the algal mats were scoured off the river bottom. Water samples collected by ICPRB at the Shenandoah River mouth indicate the storm’s high flows diluted the algal cells and their associated toxins to below-detection levels before they reached the Potomac River. If flows had been less intense, we hypothesize the scoured material and toxins could potentially have reached the Potomac River mainstem. More advanced flow modeling and additional sampling during algal blooms could better characterize the potential transport of scoured or senescing algal blooms in the Shenandoah River under different river conditions.

Scientist sends testing equipment attached to a rope over the side of a bridge. Shenandoah river is below the bridge.

Rt. 340 bridge over Shenandoah River near Harpers Ferry, WV