News From Around the Basin – October 10, 2024
Final Water Supply Outlook Published
ICPRB’s final Water Supply Outlook of 2024 was published earlier this week. This monthly report provides an update on the possibility of water supply releases from the area’s drinking water reservoirs based on long-term rain data, river flow levels, and more.
The probability of releases from backup water supply reservoirs in the Washington metropolitan area during the summer and fall seasons of 2024 is currently below normal. Following a dry period through mid-September, substantial rainfall occurred leading to overall improved conditions.
The Potomac basin upstream of Washington, D.C., received 4.6 inches of rain in September, which is 0.8 inches above normal. As of September 30, the 12-month cumulative basin precipitation is 1.2 inches above normal (see graph below).
The report provided the drought statuses from across the region. The drought status in Pennsylvania is normal. In Maryland, the Western region remains under a drought watch. In Virginia, the Northern Virginia region, and the Big Sandy and New River regions to the west are under a drought watch, while the Shenandoah region is under a drought warning. The drought watch declared on July 29 by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) is still in effect.
How water connects us
NASA is about to send a spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. It is believed that under the beautiful blue and brown surface is a saltwater ocean twice the size of ours. The mission’s objective is to determine if Europa is suitable to support life.
What does this have to do with the Potomac River watershed? It is a reminder that water connects us all. It brings life. It brings hope. It brings humanity. Etched on the mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, is a poem by Ada Limón, U.S. Poet Laureate, that eloquently explores how water connects us all, even beyond our atmosphere.
In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa
Arching under the night sky inky
with black expansiveness, we point
to the planets we know, we
pin quick wishes on stars. From earth,
we read the sky as if it is an unerring book
of the universe, expert and evident.
Still, there are mysteries below our sky:
the whale song, the songbird singing
its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.
We are creatures of constant awe,
curious at beauty, at leaf and blossom,
at grief and pleasure, sun and shadow.
And it is not darkness that unites us,
not the cold distance of space, but
the offering of water, each drop of rain,
each rivulet, each pulse, each vein.
O second moon, we, too, are made
of water, of vast and beckoning seas.
We, too, are made of wonders, of great
and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,
of a need to call out through the dark.
– Ada Limón, U.S. Poet Laureate
Hear Limón read the poem here >>>
The launch date was originally set for today, but has been postponed due to Hurricane Milton. Follow mission updates on NASA’s blog >>>
