Flamingoes in the basin , rain alleviates drought operations , and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir.

The River Report

After weeks of conducting intense Drought Operations while watching the river flow decline, we received almost 2 inches of rain over the past 7 days.

The river flow increased enough for us to shift to a more-lowkey drought monitoring, which includes one daily report to downstream water suppliers.

This morning’s drought monitoring report noted, “River flows at Point of Rocks and Little Falls have increased to the median values and are now beginning to recede.” There is no rain expected in the next 7 days.

Many areas in the western part of the basin are still in drought warning or emergency. We continue to see new consequences from the dry conditions, including a mostly-contained wildfire in the Shenandoah National Park and a newly unveiled, historical dam underneath the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.

ICPRB Elects New Leadership

On Tuesday, commissioners and staff attended our annual business meeting at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC). The meeting commenced with a land acknowledgement by the NCTC’s director before the CO-OP meeting and a welcome speech from the mayor of Shepherdstown, West Virginia before the ICPRB business meeting. During the meeting, the commissioners elected new officials, learned about new drought modeling capabilities, and voted on updates to the Low Flow Allocation Agreement.

Commissioner Susan Weaver, representative of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was elected as the 2024 chairperson. We would like to thank the outgoing chair, Commissioner Robert Sussman, representative of the federal government, for his hard work moving ICPRB forward over the past year.

Since this was our first in-person meeting since the pandemic, we took the opportunity to honor the commissioners that have joined us in the past few years by presenting each new commissioner with an official ICPRB pin.

The meeting was followed by an informative guided tree walk around the grounds. More photos of the event can be found on our Facebook post.

Some voluntary and mandatory water restrictions in the western part of the watershed, plus some other consequences of dry weather, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir Sept 7, 2023.

The River Report

The river flow is low, but there might be some small relief in the future. The long-term forecasts call for 1 to 2 inches of rain. The trajectory of Tropical Storm Lee is still up the air, but it could bring some rain as it heads our way.

We’re starting to see some consequences from the dry weather, like a possible lackluster leaf peeping season, docked Canal boats, and fishing prohibited at the Shenandoah National Park.

Some communities across the watershed are asking people to conserve. Front Royal (VA) has enacted emergency water conservation rules which bans activities like filling pools, washing cars, and watering outdoor plants. Gettysburg (PA) and the City of Frederick (MD) have requested voluntary reductions in water use. Purcellville (VA) noted dry wells and creeks when it asked customers to conserve. The Friends of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River compiled a list of drought advisories in the Shenandoah region in their recent newsletter.

It is always a good idea to use water wisely, but if you are curious about the situation at your own tap, we suggest checking with your water utility.

ICPRB is continuing Drought Operations with twice daily reports to water suppliers on the river’s flow, water use, and weather forecasts. This intense monitoring will continue until flows increase. At this point, our technical staff have not recommended releases from upstream reservoirs. Follow the conversation on Twitter and Facebook using #DroughtOperations.

The ICPRB, through its Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP), coordinates water supply operations during times of drought and recommends releases of stored water.  These operations ensure adequate water supplies for Washington metropolitan area water users and for environmental flow levels. The Water Supply Outlooks are published by CO-OP on a monthly basis between April and October. They are meant to provide an update on the possibility of low-flow conditions in the Potomac basin.

The September Water Supply Outlook states there is a much above-normal probability of releases from the Washington metropolitan area’s backup water supply reservoirs for the 2023 summer and fall seasons. These releases are typically prompted by low flows resulting from a combination of insufficient summer precipitation and low groundwater levels. August’s average Potomac Basin precipitation was 0.8 inches below normal as of the 29th, with a long-term (12-month) cumulative deficit of about 7.1 inches (11 to 25 percent below normal). Consequently, Little Falls’ adjusted stream flow remains below average yet above the historical minimum, and groundwater monitoring indicates below-normal levels. Presently, the Potomac River observed flow at Little Falls Dam, Washington D.C., is at 472 MGD (730 cfs), demanding close monitoring under CO-OP’s declared enhanced drought operations since August 25. The Washington Aqueduct voluntarily shifted water withdrawals from Great Falls to Little Falls to ensure river environmental flows. Notably, a substantial portion of the Potomac watershed is facing D1 drought conditions per the U.S. Drought Monitor, triggering a discussion among the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Drought Coordination Technical Committee (DCTC) to potentially initiate a “Drought Watch” stage. Despite basin conditions, the Potomac River’s flows are currently adequate to meet the water demands of the Washington metropolitan area without requiring releases from upstream reservoirs. Thanks to well-designed drought-contingency plans, the area is well-prepared to handle further reductions in flow.

Read the full September report here >>>

Drought in the basin, Luke Paper Mill up for sale, the unequal costs of flooding, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir.

Potomac River Conditions

As you will see in the news articles linked below, communities across the basin are implementing drought watch status and asking residents to conserve water. Due to hydroelectric dam operations upstream, fairly large hourly fluctuations in flows can be observed at some USGS streamflow gages, but the effects of these are temporary, and on average, river flows are continuing to slowly decline.

However, good news might be on the horizon. NWS MARFC predicts ¼ to ¾ inches of rain throughout the Potomac watershed.

“This may be enough to keep us in daily drought monitoring but out of drought operations,” according to Dr. Cherie Schultz, Director of ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP).

CO-OP staff have been in active drought monitoring status since last Friday. Should the dry weather continue, there is a possibility they will go into full drought operations, with twice-daily reporting to stakeholders and consideration of releases from upstream reservoirs.

Collaboration on River Spills

At this month’s meeting of the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership members heard from sister river commissions and partner organizations about how they responded to two recent river spills: the East Palestine train derailment and the Delaware River latex spill. Although neither of these events occurred in the Potomac watershed, hearing how the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) and the US EPA Region 3 responded, and the lessons they learned, is an important step towards better preparation for a regional spill response.

A video of the presentations is available on the ICPRB YouTube page.

The Partnership is a voluntary association of water suppliers and government agencies focused on protecting sources of drinking water in the Potomac River basin. Coordinated by ICPRB, this coalition takes a collaborative approach to protecting raw water supplies in the basin, including spill response.

Find more information on who to contact if you see a spill, fish kill, or harmful algal bloom in the river can be found on ICPRB’s How to Report a Spill or Environmental Problem page.

Upcoming ICPRB Business Meeting

The ICPRB will hold its fourth quarter business meeting on September 12, 2023, at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. This will be the first in-person business meeting since 2020. The agenda includes a presentation about improvements to our seasonal forecasting projects like the Water Supply Outlook, an overview of the Comprehensive Plan 5-year review process, and updates on other projects.

The public is invited to attend the meeting, however, there will not be a virtual meeting option. Please contact us for more information on how to attend.