Organized by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB), the Potomac River Conference brought together regional water leaders, utilities, scientists, policymakers, and community organizations to explore how the Potomac River basin can maintain a reliable and resilient water supply amid growing uncertainty. Discussions focused on collaboration, water reuse, emerging pressures such as population growth, aging infrastructure, groundwater sustainability, and data center development, as well as advances in forecasting and decision-support tools. A panel of local utility leaders shared long-term planning strategies and infrastructure investments, emphasizing the importance and benefits of the Potomac River basin’s regional coordination and innovative approaches to securing the region’s water future.
This was the fifth event in ICPRB’s annual series of Potomac River Conferences on critical issues facing the Potomac River basin and beyond. Previous subject matters included harmful algal blooms, invasive species, and PFAS.
Links to the conference presentations and posters are below. The full agenda, speaker bios, and more, can be found on the conference website.
AGENDA
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
The Crossvines, 16601 W Willard Rd, Poolesville, MD
Opening
Moderator: Michael Nardolilli, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
- Welcome –
- Michael Nardolilli, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
- Willem Brakel, Chair, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin Commissioner (DC)
- Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive
- WSSC Water presented the ICPRB Signature Award to Jamie Bain Hedges, Fairfax Water (retired). This award recognizes a person (or organization) that has made a positive and lasting basin-wide impact with respect to the theme of this year’s Potomac River Conference. We would like to acknowledge Ms. Hedges many years of service at Fairfax Water and to salute her in retirement.
Keynote Address
What’s on the Horizon? Managing Water Supplies in the Face of Uncertainty – Dr. Cherie Schultz, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
Session 1 – Collaboration in Practice
Moderator: Dr. Lakisa Blocker, Department of Energy & Environment, District of Columbia
- Resilience on Tap: A History of Water Reuse in the Occoquan and its importance to the Potomac Supply System – Greg Prelewicz, Fairfax Water
- Lessons from the Past: Advancing WMA Water Supply Reliability and Resilience for the Next 50 Years – Josh Weiss, Hazen & Sawyer
- Collaboratively Managing Water Resources through Shared Vision Planning – Jennifer Olszewski, USGS
Session 2 – Panel: Emerging Challenges for Water Supply Planning
Moderator: Weedon Cloe, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
As the region plans for future water needs, new and evolving pressures are reshaping water supply planning. This panel explores some of the emerging challenges facing the Potomac River Basin, such as population trends, aging water infrastructure, groundwater sustainability, and rapidly growing water demands associated with data centers. Together, these perspectives highlight the need for integrated planning and regional collaboration to ensure a reliable and resilient water supply for future generations.
- Emerging Stormwater and Wastewater Infrastructure Challenges in the Potomac – Gary Belan, American Rivers
- Water Concerns Around Data Center Development in Virginia – Julie Bolthouse, Piedmont Environmental Council
- Montgomery County’s Groundwater Resources: Research and Outreach – Caroline Taylor and Abby Mann, Montgomery Countryside Alliance
- Data Centers and Groundwater – Charles Job, National Ground Water Association
- Round 10.1 Cooperative Forecasts of Employment, Population, and Households – Greg Goodwin, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Session 3 – Science, Forecasting, and Decision Support
Moderator: Dr. Alimatou Seck, ICPRB
- Hydrological Complexity in a Wetter but More Variable Potomac Basin – John Hammond, USGS
- Potomac River Basin Pilot Topobathymetric DEM – Hancock, Maryland to Washington, D.C. – Jeffrey Danielson and Cynthia Miller-Corbett, USGS
- Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) Forecast Products for Water Supply and Drought Management – Seann Reed, NWS Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center
- Probabilistic Deep Learning Forecasting of Subseasonal Streamflow in the Potomac River – Alfonso Mejia, Penn State (contact aim127@psu.edu with questions)
Session 4 – Panel: Utility Perspectives on Planning for the Future
Moderator: Lee Currey, Maryland Department of the Environment
Regional water suppliers are actively planning and investing to ensure a reliable water supply for future generations. This panel will highlight the strategies, infrastructure investments, operational approaches, and partnerships utilities are pursuing to strengthen long-term water supply reliability and resilience in the Washington metropolitan region. The discussion is intended to provide attendees with an understanding of the different approaches utilities are taking while identifying common challenges and opportunities for regional collaboration.
- Dr. Rabia Chaudhry, DC Water
- Greg Prelewicz, Fairfax Water
- Mark Peterson, Loudoun Water
- Nina Hallissy, US Army Corps of Engineers – Baltimore District
- Katie Foreman, WSSC Water
Posters
- From Servers to Streams: Exploring the Water-Energy Impacts of Data Center Growth – Jordan Sidney, Volunteer at Great Falls National Park
- Biofilms and Cooling Towers: Learning Module for Undergraduate Civil Engineers – J Garrett Jackson, University of Maryland
- USGS 3DEP Lidar Elevation Data and 3DHP Hydrography Data in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region – Eliza Gross, USGS
- Assessment of the Groundwater Supply in Loudoun County, Virginia – David Ward, Loudoun Groundwater
- The Future of the Groundwater Supply in Loudoun County, Virginia – Madeline Skinner, Loudoun County Conservation and Preservation Coalition
- Water Security as Economic Infrastructure: Innovation and Regional Collaboration for a Resilient Future – Michael Wooden, Christopher Waters, and Prabhushankar Chandrasekeran of Arcadis
Sponsors
Funding for the conference was provided by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin with additional support provided by the following sponsors:
