Potomac News Reservoir – June 25, 2026 >>>

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The Week’s River Report

🌊 Even with the recent rain, the flow at the USGS Point of Rocks gage is hovering around the 5th percentile. Currently flowing at 2,140 cubic feet per second (cfs), it is just above ICPRB CO-OP’s drought monitoring threshold of 2,000 cfs.

☀️ Rain in the basin is 9 inches below average for the past calendar year, according to NOAA. There is some rain predicted for the next week, with much of the basin expecting around an inch.

🗺️ Today’s U.S. Drought Monitor map showed slight improvement in the basin, but the majority of the basin remains in Moderate Drought conditions or worse.

A novel algae species discovered

Research led by the Christova Lab at George Mason University recently discovered a novel algae species in the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River. This mat-forming benthic freshwater cyanobacterium is described based on morphological, phylogenetic and genomic evidence in the recently published paper, Limnofasciculus delicatus (Coleofasciculaceae, Coleofasciculales), a Novel Mat-Forming Cyanobacterium From Shenandoah River, Virginia, USA, in the journal Environmental Microbiology Reports.

“This is one example of many where we are discovering, or even rediscovering, species in the Potomac basin. It just goes to show there are things to find in our own backyard, we just have to look for it,” explains Gordon “Mike” Selckmann, ICPRB’s associate director of aquatic habitats and a co-author on the paper.

ICPRB in the community

Our upcoming events:

• June 28: Roots & Rise (Accokeek, MD)

• July 17: Shenandoah Snorkeling Paddle w/ Shenandoah Riverkeeper $ (Bentonville, VA)

• July 18: Water Power Day at Peirce Mill (DC)