River Report
According to the Washington Post, November will be another dry month after a string of dry months.
The U.S. Drought Monitor Map released this morning shows an improvement in severe and extreme drought conditions over last week, however, the entirely of the watershed is still showing signs of drought, with 26% in severe drought conditions (dark orange).
The flow at Point or Rocks is above 2,000 cubic feet per second (ICPRB’s drought monitoring threshold). However, ICPRB continues to provide a daily drought monitoring report as it is expected to go back below that threshold in the coming days.
According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, trace amounts of rain fell in the northern portion of the basin over the past 24 hours. Widespread rain is expected over the next 3 days, with the highest amounts (up to 0.25 inches) likely in the western portion of the basin.
New mapping tool helps protect drinking water
ICPRB staff recently published an updated tool to help land conservation organizations prioritize protecting lands that help protect drinking water quality. The Land Prioritization Mapping to Protect Drinking Water Quality tool ranks land parcels in specific Mid-Atlantic states to protect drinking water quality and their potential to degrade long-term water quality.
This product is intended for use by water suppliers, land conservation groups, state and local jurisdictions, and others interested in land conservation. The geospatial tools are available upon request. ICPRB staff are also happy to discuss how your organization might be able to utilize the data.
This map is updated from a 2020 version to include the entirety of the states within the basin. The original tool was a collaborative project developed by partners in the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership.
ICPRB will be holding a webinar on December 6 at noon to share the new tool. It is part of ICPRB’s webinar series for land use decision-makers. Register here >>>
An interactive online Land Prioritization Tool Explorer map is in development.
Webinar Kickoff
Last week we kicked off the first webinar in a 5-part series highlighting ICPRB’s work in celebration of our 85th anniversary. The webinar explored the fascinating history of the boundary lines bordering the states along the Potomac River.
The second webinar, Water Impacts from Data Centers in the Potomac River Basin, was held this morning. The video should be available on ICPRB’s YouTube page soon.
In addition, we just added a bonus event on December 5 as part of our annual webinar series for land use decision-makers, ICPRB Land Use Webinar: Land Prioritization Mapping to Protect Drinking Water Quality.
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Nov. 18: Webinar: Unsung Heroes of the Potomac River: American Eels (Gordon “Mike” Selckmann, Associate Director of Aquatic Biology, ICPRB)
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Dec. 2: Webinar: Reconsidering Connectivity: A North Branch Potomac Case Study (Gordon “Mike” Selckmann, Associate Director of Aquatic Biology, ICPRB)
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Dec. 5: ICPRB Land Use Webinar: Land Prioritization Mapping to Protect Drinking Water Quality (Speakers: Renee Thompson, Water Resources Planner, ICPRB, and Megan McClaugherty, Ecological Technician and GIS Specialist, ICPRB)
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Dec. 9: Webinar: The Future of Water in the DC Metro Area (Speaker: Dr. Cherie Schultz, Director, CO-OP Operations of ICPRB)