River Report: Flow remains below historical 25th percentile
Even with the recent rain, the entirety of the Potomac River watershed remains in abnormally dry conditions or worse. However, there was a slight improvement, where about 10% of the area in severe drought conditions (darker orange) was reduced to moderate drought (lighter orange) conditions since last week..
ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) remains in active drought monitoring. Find the daily report on Facebook and Instagram using #DroughtMonitoring.
According to information from the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, no rain fell in the Potomac watershed during the past day and an average accumulation of only 0.25 inches is expected over the next 10 days.
Flow at the USGS Point of Rocks gage is 2420 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is slightly below the historical 25th percentile of 2535 cfs.
New page on ICPRB’s Website: Water-Energy Nexus in the Potomac River Basin
The water-energy nexus refers to the intricate relationship between energy and water resources, each critically dependent on the other. Water supports nearly every stage of the energy system, from cooling power plants and generating hydroelectricity to producing biofuels and maintaining the infrastructure that transports and refines fuels. In turn, energy powers the treatment, distribution, and delivery of water and wastewater.
The new page on ICPRB’s website features the water-energy nexus impacts for a variety of sectors, including data centers, transportation infrastructure, acid mine drainage, and more.
ICPRB’s FY 26 First Quarter Business Meeting coming up
The ICPRB FY26 First Quarter Business Meeting is coming up on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. The meeting will be held virtually via Teams.
Commissioners will get an update on the 2025 water supply study, get a report out from the Potomac River Conference, and learn about ICPRB’s popular Walk in the Woods series of hikes. Find the draft agenda on our Business Meetings site on our webpage.
The public is invited to attend the meeting or provide public comment. Please contact us by Friday, December 12, for a link to the virtual meeting.
Webinar series
Join us for more fascinating webinars in the coming weeks:
-
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)
-
Dec. 9: Webinar: The Future of Water in the DC Metro Area (Speaker: Dr. Cherie Schultz, Director, CO-OP Operations of ICPRB)
-
Dec. 18: Webinar: Reconsidering Connectivity: A North Branch Potomac Case Study (Gordon “Mike” Selckmann, Associate Director of Aquatic Biology, ICPRB) [Rescheduled from Dec. 2]