River report: Some rain in the forecast, but here are the numbers
Even though everything seems wet outside, here is the situation:
By the numbers
🗺️ 88% of the watershed in Severe Drought conditions.
đź”® 0.1 – 0.5 inches of rain expected in the next 5 days.
🌧️ 10 inches of rain fell in the Potomac River watershed above Little Falls since last August, which is 8.2 inches below average (National Weather Service).
đź“° Â 39 counties and 16 cities in Virginia received a drought warning advisory from Virginia DEQ in a Feb. 9Â press release.
🦀 2 Maryland regions in drought watch and 1 region in drought warning according to MDE.
Potomac Interceptor update
A reminder that there is no such thing as a “flushable” wipe. Disposable wipes should be disposed in the trash, not the toilet.
A Super Bowl-sized rush of disposable wipes clogged one of the pumps at the Potomac Interceptor pipe over the weekend resulting in several hundred gallons of additional spilled raw sewage.
Daily updates can be found on DC Water’s website.
Additionally, the Potomac Riverkeeper Network has created an interactive map of their testing results.
And now, we sweep! 🧹
We shoveled (or pickaxed!⛏️) the snow and ice, we sprinkled salt, and now we sweep!
We are excited to see that rain and warmer temperatures are in the forecast — but with that comes salty waterways. Winter salt is a permanent pollutant in our drinking water, it damages infrastructure, and harms aquatic life.
One simple action you can do to prevent water pollution is to sweep up winter salt before it is washed away by the upcoming spring(ish) rains.
So, if rain is expected in your area, be Winter Salt Smart by sweeping up the salt on your sidewalk or your driveway. You can even reuse it for the next storm!
If there is a large pile of salt in your neighborhood, let your municipality or HOA know so they can clean it up.
Celebrating women in STEM
February 11 is recognized as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, so we want to show our staff a little extra appreciation.
Many brilliant minds make up our team of scientists and engineers, including Dr. Alimatou Seck. Her recent work includes developing machine learning models for short-term urban water demand and assessing the water use impacts of emerging sectors such as data centers in the Potomac River basin. Yesterday, she was interviewed by NHK, the Japanese public media organization, about her research.
We are proud to have many highly skilled women on the ICPRB team, working each day to understand, address and plan ahead for the environmental challenges we face in the Potomac River watershed.
Won’t you be our Valentine?
Show the Potomac some love this Valentine’s Day!
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn through Valentine’s Day to see more fun Potomac-themed Valentine cards.