Potomac News Reservoir – July 16, 2026 >>>

The Week’s River Report: July’s Water Supply Outlook

July’s Water Supply Outlook was published last week. This monthly report provides an update on the possibility of water supply releases from the area’s reservoirs based on long-term precipitation data, flows, and other information for the Potomac basin. The rundown…

👀 There is an above-normal probability of releases from the area’s back-up water supply reservoirs this  summer and fall.

☔ The Potomac basin upstream of Washington, D.C., received 2.7 inches of rain in June, which is 1.1 inches below normal. As of July 1, the 12-month cumulative precipitation total was 30.8 inches, which is 9.3 inches below normal.

🗺️ The U.S. Drought monitor indicates extreme drought to abnormally dry conditions are present in the Potomac basin. The seasonal drought outlook indicates that drought is likely to persist over the coming months.

🌊 Although conditions improved temporarily during the month, stream flows were much below normal by the end of June and groundwater levels remain below normal across much of the basin.

📣 A Drought Watch for the metropolitan Washington region remains in effect. Authorities are asking for voluntary water conservation among residents and businesses in the region.

At present, there is sufficient flow in the Potomac River to meet Washington metropolitan area’s water demands without augmentation from upstream reservoirs. If low‐flow conditions worsen, the metro area is well‐protected from a water supply shortage through well-established contingency plans.

Read the full report >>>

Registration is open for the 2026 Potomac River Conference

Join us for the 5th annual Potomac River Conference, where experts, researchers, and decision-makers will explore one of the region’s most pressing challenges: ensuring a sustainable water supply. Interested in attending? Register for A Dry Horizon: The Future of Water Supply in the Potomac River Basin >>>

Sessions on the agenda include:

• Collaboration in Practice

• Panel: Emerging Challenges for Water Supply Planning

• Science, Forecasting, and Decision Support

• Panel: Utility Perspectives on Planning for the Future

• Poster session (still accepting poster abstracts)

Sponsors

A big thank you to our sponsors for helping to make this event a reality. The Stream and River levels sponsors are listed below.

River Level

WSSC Water

Stream Level

AlexRenew, HDR, The Crossvines, Hazen & Sawyer, Fairfax Water, Brown and Caldwell, Sercap, Inc.