This Week’s Potomac News Reservoir – May 14, 2026 >>>

The Week’s River Report: A gloomy Water Supply Outlook, flows hovering around record lows for May

Even though some much-needed rain fell yesterday across the basin, this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor Map still shows the Potomac basin overwhelmingly in the Severe Drought category, at 95.7%.

🟥 A small area in the southern portion of the map (1.3% of the basin) is in Extreme Drought conditions. In the past 30 days, the basin has only received an average of 1.7 inches of rain, 1.9 inches below normal.

👀 This month’s Water Supply Outlook, a monthly report recently published by ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP), estimates a 23 to 34 percent probability that flow will become low enough later this year that a release of water from upstream reservoirs would be needed to boost water supply.

📉 Flows at the USGS gage at Little Falls have been below historic minimums for several days. Today’s flow at Point of Rocks was 2,680 cubic feet per second (cfs), barely above the lowest recorded value on today’s date, 2,600 cfs.

💧 Right now, there is sufficient flow in the Potomac River to meet demands in the Washington Metro Area, though it will help if everyone can do their part to conserve water, especially when it comes to outdoor uses like watering lawns and gardens.

🤝 Should low flows worsen, the metro area is well‐protected from a water supply shortage through cooperative planning.

Protecting Drinking Water at the Source

Earlier this week, members of the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership (DWSPP (http://www.potomacdwspp.org/) ) met for their quarterly meeting. On the agenda: 🗺️ An overview from Nicole Horvath on the Reservoir Center for Water Solutions real-time, public-facing monitoring program with the chance for members to provide feedback on future monitoring locations. (Stay tuned for more information on this soon!) 🥤 A presentation from William Isenberg on the goals and partnership opportunities of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Marine Debris Reduction Plan.

See more photos on ICPRB’s Facebook page >>>

Coordinated by ICPRB, the Partnership is a voluntary association of water suppliers and government agencies focused on protecting sources of drinking water in the Potomac River basin. By undertaking a collaborative approach, the unique Partnership helps to ensure that people’s most basic need for clean, safe and abundant water is reliably met.

ICPRB in the Community

• May 16: Anacostia River Festival (DC)

• May 30: Earth Fest (Frederick, MD)

• June 6: Catch, Clean and Cook Fishing Clinic $ (Lorton, VA)

• June 7: Walk in the Woods: From Field to Stream (Jefferson, MD)

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