Potomac News Reservoir – May 29, 2026 >>>
The Week’s River Report: Slight relief came but will it last?
What a difference a week makes.
The Potomac’s flashiness was on full display over the weekend as the flow shot from historical lows to the upper echelons of the graph. But will it remain? Doubtful.
The Potomac watershed is in a donut-hole over the next week—but not the good kind, the dry kind. With very little rain in the forecast, NOAA/NWS predicts flows to plummet, again.
However, the U.S. Drought Monitor map showed some relief over last week thanks to the 2-5 inches of rain in the region.
Severe and Extreme Drought conditions remain but were reduced in size. Currently, 58% of the region is in Moderate Drought, 31.5% in Severe Drought and 8.5% in Extreme Drought.
Letter to the Editor on Data Centers
**In early May an editorial was published in The Washington Post, “The right response to the data center backlash”. The following is a recently published Letter to the Editor penned by ICPRB Executive Director Michael Nardolilli in response.**
I am the executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, the agency designated by Congress for the “integration and coordination of the planning for the development and use of the water” in the Potomac River watershed.
The ICPRB is neither for nor against data centers. Nonetheless, we do believe that decision-makers and the public need more data on data centers. D.C. and Arlington are the two most vulnerable cities in the U.S. to a cutoff of their drinking water because they have only one source of water (the Potomac River) and only a one-day backup supply. Should an extreme drought occur in 2050, an ICPRB study indicates, “serious water supply shortages are likely unless additional resources are added to the system.” Though national data suggest data centers account for a small portion of U.S. freshwater use, such averages obscure intense local and regional stress. The ICPRB projects that by 2050, data center water use in the D.C. area will increase to approximately 22 million gallons per day on average and more than 80 million at summer peak use.
Data centers should address the lack of transparency surrounding water use and water quality implications. Nondisclosure agreements hamper agencies, such as ours, from accessing site-specific water demands. Virginia’s recently enacted bill requiring specified water users to report monthly volumes of potable and reclaimed water supplied to data centers and other users is a welcome first step. So is Maryland’s legislation requiring an analysis of the likely environmental, energy and economic impacts of data center development in the state.
In short, the right response to the data center backlash is better transparency and more vigilance regarding water consumption.
Michael Nardolilli, Arlington
Join today’s webinar on protecting drinking water through land conservation
Join ICPRB today at noon for a webinar on Aligning Land Conservation with Source Water Protection: Tools to promote co-benefits for forest, agriculture & habitat.
The free webinar will cover practical approaches and tools for prioritizing land conservation that protects drinking water sources while supporting forests, agriculture, habitat, and high‑value watersheds. It is part of ICPRB’s semi-annual series for basin land use decision-makers, supporting implementation of the Potomac Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.
Past land use webinars can be found at ICPRB’s YouTube page.
ICPRB in the Community
Spring is here and ICPRB staff are out and about! Join us at an upcoming event…
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May 30: Earth Fest (Frederick, MD)
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June 6: Catch, Clean and Cook Fishing Clinic $ (Lorton, VA)
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June 7: Walk in the Woods: From Field to Stream (Jefferson, MD)
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June 28: Roots & Rise (Accokeek, MD)