News from Around the Basin – September 28, 2023

Climate change in the basin, what the recent rain means for the region, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir,  Sept 28, 2023.

The River Report

Conditions are improving. After a month of drought operations and drought monitoring, rain in the basin is now 1 inch above normal for the month of September. We were able to suspend drought monitoring on Monday due to rising river flows. Additionally, the recent U.S. Drought Monitor has shown improvement in drought conditions across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Even with the recent rain, some municipalities in the western part of the Potomac basin are still encouraging people to be water wise as we recover from a the dry spring and summer seasons.

We are no longer providing a daily report to downstream water suppliers on flow, water consumption, and weather conditions. However, if the river flow falls below our drought monitoring threshold of 2,000 cubic feet per second at the Point of Rocks USGS gage, we will resume drought monitoring operations.

2023 Potomac River Conference: One River’s Perspective on a Changing Climate

The 2nd annual Potomac River Conference was held last week. The event featured speakers from government agencies, academia, and nonprofit organizations. They highlighted trends in the Potomac basin, regional resilience, government innovations, on-the-ground implementation, as well as equity and environmental justice considerations for climate change in the Potomac River basin.

Find the videos, presentations, and posters on our website.

We would like to thank the numerous organizations and individuals who provided their support, knowledge, and elbow grease to make this event happen, including the staff at Fairfax Water where it was held.

We are currently looking for sponsors to help make the 2024 Potomac River Conference another successful symposium. Please let us know if your organization might be interested.