Each month during the dry season, ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) publishes a report that explores the drought situation in the region through the lens of the possibility of water supply releases from the area’s reservoirs. The report is based on long-term precipitation data, flows, and other information for the Potomac basin.

According to the recently published October Water Supply Outlook, there is an above-normal probability of needing releases from the Washington metropolitan area’s back-up water supply reservoirs through December.

Highlights of the report:

• The ICPRB CO-OP is currently conducting daily drought monitoring to track conditions and coordinate with regional suppliers. Follow the conversation on social media #DroughtMonitoring.
• Roughly 61 percent of the basin is now classified in moderate to extreme drought.
• September brought continued dryness across the Potomac basin, with only 1.8 inches of rain (2.1 inches below normal) and 4.3 inches below average for the past year.
• Potomac River flows are below median levels for this time of year.
• The Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation through October, with drought expected to persist in the northwestern headwaters.
• The Climate Prediction Center’s September 30 U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook indicates that drought conditions are expected to persist across the northwestern portions of the Potomac River basin.
• As of early October, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data show that groundwater levels across the Potomac River basin generally are near their long-term averages, with conditions slightly less favorable than normal.

Read the full report on Water Supply Outlook site >>>