News

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Media From Around the Basin – May 2, 2024

Finding a Lost River, reviving a forgotten river, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir > > >

Are you seeing green?

Does the warm weather, birds singing, and flowers blooming have you seeing green all around? What about in the water?

On the evening of April 30th, ICPRB staff, in coordination with our West Virginia partners, deployed a bright green dye into the lower Lost River. Although we’re a little late for St. Patrick’s Day, the dye will help scientists understand how water travels underground in a complex geological environment.

During dry weather, the Lost River disappears underground and reappears as the Cacapon River. The geological connection between the two rivers is not fully understood.

As the food grade dye sinks into the cracks and fissures in the Lost River, ICPRB scientists will monitor and map the color as it reemerges at springs throughout the Cacapon watershed. To help us track the dye, staff installed passive carbon pack collectors (essentially fish tank carbon filters) throughout the watershed.

The safe dye will degrade and wash away in only a few days, leaving the Cacapon as it was before (if a bit less festive).

If you are familiar with the geology in the region, you can help our scientists by identifying springs and ground water sinks in the Lost River Valley, Rio Valley, or Upper Cacapon.

Watershed moments — What to celebrate this week: Drinking Water Week

What do your coffee maker, a brewery, and you have in common? They all need clean drinking water to function properly. Drinking Water Week is a time to celebrate our most vital resource and those who work to protect it.

Ways to celebrate Drinking Water Week (May 5-11):

  • Learn where your drinking water comes from
  • Discover new ways to be more water efficient
  • Participate in a local river clean up

Thank you to all the water resource professionals who work hard to make sure our taps work when we need them (and our coffee maker, too!). Join the conversation using #drinkingwaterweek on your favorite social media platforms.

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Media From Around the Basin – April 25, 2024

Making science more accessible, Rock Creek by any other name, the state of the streams, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir. > > >

Making Science More Accessible

If you have visited the ICPRB website recently you might have noticed some changes. In our continued effort to make the website more accessible to a wider audience, we are excited to announce a couple new features.

Clicking a button at the top right of the website immediately translates the website’s content into other languages. Readers can choose from ten of the most common languages spoken within the Potomac River watershed, including Spanish and French.

Clicking the person icon at the bottom right of the website provides audio and visual options to make the website more accessible to people living with a disability. Readers will find a menu with eight different accessibility profiles to choose from, including motor impaired, color blind, and visually-impaired. Among other options, visitors can choose to have the website read aloud or change the look of the site (color contrast, text size, etc.) to better suit an individual’s needs.

Start exploring the website today > > >

Watershed moments — what to celebrate this week: Rx Take Back Day

One simple way to protect our waterways is to properly dispose of medication (NEVER flush it down the drain!). This Saturday there will be collection sites conveniently located throughout the region where anyone can safely offload unneeded medication as part of the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

Find a collection site near you > > >

ICPRB in the Community

Below is a list of upcoming events ICPRB is producing or attending.

Find even more fun activities on our Events Calendar > > >

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News from Around the Basin – April 18, 2024

Webinar on Data Centers & Solar, watershed moments, White’s ferry tale saga continues, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir – April 18, 2024 >>>

ICPRB Webinar: Water Resources Impacts of Data Centers and Solar Fields and Tools to Mitigate Impacts

Interested in the intersection of data centers, solar fields, and water resources in the Potomac River watershed? Join ICPRB for a webinar on Friday, May 10 at noon to learn about the water resources impacts of data centers and solar fields in the Potomac watershed. We’ll also discuss tools to mitigate and prevent those impacts. The panel will feature speakers from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District, and Loudoun Water.

This event is being held as part of the implementation of the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.

Watershed moments – what to celebrate this week

Earth Day is Monday, April 22. One impetus for the national push for a this day to inspire environmental action was Silent Spring, a groundbreaking book which linked pollution to real impacts to both the environment and human health. The book was written by biologist and writer Rachel Carson, a resident of the Potomac River basin.

Looking for ways to celebrate? Here are just a few of many options:

ICPRB in the Community

Below is a list of upcoming events ICPRB is producing or attending. We hope to see you there!

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The First Water Supply Outlook of 2024 is Published

Each month, April through October, the staff at ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac put together a Water Supply Outlook. The report explores the possibility of water supply releases from upstream reservoirs and looks at the overall precipitation status of the Potomac basin.

April’s Water Supply Outlook calls for a below normal probability that we will need to rely on the upstream reservoirs to provide water for the DC Metro area. Although the Potomac basin is 3.8 inches below average for the past 12 months, the year has started out at near-normal levels. If low-flow conditions develop, the Washington metropolitan area is protected from a water supply shortage owing to carefully designed drought-contingency plans.

Read the Water Supply Outlook > > > 

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News From Around the Basin – April 4, 2024

Welcoming ICPRB interns, status of the Shenandoah, rockfish in limbo, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir – April 4, 2024 >>>

Welcoming ICPRB’s 2024 Interns

Nusrat Noor will be joining ICPRB remotely from her home base of Durham, NC where she is working on her Master of Environmental Management at Duke University. She has experience curating and cataloging large collections of aquatic and marine invertebrates at both the Auburn University Museum of Natural History and the Florida Museum of Natural History.

At ICPRB, Ms. Noor will be working closely with the CO-OP team to retrieve and analyze remotely sensed water storage data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to improve hydrological modeling and forecasting during low flows in the Potomac basin. She is also working to make historic, handwritten water quality datasets held by ICPRB available in electronic format.

Nusrat is originally from Florida and currently lives with her two cats. She enjoys hiking, crocheting, and buying toys for her cats that they never use.

 

Risa Fish hails from Phoenix, Arizona, where she advocated for clean water and sanitation practices for an organization conducting water projects in Cusco, Peru. She also conducted research and educated the public on water conservation at the Water Conservation Department of the City of Chandler. Already holding a Bachelor of Science in Public Service and Public Policy (Sustainability) from Arizona State University, Ms. Fish is now working on her Master of Science in Environment and Sustainability Management at Georgetown University, where she expects to graduate this summer. She hopes to remain in the DMV area post-graduation as she has loved living on the East Coast.

During her internship at ICPRB, she will be working on a Spatial Statistical Network modeling project as well as making improvements to our water quality data inventory. As a self-proclaimed “water nerd” she is eager to continue to expand her expertise in the water field and is looking forward to the experiences ICPRB can provide her with.

This is ICPRB’s third year since starting the internship program that educates and encourages future water resources professionals. Check out our YouTube page to see the great work of previous interns.

One Down, Many More to Come

Thank you to our guides, Paul Kreingold and Jon Wolz, and everyone that joined us for our first Walk in the Woods of 2024. We learned the fascinating history of the quarry along the Potomac that supplied the statuesque columns for Statuary Hall in the Capitol. See pictures of our walk (and Potomac marble!) on Facebook.

Sign up for a future Walk in the Woods on our Eventbrite page > > >

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News From Around the Basin – March 28, 2024

Still time to sign up for Saturday’s hike, a DC parks quest, sayonara Stumpy, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir – March 28, 2024 > > >

Sign up for Saturday’s Walk in the Woods

Did you miss your chance to register for Saturday’s *sold out* Walk in the Woods: Potomac Marble near Dickerson, MD? Don’t worry, we’ve got a spot for you. If you would like to join us for this 5-mile guided trek to discover the stone that rebuilt Washington, D.C., we’re extending extra spots to anyone signed up for our newsletter. The event is free to attend, but we ask that you register by responding to this email.

Can’t make it? Join us on a future Walk in the Woods, including the newly added Walk in the Woods: Mussel Power with Anacostia Watershed Society on May 18.

Working Towards a Resilient Water Supply System

Last week, ICPRB staff joined the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), DC Homeland Security Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA), and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) for a tabletop exercise to review — and improve — our collective response to a hypothetical threat to our water supply system.

ICPRB staff utilized our Emergency River Spill Model to support the exercise scenario, and discussed spill notification, modeling, and communication protocols. Events like these are important for building processes and relationships for a more efficient and effective response to emergency situations.

Read the full CISA press release here > > >

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ICPRB Report Explores Future Water Use Across the Watershed

A newly published pamphlet, Potomac Basin Trends in Water Use, summarizes forecasted reported water withdrawals and consumptive use in the Potomac basin. Understanding current and anticipated water use is vital for sustainable water resources planning today and into the future. Consumptive Use (CU) is the portion of water withdrawn from a resource and not returned for subsequent use. Examples of CU: evaporated irrigation and cooling water, bottled drinking water, and water consumed by people or livestock.

This report is a companion piece to the Potomac Basin Reported Water Use pamphlet published in 2022 and is part of the workplan developed through the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.

Expected percent change in water withdrawals from 2025 to 2050 in the Potomac basin by HUC8.

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News From Around the Basin – March 21, 2024

Funding for a resilient water supply, water challenges across the Potomac, survey for DC anglers, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir – March 21, 2024 >>>

ICPRB Report Explores Future Water Use Across the Watershed

A newly published pamphlet, Potomac Basin Trends in Water Use, summarizes forecasted reported water withdrawals and consumptive use in the Potomac basin. Understanding current and anticipated water use is vital for sustainable water resources planning today and into the future.

This is a companion piece to the Potomac Basin Reported Water Use pamphlet published in 2022 and is part of the workplan developed through the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.

DOEE Fishing Survey

The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment’s (DOEE) Fisheries Research Branch is conducting their annual creel survey and encourages local anglers to participate. The goal of the survey is to better understand recreational angling efforts, perceptions, and harvests within Washington D.C. The information obtained from the voluntary survey will be used to inform fisheries management decisions and regulations. DOEE encourages anglers to fill out the form after every fishing trip.

Click here to check out the survey and save the link > > >

See the Fishing News section below to catch more updates on fishing across the Potomac River basin.

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News from Around the Basin – March 14, 2024

A new plan and funding to protect and preserve the Potomac, unique ways to view 🌸, funding to get blue catfish on the menu, and more, in this week’s Potomac News Reservoir – March 14, 2024 > > >

A Fresh Path Forward for the Potomac River

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) recently published an update to a comprehensive planning document that it hopes will be used as a tool to protect water supplies, drinking water sources, water quality, and aquatic life.

At this week’s ICPRB Quarterly Business Meeting, the ICPRB Commissioners formally adopted the 2023 Updates to the Potomac Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan. The document is the result of a yearlong stakeholder process that evaluated progress during the first five years of implementation and developed the workplan for the next five years.

A section of the report includes how the public can get involved:

  • Encourage and participate in stewardship activities that improve watershed conditions, such as trash pickups, reducing winter salt use, and picking up pet waste.
  • Share the plan with local politicians, water suppliers, environmental organizations, and civic organizations.
  • Use ICPRB-created tools such as the flow alteration from impervious cover map, the land prioritization tool, and land use webinars to make land use decisions that support sustainable water resources management.

To learn more about the planning document, check out the video or read ICPRB’s news release > > >

Federal Funding to Protect and Preserve the Potomac River Watershed

ICPRB received $650,000 in the recent funding package passed by Congress.

In making the announcement, ICPRB Executive Director Michael Nardolilli stated, “We are glad to see the federal government acknowledge the important work of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River.”

ICPRB plans to use the funds to improve water modeling capabilities and implement the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.

Learn more about the plans in ICPRB’s recent news release > > >

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News Release: A Fresh Path Forward for the Potomac River

ICPRB Commissioners approve updates to the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan.

Click here for a PDF of this announcement >>>

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) will use this as a tool to protect water supplies, drinking water sources, water quality, and aquatic life, and encourages other organizations to do the same.

Population changes in the Potomac River watershed (2010-2020).

Population changes in the Potomac River watershed (2010-2020).

“The Potomac River watershed is home to 6.9 million people. As the saying goes, we all live downstream. Practices and policies throughout the watershed impact our waterways. We expect this updated plan to continue to serve as a catalyst for sustainable water resources management throughout the watershed,” explains Michael Nardolilli, Executive Director of ICPRB.

The plan addresses water resources challenges to the watershed, including sustainable water uses and supplies, protecting and improving water quality, sustainably managing human land use, and protecting ecological health.

The Potomac River watershed includes parts of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as the entire District of Columbia. According to Nardolilli, most of the residents in the watershed rely on the Potomac River or its tributaries for drinking water.

The planning document, titled Potomac Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan, was originally published in 2018. The 2023 updates were the result of a yearlong review process by an advisory committee composed of regional governments, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions. It was officially adopted by the ICPRB Commissioners at the business meeting on March 12, 2024.

“The population in the Potomac River watershed has increased by 13% since 2010. With this immense growth, it is more important than ever that we practice smart and sustainable water resources planning. We think this Comprehensive Plan is the tool to achieve that vision,” says Nardolilli.

According to Nardolilli, milestones from the initial 2018 plan are mostly complete. New goals developed in the recent update are expected to begin in the spring of this year.

“It takes a watershed-wide effort to protect and preserve the Potomac River and its related resources. Through a diverse stakeholder group, the plan provides a voice for people and organizations throughout the basin. Further, the update highlights the need to reach the wonderfully varied communities of the basin, with particular focus on those disproportionately affected by water resources issues,” states Dr. Heidi Moltz, Director of Program Operations at ICPRB and an author of the plan.

Dr. Moltz shares some of the ways the public can get involved which are suggested in the new report:

  • Encourage and participate in stewardship activities that improve watershed conditions, such as trash pickups, reducing winter salt use, and picking up pet waste.
  • Share the plan with local politicians, water suppliers, environmental organizations, and civic organizations.
  • Use ICPRB-created tools such as the flow alteration from impervious cover map, the land prioritization tool, and land use webinars to make land use decisions that support sustainable water resources management.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 13, 2024

Renee Bourassa, Communications Director
Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin | Rockville, MD
rbourassa@icprb.org | 301.417.4371 | ICPRB

The 2023 Updates to the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Plan can be found on ICPRB’s website at: https://bit.ly/basin_plan

The ICPRB is an interstate compact commission established by Congress in 1940. Its mission is to protect and enhance the waters and related resources of the Potomac River basin through science, regional cooperation, and education. Represented by appointed commissioners, the ICPRB includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the federal government. The ICPRB affirms the importance of fostering diversity equity, inclusion, and justice in all activities. The Potomac belongs to all.