DC Area’s Drought Crisis: Low Water Levels in Potomac River Trigger Daily Monitoring

Stream flow is measured with a US Geological Survey meter at Point of Rocks, Maryland. According to Monday’s monitoring report, the river’s flow dropped 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) below the Cooperative Water Supply Operations threshold on the Potomac.

The ICPRB indicated that there is a higher than normal chance that water will have to be released into the Potomac from upstream reservoirs later this year. This could include Little Seneca Reservoir in Boyds, Maryland, or Jennings Randolph Lake, on the West Virginia-Maryland border.

These upstream locations are used to make water supply demands to “achieve an environmental flow of 100 million gallons per day on the Potomac River at Little Falls Dam near Washington, DC,” according to the ICPRB website.

There was .23 inches of rain at Washington Dulles National Airport on Monday, according to the Weather Authority forecast. The DC area is moderately dry and the year-to-date precipitation total is 10.45 inches, making it the fourth driest year on record.

“So far we have been able to avoid scorching heat, however, with all of July and August still ahead, I am concerned that this drought will get much worse,” said Chuck Bell, a meteorologist for NBC Washington.

Upstream of the Potomac River it hasn’t been as dry as east of the Blue Ridge, according to Bell. In DC, he has noticed circles of crusty brown grass in the Logan Circle neighborhood.

“Normally it’s not that crisp and dry this early in the summer season, but it’s been super dry all year,” the expert explained.

A drought is when natural or managed water systems fail to meet human or environmental needs due to low stream flow, according to the Maryland Department of Environment website. The four indicators of drought are precipitation levels, stream flows, groundwater levels, and reservoir storage.