River Report – Drought Watch remains in the DC Metro Region
The river’s flow has steadied since Debby blew through, however, there is no rain in the forecast. Today’s flow at the Point of Rocks gage (2730 ft3/s) is right at the historical median level (2750 ft3/s) and has steadily dropped since Debby. As a reminder, ICPRB will enter Drought Monitoring status if the flow drops below 2000 ft3/s.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map, which came out this morning, shows some good news for the region. Since last week, the Severe Drought (D2) dropped from 58% to 37% of the basin. The Potomac basin is outlined in gray in the image below. Although it is outside the basin, the red Extreme Drought (D3) is new since last week’s Drought Monitor.
The Metropolitan Council of Governments (COG) maintains a Drought Watch for the Metro DC region, asking folks to voluntarily reduce their water use.
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has updated their drought data, pulling most of the state out of drought watch. However, the Shenandoah region remains in a Drought Warning status.
The entirety of the Potomac River basin within Maryland remains in Drought Watch, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Winter (Salt) is Coming
It may feel like autumn outside, but at ICPRB, we are already thinking about winter. Specifically, winter salt.
While public safety is always our number one concern, too much winter salt has a detrimental impact on our drinking water, infrastructure, and aquatic life.
Learn more in our Winter Salt Wise Storymap >>>
The Farmers’ Almanac calls for a slushy winter, which could mean a lot of salty slush running off our roads, sidewalks, and parking lots and into our waterways.
Here is what you can do to protect our waterways and be Winter Salt Wise in 3 easy steps:
🌨️ Shovel early and often
🧂 Use less salt (consider if salt is even necessary!)
🧹 After the storm, sweep it up and save it for the next storm
Want to learn more? Check out the Winter Salt Wise Storymap or join one of these upcoming trainings, hikes, or webinars:
- Sept 5 – Webinar: Watching Out for Winter Road Salt (intended audience: general public)
- Oct 3 – Smart Salt Applicator Training (intended audience: winter maintenance professionals)
- Oct 12 – Walk in the Woods: Let’s be Smart About Winter Salt (intended audience: A free guided hike for the general public in Gaithersburg, MD)
- Oct-Nov – Smart Salting: Enhanced Winter Maintenance Training Series (intended audience: property managers, business owners, landscaping companies, and other private contractors / salt applicators)