River Report: Remaining steady, but dry
While areas north of us are getting slammed with multiple feet of snow, our region is forecasted to receive roughly 1 inch of precipitation in the coming week.
According to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, with the exception of a tiny portion in Pennsylvania that is abnormally dry (yellow), almost the entirety of the Potomac River watershed remains in moderate to severe drought conditions. There is not much of a shift in percentages from last week.
The river flow at Point of Rocks continues to fall following last week’s rainstorms but remains above the ICPRB CO-OP Drought Monitoring threshold of 2,000 cubic feet per second.-
As a reminder, the D.C. Metro area remains in the drought watch declared by MWCOG back in July. Much of the Potomac region of both Virginia and Maryland also remains in a drought watch status. Authorities are asking folks to use water wisely by following simple action items like taking shorter showers, only running the laundry and dishwasher when full, and turning off the faucet when not actively using it.
The Past, Present, and Future of the Potomac River
ICPRB Executive Director Michael Nardolilli recently spoke on a webinar with the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia and Arlington Regional Master Naturalists about the Potomac River and ICPRB’s work.
He took them on a journey through the past, present, and future of our nation’s river, covering the struggles and triumphs of the river that provides drinking water for more than 5 million people in the Metro DC region. Nardolilli revealed the river’s incredible history and dove into drought, contaminants, policies, emergency response, and more.
ICPRB’s First Quarter Business Meeting on December 17
The ICPRB First Quarter Business Meeting is coming up on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. The meeting will be held virtually on Teams. Commissioners will discuss progress made on the Low Flow Allocation Agreement, consider the adoption of a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) Land Acknowledgment statement, and hear about ICPRB’s recent work on creating an American eel passage in the Potomac mainstem. Find the draft agenda on the Business Meetings site.
The public is invited to view the virtual meeting or provide public comment. Please contact us by Friday, December 13, for more information on how to attend.
We’ve Moved!
We are excited to announce that we have moved ICPRB offices! The new offices have a smaller footprint and are closer to public transportation to better reflect our mission.
The offices have a lab for field staff and beautiful conference rooms to collaborate with our partners. We still maintain our in-office library with almost a century of Potomac River materials, including original ICPRB reports.
Our new address is 401 N. Washington St., Ste 300, Rockville, MD, 20850.