River Report – Still Drought, but Less Drought
We are almost on par for average rain for the season. However, just the average rain amount doesn’t tell the whole story. How much rain, where it falls, and how often we get storms are just some of the important pieces to the “drought puzzle”.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map came out today, the first one since Tropical Storm Debby blew through. The revised map has much less red than the beginning of the month, but still a lot of orange. Extreme Drought in the watershed is down to zero, while 71% is in either Moderate or Severe Drought status.
The river received a boost from Debby but is falling back down to normal levels.
NOAA expects above average temperatures and slightly above average rain over the next 3 months. However, the rain predictions are due to an expected active hurricane season. We might have some quick gullywashers on our way, but that might not help fill our waterways and groundwater in the long run. Stay tuned as we keep you informed the latest news, data, and poetry.
With not much rain in the immediate forecast, the DC Metro region remains in a Drought Watch and authorities are still asking folks to voluntarily conserve water use.
A Plan for the Future
After many years and much collaboration, ICPRB published the Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan in 2018. The plan described a shared vision for the Potomac basin, determined water resources issues, and suggested actions for achieving that shared vision. ICPRB is honored to serve as the catalyst for the plan’s implementation.
In 2023, five years after the plan’s adoption, the plan’s Advisory Committee, staff, and facilitators evaluated implementation progress and suggested action items for the next five years. The result was the 2023 Plan Report. Each year, staff document progress and outline the next steps to continue the journey towards our shared vision. To learn more, read the Progress Report for Year Six or visit the plan’s StoryMap to see the products resulting from this stakeholder-based, multi-year effort. This includes a summary of the Partnering for the Potomac event in June that brought together ICPRB’s federal partners to identify areas of common interest and opportunities for collaboration.