Each month during the dry season, staff at ICPRB’s Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac produces a Water Supply Outlook report. They look at the probability of the need for releases from upstream reservoirs to supplement drinking water in the DC Metro area.

So far for 2024, the water supply outlook is good. April ended with 0.4 inches of rain above average. The extra rain has helped us close the deep gap from the 12-month cumulative average developed from last year’s dry weather. Streamflow is currently near normal, and groundwater levels are mostly normal.

Click here to read the full report >>>

If low-flow conditions develop, water from Jennings Randolph and Little Seneca lakes can be used to provide drinking water to downstream communities. The Washington metropolitan area is protected from a water supply shortage owing to carefully designed drought-contingency plans.

Adjusted Daily Flow at Little Falls for 2024, 1999, and 2002.