As the swelter of warmer weather hits Washington and its neighboring areas, the Potomac River basin is experiencing record-breaking low flow, which caused the Drought Coordination Committee of the Metropolitan Council of Governments (COG) to issue a regional drought watch on June 3.
According to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB), the section of the river upstream of the District received 2 inches of rain in April, 1.4 inches below normal. As of May 1, it received 37.4 inches of overall precipitation, which is 2.6 inches. The U.S. Drought Monitor Map reports that 40% of the Potomac watershed is suffering from severe drought conditions– a circumstance that puts the region’s sole water source at risk.
“Earlier this spring… we became concerned because for those dates when the river should be very high from spring rains, we actually hit historic lows,” ICPRB Executive Director Michael Nardolilli told The Informer. “We were really low, at record-setting 131-year lows.”…