WASHINGTON — The latest drought data is out, and much of the region is still short on water, despite a brush with the remains of Tropical Storm Debby a week ago.
The National Weather Service’s drought condition report released Thursday shows that dry conditions have gotten better. However, large areas of the Potomac River basin west of the D.C. metro area remain in a severe drought condition.
Since the region is dependent on the Potomac for water, that means area utilities will continue to ask residents to take common sense measures to limit unnecessary use, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
The Council of Government's Drought Watch will remain in effect, the agency says.
The situation is a reminder that the region will have to become more resilient in dealing with both drought and flooding, according to Mike Nardolilli, the executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin.
"Our models predict that the Potomac basin is going to get wetter and hotter over time due to climate change," Nardolilli said Thursday. "It's going to be wetter. However, our models also show that the year-to-year flow of the river and the year-to-year precipitation is going to be much more variable. So the wet years are going to be wetter, and the dry years are going to be drier.”
The result will be water systems challenged to deal with more incidents of flooding and drought, sometimes in the same year, Nardolilli said.
Studies are now being planned to come up with safe-guarding solutions which could include new reservoir storage, according to ICPRB.
As of Thursday, Potomac levels above Washington are now double what they were before Debby, Nardolilli said.