POINT OF ROCKS, Md. — Flows in the Potomac River have fallen far below normal averages raising the prospect of a continued drought watch in the region and the restarting of daily drought monitoring by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, according to ICPRB executive director Mike Nardolilli.
The river has fallen below the threshold flow of 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), which triggers daily drought monitoring in the river basin, Nardolilli said. An official decision from the Commission on restarting daily drought monitoring is expected in the coming days.
The river at Point of Rocks in Frederick County Maryland was running at 1,860 cfs on Monday; the average for the date is 2,530 cfs.
The region has not seen significant rain since Oct. 2, shortly after the remains of Hurricane Helene dropped several days of rainfall, which briefly raised the Shenandoah River at Harper's Ferry WV to minor flood stage.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments meets Thursday to discuss the state of a drought watch that has been in effect for the region's water utilities since July 29. It was the first watch of its kind since 2010. Residents in the region are still being asked to take measures to avoid wasting water.
The low river flows underscores the unique vulnerability of the region to water disruption because of dependency on the Potomac as the only water source for four million people, according to the ICPRB, which has studied costly solutions like converting the Travillah Quarry in Montgomery County into a reservoir in the coming decades.
Dry conditions also contributed to a brush fire in Frederick County, Maryland near Meyersville Monday. The fire scorched about 15 acres before 100 firefighters from three surrounding counties contained it. No structures were threatened.
The fire broke out after a weekend burn ban in Frederick County was lifted. Fire authorities in Frederick county reported they may be revisiting that decision after investigating the cause of the blaze, which has not yet been determined.