Monitoring Reports

During periods of drought, the Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) helps manage the Washington metropolitan area water supply system by coordinating withdrawals from the Potomac River and off-river reservoirs and recommending releases from upstream reservoirs when forecasted flow in the river is not sufficient to meet expected needs. These needs include water demands and an environmental flow-by of 100 million gallons per day (MGD) on the Potomac River at Little Falls dam near Washington, D.C.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Thursday 09/03/2015)

Submitted by admin1 on Thu, 09/03/2015 - 09:00

MARFC's 24-hour accumulated precipitation map is showing that scattered areas in the basin received 0.1 to 1.75 inches of rain yesterday. The 3-day forecast shows an accumulation between 0.1 and 0.75 is possible, with the higher amounts likely to the southwest.

The USGS visited the Point of Rocks gage yesterday to verify the rating curve. Flow was measured as slightly less than what the gage was reporting.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Monday 08/31/2015)

Submitted by admin1 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 09:00

Flow at the Point of Rocks gage fell below the 2,000 cfs threshold on Friday. Daily monitoring begins today. For more information on ICPRB's drought monitoring visit http://tinyurl.com/oda5aqp.

The Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center reports that the majority of the basin received a negligible amount of rain over the past 24 hours; very limited areas received 0.5 to 2 inches. Little to no rain is expected over the next 2 days.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Thursday 10/16/2014)

Submitted by admin1 on Thu, 10/16/2014 - 09:00

Point of Rocks flow is currently at 4,140 cfs and is above the low flow threshold of 2,000 cfs. Bear with us while we wait to see if Point of Rocks flow remains above the low-flow threshold of 2,000 cfs.

The National Weather Service reports that yesterday between 0.5 and 2.0 inches of rain fell over the basin. The 72-hour forecast shows between 0.1 and 0.25 inches of rain may fall in the basin. The 7-day forecast shows that between 0.1 and 0.6 inches of rain may fall in the basin.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Wednesday 10/15/2014)

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 10/15/2014 - 09:00

During the past 24 hours the western half of the basin received 1 to 2 inches of rain. More rain is on the way, with forecasted accumulations of 1 to 2 inches across the basin over the next two days. Given the forecast and recent rainfall, we expect that mean daily flow at Point of Rocks will soon rise above the trigger for daily drought monitoring of 2000 cfs.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Sunday 10/12/2014)

Submitted by admin1 on Sun, 10/12/2014 - 09:00

The Potomac basin received 0 to 1/4 of an inch of rain over the past 24 hours. The National Weather Service's 3-day forecast calls for total accumulations of 1/10 to 3/4 inch in the basin, with most areas expecting to receive 1/4 to 1/2 inch of rain..

Flow at Point of Rocks remains below the low-flow threshold of 2,000 cfs. Flow at Point or Rocks continues to rise, but is still below median levels for this time of the year.