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 (Saturday, 2023-10-21)

Submitted by admin1 on Sat, 10/21/2023 - 12:43

Situational Awareness (Saturday, 2023-10-21)
Potomac River flows at Point of Rocks is currently 1640 cubic feet per second (cfs). According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, the next 24 hours may see 0.1 inches of rain. The week-long outlook indicates a decrease in basin coverage, but trace amounts of rain are still forecasted.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Thursday, 2023-10-19)

Submitted by admin1 on Thu, 10/19/2023 - 12:14

Situational Awareness (Thursday, 2023-10-19)
The Potomac River at Point of Rocks is below 2,000 cfs, the CO-OP drought monitoring threshold, but is rising, with expected decreases ahead. According to the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, there is no rain predicted in the next 24 hours. Over the next 3 days, the average basin rainfall may be around 0.2 inches. 

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Wednesday, 2023-10-18)

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 10/18/2023 - 12:13

Situational Awareness (Wednesday, 2023-10-18)
Potomac River flows at Point of Rocks are currently above 2000 cfs, the threshold for CO-OP daily drought monitoring, due to the past weekend’s rain. But flows are expected to begin falling again over the next couple of days. A small amount of rainfall, approximately 0.3 inches, is expected in the basin over the next week according to National Weather Service forecasts.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Tuesday, 2023-10-17)

Submitted by admin1 on Tue, 10/17/2023 - 13:08

Situational Awareness (Tuesday, 2023-10-17)
Potomac River flows are rising due to this past weekend’s rainfall, but flows at Point of Rocks are not expected to rise above the 2000 cfs drought monitoring threshold for any extended period of time. According to Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center predictions, only approximately ¼ inch of rain is expected in the basin over the next 7 days.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):