Potomac River Basin faces flash drought; Reservoir water releases under consideration

BOYDS, Md. - It’s the heat grabbing headlines in our region, but those responsible for monitoring the water supply in the Potomac River Basin say we need more rain.

No decision has been made yet, but conversations are happening now to decide whether to release water from three reservoirs to compensate for the dry conditions the DMV has had.

Little Seneca Lake, Jennings Randolph, and the Savage River Reservoir are options to tap into and increase the flow into the Potomac River to bolster the water supply.

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, or ICPRB, says "the probability of releases from the backup water supply reservoirs…is currently above normal."

According to ICPRB data, there’s been half as much rain in the last two months as a normal year, impacting the amount of water in the Potomac River.

But we had a wet winter and spring, so the reservoirs are mostly full, ICPRB’s executive director Mike Nardolilli told FOX 5. 

"We have water, but we just don’t know whether or not we should be asking for releases from the reservoir yet. Are we in that stage yet? Not yet, but we may be very shortly," Nardolilli said.

This lack of rain in the last few months has the ICPRB calling this a "flash drought."

ICPRB’s long-term climate predictions expect a hotter, wetter region, but the dry years will be drier, and the wet years, wetter.

Technical experts will hold their first meeting next Wednesday to discuss the data.

Then, they’ll decide whether to make a recommendation to tap into these reservoirs to the leadership within the D.C. Area’s Council of Governments, who would have another meeting to discuss further.

Nardolilli says water hasn’t been released from reservoirs in this type of situation since 2010.