DC, Maryland, Virginia under drought watch as officials advise limiting water use

Officials continue to insist the region is prepared. The region’s three water reservoirs are full and can be diverted to the river basin if needed. Water-saving measures that local leaders proposed Monday, including taking five-minute showers, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth and waiting to wash dishes and laundry until they have full loads, remain voluntary.

“Our water supply infrastructure is well equipped to handle drought conditions,” Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB), said in a news release. “Nevertheless, it makes sense for all of us to use water wisely and not waste this precious resource.”

According to Lindsey Martin, communications specialist at the Council of Governments, the current drought warning is the second level in a four-tier rating scale used by local leaders and water companies.

“If we reach a ‘drought emergency,’ then the utilities would want to take mandatory measures,” Martin said, referring to the highest level of the scale. The emergency level would be activated if, based on the regional drought plan, there is a “50 percent chance” that the region “cannot meet the demand for water supply in the coming month.”

According to the Council of Governments, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has stated that local precipitation levels over the past 60 days have been nearly 4 inches (10 cm) below normal.

After a wet start to 2024, the rains stopped abruptly this summer as temperatures rose to record highs. As the ground quickly dried out, a “flash” drought hit the D.C. area and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

The federal government’s drought monitor shows extreme drought — the second-highest category — covering much of northwest Virginia, including the Interstate 81 corridor, most of Loudoun County and parts of Fairfax and Prince William Counties. The rest of the D.C. area is in moderate to severe drought, except in Southern Maryland, where recent rainfall has helped close the rain deficit.

In early June, the region was not experiencing drought, but since then, minimal rainfall has been recorded, with only 0.5 to 2 inches of rain falling, less than half the normal.

The district recorded its fourth driest June on record, with just 2.9 inches of rain.

There was slightly more rain in July, but the amounts were variable, with the most rain falling east of Interstate 95 and the least in the west.

Both Dulles International and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall airports have recorded their second driest summers on record.

This week, the downpours will remain variable. The kind of widespread rain needed to put a serious dent in the drought is not in the forecast.

However, according to the National Weather Service, rainfall in the region in August will be slightly above average.