in the basin. To support collaborative planning, ICPRB is developing an interactive,
web-based geospatial–temporal water use analysis and mapping tool for the drainage area of the freshwater portion of the river, referred to in this study as the upper
Potomac River Basin.
The objective of this chapter is to describe tools that will enable water resource
managers to gather multiple governmental (state) jurisdictions’ water withdrawal
data, estimate watershed-scale consumptive use of water, and make the information
available to water resource managers and stakeholders via an interactive web-based
mapping tool.
2 Project Scope and Objective
2.1 Study Area
The Potomac River is the primary source of water for the Washington, DC,
metropolitan area; the river and its tributaries supply many of the rapidly growing
upstream communities. The region faces continuing population growth and potential changes in water availability from climate change [13–15]. Flow in the river is
seasonal, typically dropping to its lowest levels of the year in summer and early fall.
The river usually meets water supply and environmental needs. But over the past
century, droughts have occurred which reduced the river’s natural flow to levels that
would not meet today’s demands or those anticipated in the future.
The headwater streams of the Potomac River originate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The freshwater portion of the river extends to
the head of tide, located a few kilometers below Little Falls dam near Washington,
DC. The drainage area for the upper Potomac River Basin, the nontidal portion
(Fig. 1), is 29,950 square kilometers (km
2 ). Figure 2 shows major tributaries and
sub-basins for the upper Potomac River Basin. The Potomac River flows past
Washington, DC, through the Potomac Estuary and into the Chesapeake Bay, an
ecologically rich and economically productive estuary on the eastern coast of the
United States.
The Washington, DC, metropolitan area has a cooperative system of water
supply management designed to assure adequate water supplies during drought.
This system is governed by a set of agreements entered into by the region’s major
water suppliers in the early 1980s and includes shared storage facilities and
coordinated operations during periods of low flows. It has served the metropolitan
area well over the past 30 years, successfully meeting demands and environmental
flow requirements during the two moderate droughts in 1999 and 2002. However,
recent demand and water availability forecasts indicate that significant changes to
this system will be needed by the end of the next 30-year planning horizon, 2040,
because of anticipated growth in metropolitan area water demand and upstream
consumptive use of water.
144
J. Ducnuigeen et al.
web-based geospatial–temporal water use analysis and mapping tool for the drainage area of the freshwater portion of the river, referred to in this study as the upper
Potomac River Basin.
The objective of this chapter is to describe tools that will enable water resource
managers to gather multiple governmental (state) jurisdictions’ water withdrawal
data, estimate watershed-scale consumptive use of water, and make the information
available to water resource managers and stakeholders via an interactive web-based
mapping tool.
2 Project Scope and Objective
2.1 Study Area
The Potomac River is the primary source of water for the Washington, DC,
metropolitan area; the river and its tributaries supply many of the rapidly growing
upstream communities. The region faces continuing population growth and potential changes in water availability from climate change [13–15]. Flow in the river is
seasonal, typically dropping to its lowest levels of the year in summer and early fall.
The river usually meets water supply and environmental needs. But over the past
century, droughts have occurred which reduced the river’s natural flow to levels that
would not meet today’s demands or those anticipated in the future.
The headwater streams of the Potomac River originate in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The freshwater portion of the river extends to
the head of tide, located a few kilometers below Little Falls dam near Washington,
DC. The drainage area for the upper Potomac River Basin, the nontidal portion
(Fig. 1), is 29,950 square kilometers (km
2 ). Figure 2 shows major tributaries and
sub-basins for the upper Potomac River Basin. The Potomac River flows past
Washington, DC, through the Potomac Estuary and into the Chesapeake Bay, an
ecologically rich and economically productive estuary on the eastern coast of the
United States.
The Washington, DC, metropolitan area has a cooperative system of water
supply management designed to assure adequate water supplies during drought.
This system is governed by a set of agreements entered into by the region’s major
water suppliers in the early 1980s and includes shared storage facilities and
coordinated operations during periods of low flows. It has served the metropolitan
area well over the past 30 years, successfully meeting demands and environmental
flow requirements during the two moderate droughts in 1999 and 2002. However,
recent demand and water availability forecasts indicate that significant changes to
this system will be needed by the end of the next 30-year planning horizon, 2040,
because of anticipated growth in metropolitan area water demand and upstream
consumptive use of water.
144
J. Ducnuigeen et al.