by Kate Shunney
Ongoing worries about drought and water supplies have Potomac River monitors watching closely how this month and next month’ s precipitation will affect local waterways.
Much of the Potomac River remains in some state of drought after this dry summer and below-average rainfall for October.
According to the National W eather Service, precipitation for the region is 1.3 inches below normal for this month.
River levels on the Potomac are fluctuating greatly, due in part to mechanical reasons.
“From September to December, upstream hydroelectric dams turn off operations at night during the annual American eel migration downstream,” say river officials.
“This keeps the slippery little fish from getting caught up in dam machinery as they make their way to sea to spawn. As a result, the flows downstream fluctuate in this predictable daily pattern,” reports the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin.
The U.S. Drought Monitor for late last week showed the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia as Abnormally Dry or in Moderate Drought.
Morgan County itself is split between the two designations, with the southern and western portions of the county still showing in drought conditions.
In Maryland, W ashington County is largely under Abnormally Dry conditions, with the far western portion of the county in Moderate Drought conditions. Far Western Maryland remains even drier, in severe to extreme drought.