Vienna Town Council Gives Middle Finger to Drought

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments just issued a press release on the water situation. It encourages conservation, because conservation is good, but goes on to say:

"The flow in the Potomac River, while low, remains at a level about twice that of current water supply demands. Special water supply reservoirs constructed in the early 1980s to provide water during droughts are currently full and unlikely to be needed. While water supply reservoirs in the regional Potomac system, the Occoquan, Rocky Gorge, and Triadelphia, are within planned operating levels, voluntary conservation will help keep them there. Other water supply reservoirs such as Lake Manassas and Beaverdam are below their normal planned operating levels."

In other words, places like Vienna continue to have abundant water, and any water we "conserve" by leaving it in the Potomac will just flow out to the sea. Why are you demanding that the town let its plantings die (not long after you all repeatedly criticized the town over dead plantings at the town green) just so that more fresh water can flow into the ocean? Water on my plants and in my birdbath helps the local ecology during a drought a lot more than water flowing into the ocean does.

Thanks for the feedback, but why not generally use one name so people can follow your insights? All of these names, all of them you, are hard to follow:

You guys are hilarious
Not rated
Not a machinist
A fit of peak?
No free lunch
Visionary (a.k.a. MORON)
Visionary
Arguing is fun
Codebreaker
Ad Infinitum
Surfer Dude
Whatever I've been calling myself
Lip balm
Water water everywhere

Letting tens of thousands of dollars of trees die because no one is actively watering 3-5 months ago is very different than today when Governor Kaine is trying to declare our state a disaster.

Conserving (whether or not it is dire) is always more thoughtful than not. Needlessly "wasting" water is arrogant.

Preparing for a rainy day is how we should all think about our lives.

Maybe there's only one computer at the senior center, and 15 of us take turns using it to advance Maud's evil agenda.

Or maybe it's just fun to make up a semi-comical, semi-relevant name each time I send you comments on a topic that deserves being debated.

Either way, congratulations on having learned how to check the IP address of commenters. My kids figured that out in elementary school, so I had assumed that you knew how to do it all along. I assume you can tell that it doesn't match any IP associated with the Town of Vienna government or any of its employees, family members, etc.

Got anything further to say about water?

Water water everywhere

Just came back from Fairfax City. Signs everywhere concerning water restrictions in Fairfax City. Call 703-378-7920 for further information.

Just the facts jack

Breaking news Channel 4. Today 4:00 PM. Town of Leesburg and Stafford County have imposed water restrictions. Water water everywhere you seem to be all wet.

Just the facts jack

I've read that in a drought it's still important to keep trees watered. the last thing you want, ecologically speaking, is for trees to die. there's a heirarchy to watering. most important are trees. then shrubs. then flowers & lawns are least important because they're the easiest to replant if they die.

Having lived my entire life in the Potomac watershed, I've never figured out the belief that you somehow conserve water by watching it drain into the ocean. There are parts of the country, and even some local places, where the lack of rain merits stepped up water conservation. But around here, these water alerts are the work of mushy headed local governments who want to look like they're "doing something" about the drought.

We must not take the Potomac River water source for granted. An example of overconsumption can be found in the Shenandoah River in the Valley. Low water concentrates the pollutants and causes fish kills and algae blooms. Fortunately there are a lot of brown lawns compared to the sprinklers running all over town years ago. We had a similar situation with electricity. Whole houses were completely lit up for no good reason, then they turned off the light at the White House. Perhaps the increased costs of these utilities had something to do with the reduced consumption but I would rather believe that it is due to concerns for conservation.

Has anyone taken into consideration the constant building is putting more of a strain on our resources than watering our lawns?

Can you elaborate about the constant building?

Release of Reservoir Water Puts Drought to the Test
Potomac Flow to Show if Supply Is Adequate

By Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 8, 2007; A01

In an extraordinary measure aimed at determining whether the Washington region truly is in a drought, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a torrent of water yesterday from a dam in far Western Maryland to test how long it will take the water to reach this region.

The release of 200 million gallons of water a day through tomorrow from the Jennings Randolph reservoir will allow experts to fill in a crucial data point they say is missing from their drought predictions.

Despite the desiccated cornfields and front lawns, the declarations from political leaders and this fall's unseasonable heat, water experts remain uncertain whether the region's dry spell will ultimately lead to a drought for the water supply.

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin is predicting there is only a 1 percent chance that major water suppliers will have to tap backup sources through the end of the year. Without the water flow data from the dam, though, it doesn't know for certain.

"It's very rare to have full reservoirs late in the season with low flows [in the river], so we are taking advantage of it to test the time of travel from the reservoir to the intake," said Erik Hagen, the commission's director of operations.

In 1992, the last time the Corps of Engineers tested water flow from the reservoir, about 150 miles northwest of the District, it took nine long days to go downriver to the Potomac basin. That was one of the worst dry spells the region has experienced recently, a year when the water flow in the Potomac could not sustain the region's water supply needs. The nine days become something of a benchmark: If it takes longer for the water to get downstream this week, experts could decide that they have a problem.

Other indicators suggest that the region has not reached a "hydrological drought": The Potomac is coursing through Washington at about 700 million gallons a day, below normal but well above historic lows. Most major reservoirs have levels adequate for the region's drinking, washing and watering needs.

"The Washington area water supply is in excellent shape," Hagen said.

That is little solace to farmers across Virginia and Maryland who lost as much as 60 percent of their crops this summer, or to homeowners who have been asked to curtail lawn watering and shorten showers as the hot, dry weather continues in October.

Yesterday, the temperature reached 92 degrees at Reagan National Airport, the warmest day this month, according to the National Weather Service. It was one degree shy of the record for Oct. 7, set in 1941, and far above the average high of 72 degrees or last year's crisp 58 degrees. At Dulles International Airport, the temperature hit 91, breaking the 1963 record of 86 degrees.

Weather forecasters predict a hot day today, but a cold front should arrive tomorrow night and bring rain and cooler temperatures.

The conditions have prompted some public officials to impose water conservation measures, primarily in counties with heavy agricultural bases and with new development taxing the water supply. Some smaller reservoirs are at critical lows.

Loudoun County, for example, approved mandatory restrictions -- and $500 fines for excessive use -- for water customers in the county's eastern sector, citing, among other reasons, concerns about a depleted reservoir. Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) asked for a federal drought disaster declaration last week to help farmers statewide recover from crop losses, following similar action by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).

Maryland officials put 15 counties, including Montgomery and Howard, on a "drought watch" last week, asking residents to conserve water. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments also issued a drought watch and urged residents to shorten showers, turn off the tap when they brush their teeth, curtail landscape watering and take other steps to conserve.

Forestry officials in both states say drought conditions are shortening the period of fall color for trees and increasing the threat of wildfires. But climatologists say that typically when the leaves start to fall and the first frost appears, reservoir levels start to rise.

To reconcile seemingly contradictory reports about weather, water supply and withered crops, experts say it helps to think of two kinds of drought: agricultural and hydrological. Sparse rainfall and hot weather feed both, but in different ways.

Summer rain totals in the region were about 40 percent below normal, and on many days, the temperature hit 90 or above. The combination proved lethal to corn -- overplanted this year because of high prices at the beginning of the season -- and other crops in Eastern Virginia, Eastern Maryland and Southern Maryland, leading to an agricultural drought, said Jerry Stenger, head of the University of Virginia Office of Climatology.

But Stenger and other experts said the region is not in a drought in terms of the water supply. "It's hard to predict what's going to happen," he said. "The months ahead will tell the story."

Terry Wagner, chairman of Virginia's Drought Monitoring Task Force, said the region "eked" by this summer. "But we're on the edge."

The Potomac, of course, is central to the region's water supply. The river has not been replenished this year by soaking tropical storms, but spotty rain showers and thunderstorms have provided enough saturation to keep its levels from dipping drastically. In September 1966, an unusually dry year, the river flow at Little Falls was measured at what experts called a low for the modern era: 388 million gallons a day. That's far lower than the current rate.

The region's major water agencies say most local reservoirs this fall have an ample supply.

The Fairfax County Water Authority, which serves nearly 1.5 million people in Northern Virginia, reports no shortages. Spokeswoman Jeanne Bailey said the Occoquan Reservoir on the Prince William-Fairfax county border is more than 50 percent full. The authority has drawn from the Potomac to keep reservoir levels from dipping further.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, which serves nearly 1.8 million people in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, also reports no shortages. Spokesman John C. White said the Triadelphia Reservoir is at 66 percent capacity, and the Rocky Gorge Reservoir is at 44 percent capacity.

"While we realize that some of the farmers are suffering," he said, "we believe these reservoirs and the Potomac River are adequate to meet our customers' needs."

The Washington Aqueduct, operated by the Corps of Engineers, provides water for about 1 million people in the District, Arlington County and Falls Church. "We're in no immediate crisis of any kind," said Tom Jacobus, aqueduct general manager.

Staff writer Delphine Schrank contributed to this report.

Thanks for the article, vienna mommy. Sounds like it basically agrees with my point that Fairfax is not experiencing a water shortage, and that the town doesn't need to be declaring a water emergency.

Sounds like good news, only half empty. Remember it was the Corp of Engineers that straightened out the Everglades in Florida. BTW what building? Have you been to Merrifield lately?

Oh, wait, I thought we were talking about Vienna. I guess if we lump in all of NoVa, there may be "constant" building in the eyes of some.

Today will be the 33rd day without rain matching the record of 1995. Flush your toilets West Virginia, Washington needs the water.