Background

The Potomac river watershed is approximately 37,955 km^2 of which 29,240 km^2 is above the fall line that separates the Piedmont region from the costal plain in the watershed, and is the physiological marker between the upper an lower shed areas.  For the Potomac River the Great Falls area of the river that runs between Virginia and Maryland represents where the fall line crosses the watershed. (Virginiaplaces.org, 2016)

Currently approximately 59% of the watershed is classified as forested, which leaves opportunity for conservation of the landscape to augment any proposed water quality and quantity measures that can be implemented in developed areas of the watershed to protect the water resource. (ICPRB, 2016)

Refrences

Virginia Places.org, (2016) Geology of the Fall Line, Accessed from http://www.virginiaplaces.org/regions/fallshape.html

Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB), (2016), Potomac River Facts, ICRB, Accessed from:

https://www.potomacriver.org/potomac-basin-facts/

Watershed Selection : Reasoning.

(Jaworski, 2007) 

Upper Potomac River Watershed

This blog is part of my course work for a Watershed  Systems Stewardship class with Dr. Jim Egenrieder at Virginia Tech University.  It will include discussions on various topics related to watershed stewardship, but will focus on the Upper Potomac River.

I chose the Upper Potomac as my reference watershed because it is the watershed I live in, and I hate to admit it, but I do not know that much about it.   Upon first glance, there seams to be much truth in Secretary Udall’s statement in the 1968  report The Nations River, that “ With good reason, people sometimes claim that the  Potomac has been studied more often and more thorough than any other American Stream” (Jaworski, 2007)  It continues to be to this day with over 35 watershed groups dedicated to the watershed, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, which was formed in 1940 to address pollution concerns in the river, there are many sources of information available on the state of the river. (ICPRB, 2016)

Given the breadth of information available, I hope to take a programmatic approach to this 

investigation.

• ·      How does the watershed currently function, are there ways to improve its functionally?
• ·      Is there clear communication lines between the top and bottom watershed stakeholders?
• ·      Where are the breaking points for the watershed management when it comes to demand, flow, temperature, water quality?
• ·      Is land management/conservation an option that is in use or can be expanded for preserving the watershed similar to the NYC model?

I am still working on the general direction that I will take as I progress through my studies.   So expect to see some refinement or redirection in the coming weeks.

References

Jaworski, N, Romano, B, Buchanan, C, (2007),  The Potomac River Basin and its Estuary: Landscape Loadings and Water Quality Trends 1895-2005, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin ,  Accessed from: https://www.potomacriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/NAJ_01_Chap1.pdf

Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB), (2016), Accessed from: https://www.potomacriver.org/about-us/