Announcing The Good Gift Campaign: Protecting the Agricultural Reserve’s Water Resources

7/23/2024

The Data is in: See the full report and preface "A Study on the Reliable Drought Yields of Poolesville's Public Water Supply Wells"

Also the Press Release

It has been dry: The first regional drought watch has been issued since 2010 by the Washington Council of Governments (COG)

Update: A study on the impacts of Climate Change on Maryland's Water Supply has just been released by the MDE.
See key results that indicate that unconfined aquifer such as the Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer will be significantly affected by climate change.

It required a public information act and multiple follow up inquiries by our colleagues at PEER on our behalf to gain the release of this report.

Also: See this notice from the Town of Poolesville asking residents to commit to voluntary water restrictions as a result of drought.

The Local Climate Report from Potomac Conservancy

By design, the Ag Reserve, and the small municipalities within it, are outside of the Washington Suburban Sanitary District's water/sewer envelope, as part of a comprehensive plan aimed at stemming development pressures from development sprawl that would overwhelm farms and consume biodiverse forests and open space. Take note that incorporated towns such as Poolesville have their own planning and zoning powers, meaning that though they are located within the footprint of Montgomery's Agricultural Reserve, they can, and have provided for greater development density.

The federally designated Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer (map above) underlies the Ag Reserve and some rural areas that surround it. Development is constrained by this resource - or at least it should be if dry wells and surface water impairment are to be avoided. Read more about the aquifer in part I of the series "The Good Gift" in PLENTY.

Land use planning and zoning changes are currently underway that will benefit from reliance on updated science and a strong foundation of stewardship of our water resources. MCA has pressed for attention to this matter and now has an opportunity, thanks to grant funding, to provide assistance.

MCA has engaged seasoned Hydrogeologist Pat Hammond who has completed numerous reports over the past decades for MDE. Mr. Hammond is nearing completion of a report that will provide updated information on the well system of the town of Poolesville and the Sole Source Aquifer in general focusing on the effects of climate change, well interference, and the effect of water withdrawal on area streams. His report relies on data going back to the 1970s, examining historical allocation of this limited resource.

The Town of Poolesville has requested, and MDE has granted in the past, in response to temporary public health issues, higher water allocation amounts (gallons per day water withdrawals) than the flow data show the can be sustained within a single watershed -hundreds of thousands of gallons per day over what the aquifer can sustain. Hammond cautions that overallocation is being used to support projected growth. He advises that the Town should identify additional groundwater capability in the last remaining watershed first before approving future development.

Good, accurate, up-to-date data will best inform the Town's comprehensive plan, helping to stave off future water availability issues and further degradation of area streams that flow into the Potomac River upstream from the WSSC water system intake. We are heartened to hear that the Town is receptive to Hammond's reporting.

An extensive summary of Mr. Hammond's study as presented to the Poolesville Commissioners can be found here.
The final report can be found here - a fully formatted version is forthcoming.

So what now?
MCA is pleased to announce that this aquifer study is the first part of a multi-year research and outreach campaign to bring attention and action around safeguarding upcounty water resources. Please stay tuned for ways to get involved coming soon! In the meantime - check out these water conservation tips and septic tips.

More to Explore:
Understanding Groundwater in the Ag Reserve
Climate Change will impact the water supply, time to start preparing
ICBRB Releases Future Water Use Report - Spurring search for water to supplement Potomac and provide regional resiliency
WTOP: "We need to get started now": If the Potomac is compromised the region has a two day supply of water. The reporting and funding is now in place to build resiliency, but how?

This aquifer monitoring and outreach project is powered by a Clean Water Montgomery Award, funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Montgomery County.

News

Poolesville Water Resources Report Released as Region Enters Drought Watch

Announcing The Good Gift Campaign: Protecting the Agricultural Reserve’s Water Resources

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