Northern Virginia remains under a drought watch, and Fairfax County leaders want to make sure there’s enough drinking water to go around if Virginia declares a drought emergency.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized Chairman Jeff McKay to write to Governor Abigail Spanberger, to request that the Potomac River be excluded from a Virginia drought-specific declaration, since Fairfax Water is dependent on the Potomac as its drinking water supply.

While McKay’s letter focuses on Fairfax Water, which also sells water to Loudoun Water, all three of the region’s water suppliers, including WSSC Water in Maryland, and the Washington Aqueduct are reliant on the Potomac River.

McKay’s letter says a declaration from Richmond would jeopardize the regional drought coordination by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

”The MWCOG Plan is tailored to the Potomac River System’s unique characteristics, including its upstream reservoir operations and a multi-state watershed,” while a Virginia declaration only looks at indicators within the Commonwealth, according to McKay.

A one-size-fits-all statewide drought declaration would “risk unnecessary hardship for more than 2.2 million people and the economy of Northern Virginia and ignore our infrastructure investments and regional operational capabilities,” wrote McKay.