Photo by Ronnie R

Is that a recycled headline? You bet it is. But with the National Weather Service’s issuance this afternoon of a heat advisory for tomorrow in anticipation of temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees with a heat index of 105, Metro is once again relaxing its prohibition on bottled water aboard its trains and buses.

It hasn’t been that long since Metro last announced a temporary policy shift of this nature—just 12 days ago, amid a sweaty stretch of days that saw the temperature exceed 95 degrees every day.

And on June 28, the second time this summer Metro lifted its no-water rule, we asked the transit authority about lifting the ban permanently, or at least for the duration of the summer.

No such luck, we were told. The temporary water-drinking permissions, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said, “is meant to balance our commitment to maintaining a clean system with common sense and good will.”

Well, it looks like for the fourth time in nearly as many weeks, Metro has decided to be sensical and kind in permitting tomorrow’s passengers to refresh themselves with a nice, clean, harmless bottle of water.

Last month, Stessel also explained the conditions under which Metro decides to lift the water ban. “While there isn’t a hard and fast rule that says 100 degrees or higher, triple-digit temps are the kind of conditions where the general manager would consider temporarily relaxing the ban,” he said.

Arbitrary as that sounds, 100-degree days are, in fact, more common this year than they have been in the past two. Today is the sixth day this summer on which the mercury in D.C. has risen above the century mark. That happened five times last year, and four times in 2010.

And it’s only July 17. There’s still a whole lot of summer to come. Come on, Metro. Don’t do this will-they-or-won’t-they act with the water ban. Just lift it through Labor Day.