Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) provides safe
drinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm...
and
wastewater treatmentSewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
for
MontgomeryMontgomery County of the U.S. state of Maryland is situated just north of Washington, D.C. and southwest of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the nation, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years old who hold a post-graduate degree. The county seat and largest...
and
Prince George'sPrince George's County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. As of 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it had a population of 820,852 and was the wealthiest county in the nation with an African-American majority.The county was named for...
Counties in
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. It was established on May 1, 1918. It is the eighth largest water and wastewater
utilityA public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The WSSC serves over 1.8 million people in an approximately area and owns and manages over of water and sewer mains.
A bi-county agency, WSSC has extensive regulatory functions.
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) provides safe
drinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water of sufficiently high quality that it can be consumed or used without risk of immediate or long term harm...
and
wastewater treatmentSewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
for
MontgomeryMontgomery County of the U.S. state of Maryland is situated just north of Washington, D.C. and southwest of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the nation, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years old who hold a post-graduate degree. The county seat and largest...
and
Prince George'sPrince George's County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. As of 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it had a population of 820,852 and was the wealthiest county in the nation with an African-American majority.The county was named for...
Counties in
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. It was established on May 1, 1918. It is the eighth largest water and wastewater
utilityA public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The WSSC serves over 1.8 million people in an approximately area and owns and manages over of water and sewer mains.
Operations
A bi-county agency, WSSC has extensive regulatory functions. It promulgates and enforces the plumbing code for its jurisdiction as well as reviews and approves contract plans for extensions of
waterA water supply system or water supply network is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components which provide water supply. A water supply system typically includes:...
and
sewerA sanitary sewer is a type of underground carriage system, , for transporting sewage from houses or industry to treatment or disposal...
mains. The agency operates 4 reservoirs, 3
drinking water filtrationWater purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from raw water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
plants, and 7 wastewater treatment plants. It also collects wastewater which is treated by the
Blue PlainsThe District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, or WASA, provides drinking water, sewage treatment and stormwater management services in the District of Columbia. It also provides sewage treatment services to several adjoining municipalities in Maryland and Virginia.-History:WASA was created...
plant (operated by
DC WASAThe District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, or WASA, provides drinking water, sewage treatment and stormwater management services in the District of Columbia. It also provides sewage treatment services to several adjoining municipalities in Maryland and Virginia.-History:WASA was created...
) in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
Facilities
| Reservoirs |
Drinking Water
Filtration Plants |
Wastewater
Treatment Plants |
| Jennings Randolph Lake Jennings Randolph Lake is a reservoir of and is located on the North Branch Potomac River in Garrett County, Maryland and Mineral County, West Virginia approximately eight miles upstream of Bloomington, Maryland, and approximately five miles north of Elk Garden, West Virginia.-Construction and...
* |
Patuxent |
Damascus |
Little Seneca LakeLittle Seneca Lake is a reservoir located near the Boyds community in Montgomery County, Maryland. The lake was created by the construction of a dam on Little Seneca Creek. It was built to provide an emergency water supply for the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and it also provides a...
* |
Potomac |
Hyattstown |
| Rocky Gorge Reservoir Rocky Gorge Reservoir is located on the Patuxent River in Howard County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County, Maryland near the town of Burtonsville. The reservoir was created in 1952 by the construction of the T. Howard Duckett Dam on the Patuxent. The dam is visible from Interstate 95...
|
Marlboro Meadows |
Parkway |
| Triadelphia Reservoir Triadelphia Reservoir, sometimes called Tridelphia Reservoir or Tridelphia Lake, is located on the Patuxent River, in Howard County and Montgomery County, Maryland near the town of Brookeville. The reservoir was created in 1943 by the construction of the Brighton Dam on the Patuxent. It has a...
|
|
Piscataway |
| |
|
Seneca |
| |
|
Western Branch |
| |
|
Marlboro Meadows |
* managed jointly with
Fairfax County Water AuthorityFairfax County Water Authority is the main water company in the Northern Virginia region of the United States, and one of the three major water providers in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area...
and
Washington AqueductThe Washington Aqueduct is an aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C. and parts of its suburbs. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the United States, the Aqueduct was commissioned by Congress in 1852, and construction began in 1853 under the...
.
Management
The WSSC is overseen by six commissioners, three from Montgomery County and three from Prince George's County. These commissioners are appointed by their respective
county executiveA county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, he/she typically functions either as a voting member of the elected county government, or may have...
s with the approval of the county councils. The day-to-day operations are the responsibility of a general manager, who supervises a staff of over 1,500. The Commission's budget for Fiscal Year 2008 (which ended June 30, 2008) was $807.5 million. The agency headquarters offices are located in
Laurel, MarylandLaurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...
.