WSSC urges Montgomery, Prince George’s customers to limit water use

WSSC Water is urging nearly 2 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties on Tuesday to sharply limit their water use after a power outage disrupted operations at a treatment plant that supplies drinking water to about 75% of the utility’s customers.

The “essential water use only” request, issued at 8:45 a.m., comes as WSSC works with Pepco to restore power to its Potomac Water Filtration Plant. The utility has not provided an estimated restoration time.

For now, the water remains safe to drink, and customers do not need to boil water before essential use, according to a WSSC press release.

The utility is asking customers to conserve water to help preserve water for firefighting and system storage while Pepco crews work to restore power to the plant. WSSC said conservation could also help prevent the need for a boil-water advisory.

Customers are being advised to avoid outdoor water use, including lawn irrigation; take shorter showers; turn off faucets promptly; limit toilet flushing; and limit use of washing machines, dishwashers and other appliances that use water.

The request is in effect until further notice.

The Potomac plant is the larger of WSSC’s two water treatment facilities and typically produces between 100 million and 120 million gallons of drinking water each day. Its other plant, the Patuxent Water Filtration Plant, remains operational and is producing about 90 million to 95 million gallons per day — well below the roughly 170 million gallons WSSC customers typically use each day.

The difference between the system’s current production and typical demand is driving WSSC’s request for immediate conservation as the utility works to restore power to the Potomac plant.

The utility’s most recent essential-water-use request came in January after extreme cold contributed to a surge in water main breaks and leaks across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. That request remained in effect for nearly a week.

WSSC said it will provide updates as the situation develops.

This is a developing story.