DC WRRC Report. No. 36 UNIVERSITY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Water Resources Research Center WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Water Supply Management In the District of Columbia: An Institutional Assessment by Daniel P. Beard, Principal Investigator February 1982 WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT IN TI-M DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: AN INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT WRRC Report No. 36 by Or. Daniel Beard ERRATA The following errors should be corrected as follows: Page V-5, Line 11 - The diameter of the conduit from Great Falls is 9 ft. not 90 ft. Page V-6, Line 18 - The operation of the water department of the District is not under the Chief of Engineers. Page V-8, Figure 14 - The line of supply to the Federal Government in Virginia is through the D.C.-DES, not through Arlington County. Page VI-8 - Mr. Jean B. Levesque was the Administrator of the Water Resources Management Administration of the Department of Environmental Services. DISCLAIMER "Contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Water Research and Technology, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute their endorsement or recommendation for use by the United States Government”. ABSTRACT This study defines the District of Columbia's water management structure, explains how it operates, delineates the issues it will have to deal with in the 1980's, and assesses how the District is prepared to deal with these issues. The study begins with a description of the Potomac River Basin and the physical environment water managers in the Washington Metropolitan have to deal with. It then discusses the legal and institutional arrangements for managing water supply in the Washington Metropolitan Area for the District of Columbia. The report describes how each water supplier in the Area, including the District, provide water to their customers. Finally, the report presents a discussion of the major water resource management issues facing the District of Columbia. These problems include: adequacy of future supplies; regional cooperation; water supply urgency and drought management; rehabilitation of water supply system; water billing and collection; and, rate increases and conservation pricing. The report also includes a list of research questions under each of the major items discussed in the report as a means of guiding future research efforts on water supply in the District of Columbia. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION The Water "Crisis" I-1 National Policy Initiatives I-3 National Policy Shift I-5 Water Supply Studies I-6 Metropolitan Area Water Supply Study I-8 Meeting Future Needs I-10 History of Local Cooperation I-11 Local Problems I-11 Resolving Local Problems I-12 District Water System and Its Problems I-12 CHAPTER II - THE POTOMAC RIVER BASIN Tributaries II-1 Precipitation and Runoff II-3 Water Quality II-7 Patuxent River Basin II-10 Potomac Estuary II-12 CHAPTER III - LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT OF THE POTOMAC RIVER Introduction III-1 Maryland III-1 Department of Natural Resources III-3 Water Resources Administration III-4 Department of Health and Mental Hygiene III-5 Maryland Potomac Water Authority III-6 Virginia III-7 Legal Regime III-8 State Water Control Board III-9 Department of Health III-10 State Corporation Commission III-10 Local Government Organizations III-11 Maryland III-11 General Governments III-11 Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission III-12 Private Water and Sewage Companies III-14 Virginia III-14 General Government Units III-14 Fairfax County Water Authority III-15 Page CHAPTER IV - WATER SUPPLY IN THE WASHINGTON REGION: AN OVERVIEW Introduction IV-1 Storage Facilities IV-1 North Branch IV-3 Stony River Reservoir and Dam IV-3 Mount Storm Lake IV-3 Bloomington Reservoir and Dam IV-4 Savage River Reservoir and Dam IV-5 Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge Reservoirs IV-6 Occoquan Reservoir and Dam IV-6 Existing Water Supply Facilities IV-7 Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission IV-10 Fairfax County Water Authority IV-11 CHAPTER V - WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Introduction V-1 Legal and Institutional Organization V-1 Washington Aqueduct Division V-4 Treatment and Distribution Facilities V-7 Department of Environmental Services V-15 Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund V-19 Water Resources Management Administration V-23 CHAPTER VI- THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN THE REGIONAL CONTEXT Introduction VI-1 Problem Identification VI-2 Adequacy of Future Supplies VI-2 Regional Cooperation VI-5 Water Supply Emergency and Drought Management VI-10 Rehabilitation of Water System VI 12 Water Billing and Collection VI-20 Rate Increases and Conservation VI-22 Conclusion VI-24 APPENDIX A - PRESIDENT CARTER'S WATER POLICY INITIATIVES APPENDIX B - EXCERPT FROM PUBLIC LAW 93-251 APPENDIX C - PUBLIC LAW 91-407 APPENDIX D - METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON WATER SUPPLY EMERGENCY AGREEMENT, COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS APPENDIX E - BLOOMINGTON LAKE REFORMULATION STUDY APPENDIX F - WATER SUPPLY AND TREAD FACILITIES IN THE 7.10DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPENDIX G - WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY TASK FORCE APPENDIX H - "CO-OP": COOPERATIVE WATER SUPPLY OPERATIONS ON THE POTOMAC BIBLIOGRAPHY PREFACE Few subjects have been more thoroughly investigated than providing water supply for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (WMA). Report after report has been published, volume after volume has been compiled, and meeting after meeting has been held. The result is a collection of policy, technical and scientific research related to nearly every aspect of water resources in the WMA. 1 Given this history of prolific writing, why do we need another study? Is there something left unsaid or not investigated? The answer to both questions is: "Yes." Too often in a rush to investigate problems, we don't stop to look closely at the tools we presently have at our disposal to solve problems. Before launching out in an effort to solve problems, we should thoroughly understand what resources we have and whether these resources are sufficient to correct the problems. This report takes that approach. The report seeks to gain a better understanding of the water problems of the District of Columbia and to see how existing institutions are dealing with those problems. As a result, this report does not contain any clarion warnings about an impending water crisis. Neither does it call for any new programs, regulations, compacts, or massive reorganizations. Rather, this report is intended to describe and assess has the District of Columbia and surrounding jurisdictions are organized to provide water supplies. The objective is to understand how the present system works and to assess whether the organizations supplying water appear prepared to meet the _______________________ 1Despite all this activity, there are no comprehensive bibliographies or compendiums of literature on this subject. vi The author would like to thank all the water officials in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area who generously consented to interviews and were most willing to provide information. As always, the conclusions drawn in this report do not reflect the views of any institution, organization or government; they remain solely those of the author. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The people of the United States are in no danger of any early shortage of water--the facts just do not bear that out. But we are going to have to work out new methods of managing water. -Gilbert F. White. Probably nothing is more intrinsically political than the allocation of water among differ- ent regions and competing uses. -Robert E. Reinhold2 The Water "Crisis" Water is a fundamental prerequisite for life, and as a result, it has always been a central concern of every society. Man has constantly struggled to adapt and/or control the water resources of a given environment. And in many respects, it is no different today than it was thousands of years ago. It has been fashionable in the popular press to speak of an impending "water crisis" similar to the energy crisis which has plagued the United States for nearly a decade.3 Yet the water problems the United States faces have only reached "crisis" proportions in isolated areas and for only short periods of time. Despite repeated warnings of a "crisis," the United States is endowed with bountiful supplies that should be adequate to support the 1As quoted in R. Reinhold, "Nation's Water Is Bountiful, but Supplies Are Squandered," New York Times, August 9, 1981, p. 1. 2Ibid., p. 48. 3The literature on the "water crisis" is extensive. A good summary is found in "The Browning of America," Newsweek, February 23, 1981, pp. 26-37. Other sources include: N. Wollman and G. Bonem, The Outlook for Water Quality, Quantity and National Growth (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins Press, 1971); U.S. Congress, Senate, Comnittee on Environment and Public Works, State and National Water Use Trends to the Year 2000, 96th Cong. 2nd Sess. (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1980); U.S. National Water Commission, Water Policies for the Future (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1973); U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works, Subcommittee on Water Resources, Priority Setting for Water Resources Projects and Programs, 96th Cong., 2nd Sess. (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1980); and U.S. General Accounting Office, Water Resources Planning, Management and Development: What Are the Nations Water Suppler Problems and and Issues?, Pub. No. CED-77-100 (Washington, D.C.: GAO, 1977). nation for generations.4 Nevertheless, the United States does have a water problem. As the Water Resources Council has observed: There is no denying that without renewed dedication to careful management of water resources, pressures from the population of our technological society will seriously deplete and foul the water to the extent that it threatens the very survival of the United States...