The Watershed

It's All About the Water

Take a sip of our clean, safe water – the water we’ve been providing residents of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties for 93 years.  It’s more of a challenge these days to make that water clean and clear, as pollution from development, fertilizers and pesticides, soil from erosion, manure from farms and waste from birds, deer, horses and pets are washed from the watershed into the Rocky Gorge and Triadelphia reservoirs.
 

The watershed serves as a buffer to reduce the amount of those pollutants reaching the source of drinking water for many of our 1.8 million customers. Money from those customers paid for the 6000 acres of watershed we control and our primary mission of providing them drinking water must always come first.
 

We must also protect these reservoirs because they affect the health of the Chesapeake Bay.  Our watershed is just one of hundreds that reaches the Bay,  What we do to improve our reservoirs helps improve the Bay at the same time. Bay restoration is a long term problem that many people and organizations are tackling. You can find out more about efforts to save the Bay by visiting the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the EPA websites.
 

How You Treat the Watershed can make a difference.

That’s why we ask you to treat the watershed with respect.  Please read and obey the Watershed Regulations posted on our website.  Please purchase the required watershed permits for activities allowed on the watershed.

We allow a variety of activities during much of the year in designated areas:

• picnicking
• fishing from designated areas of the shoreline
• recreational boating
• mooring of personal boats
• managed gun and bow hunting on specific dates
• horseback riding on designated access road
• athletic activities
• celebrations in specified areas.

While we all love the beauty and opportunities offered by the watershed, they cannot interfere with its main purpose – to protect the quality of our drinking water sources. That’s why we close the watershed during the wetter winter months when there is less foliage and ground cover to reduce erosion and runoff. It’s also why WSSC has hired a consultant to help us assess the condition of the watershed and make recommendations on protecting the acreage we own and the entire watershed.

We are also reviewing watershed management in a comprehensive manner.  We need to improve our understanding of how our actions or inactions impact the watershed.  We are also taking a new look at access, fees and fines that have not kept pace with increased costs, and regulations that haven’t received proper scrutiny over time.  These are necessary steps as we seek to continually improve water quality, strengthen watershed security, and establish responsible rules governing public access. We’re taking a comprehensive look at all stakeholders and what we can do to protect the watershed – and that sip of clean, safe water.

    Please treat the Watershed with respect – 
       

 It’s Your Water!