Triadelphia (Brighton Dam) and Rocky Gorge (T. Howard Duckett Dam) Reservoirs are surrounded by 6,000 acres of wooded property that comprise the WSSC portion of the Patuxent Watershed. Both properties store a combined surface area of 1,600 acres which is used as drinking water by WSSC customers in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Brighton Dam is located at 2 Brighton Dam Road, Brookeville, Maryland 20833; and T. Howard Duckett Dam is located at 7400 Brooklyn Bridge Road, Laurel, Maryland 20707.

WSSC sponsors a recreational program on the watershed which allows visitors to pay a fee for engaging in fishing from portions of the shorelines of reservoirs; fishing and recreational boating on areas of the reservoirs; mooring of personal boats; horseback riding on designated bridle trails; and hunting in specific areas. No fee is charged for using the picnic areas.

Interested parties pay a Watershed Use Permit fee ($5.00 daily - $60.00 annual) for authorization to engage in specific recreational activities on the watershed. An additional $75.00 is charged to individuals wishing to moor a boat at a watershed site.

Watershed Use Permits can be purchased at the Brighton Dam Information Center, located at 2 Brighton Dam Road, Brookville, Maryland 20833, 7am - 8pm from April 1 to November 15, including weekends; 7am – 4:30 pm from Nov. 16 to March 31; the Cashier’s Office, located at 14501 Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, Maryland 20707, 7:30am - 5pm, Monday through Friday. The Brighton Dam Information Center is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. (New Watershed Use permits now available online!)

The Watershed Recreational User Program is coordinated and supervised by members of the WSSC Production Team’s System Control Group. Assigned staff regulate the sale and issuance of user permits and provide information to visitors. Information regarding the program can be obtained by contacting the Brighton Dam Visitor’s Information Center at telephone number (301) 774-9124.

Watershed User Regulations