*Update: 9:35 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, 2026* Essential Water-Use-Only Request Continues for All WSSC Water Customers

Laurel, Md. – September 29, 2026, at 9:35 p.m. – Power has been restored to WSSC Water’s Potomac Water Filtration Plant, and the plant is rapidly ramping up capacity and refilling the distribution system. While the system refills, WSSC Water continues to strongly urge all 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to limit all water use through the following measures: 

• Use water only as necessary.
• No outdoor water use, including lawn irrigation systems.
• Avoid or limit flushing toilets (do not flush after every use). 
• Avoid or limit using washing machines and dishwashers. 

Current Status

• Drinking water remains safe to drink and use.
• Commercial power is restored to both electrical feeders serving the plant. A temporary internal workaround is in place, and the plant is operating at full production and is stable.
• System storage was drawn down significantly during the outage and has begun to recover. Water storage will refill overnight and into tomorrow, when demand is lowest.
• WSSC Water electrical teams remain on site to support the plant, monitor the workaround, and complete permanent repairs.
• The failed component on the second feeder has been identified and replaced; that feeder will return to service in coordination with Pepco once the system has been stabilized.
• The plan is to reevaluate the system in the morning to determine if the essential-water-use-only request can be lifted. 

Background
The Potomac Water Filtration Plant has two power feeds and can operate fully with either one. One feed was taken out of service in mid-September for routine maintenance by Pepco to ensure electricity coming into the plant is more reliable and resilient.

The second electrical feed, which was providing all power to the plant, failed at approximately 4:30 a.m. today and could not be restored. Pepco immediately mobilized to restore the electrical feed that had been taken down for maintenance. This feed was restored at approximately 12 p.m.

Unfortunately, internal electrical issues inside the plant prevented the facility from restarting. Crews at the plant conducted a heroic effort to solve the problem and restored the facility to normal operations at approximately 3:45 p.m.

Continued conservation is critical, which is why the essential-water-use-only request remains in effect.

WSSC Water will continue to provide updates to keep customers informed. Check the WSSC Water website and social media, X (@WSSCWaterNews) and Facebook for updates as this situation develops. 

WSSC Water’s Potomac WFP, which draws water straight from the Potomac River, is the largest of WSSC Water’s two WFPs – supplying drinking water to approximately 70-75 percent of WSSC Water customers.