1.9 Million Customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties Urged to Immediately Conserve Water
Immediate Conservation Efforts Could Avoid a Boil Water Advisory, Help Preserve Water for Fire Protection and System Storage
Potomac Plant Supplies Drinking Water to Approximately 70 - 75 Percent of WSSC Water Customers
Laurel, Md. – September 29, 2026, at 12:40 p.m. – WSSC Water continues to urge all 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to only use water for essential purposes effective immediately. At this time, water is safe and there is no need to boil before essential use.
The urgent essential-water-use-only request is being issued due to a power issue impacting the operations of WSSC Water’s Potomac Water Filtration Plant (WFP), which supplies drinking water to approximately 70 - 75 percent of WSSC Water customers.
The 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. Power to that feed has been restored, and WSSC Water crews are now working to bring all plant systems back online. This process takes time, and normal water production will resume when all systems are fully operational. Until that time, the essential-water-use-only request remains in effect. Once water production is restored at the plant and the distribution system has stabilized, the conservation request will be lifted.
Early this morning, an issue occurred with the second feed, impacting water production. WSSC Water and Pepco are working together to determine the cause of the power outage on that second feed.
Following the guidance below could avoid a Boil Water Advisory and help preserve water for system storage and fire protection.
Until further notice, all customers are being urged to conserve water through the following measures:
This is a rapidly evolving situation and WSSC Water will provide continuous 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 draws water straight from the Potomac River, producing between 100 and 120 million gallons of drinking water per day. It is the largest of WSSC Water’s two WFPs. The other WFP, Patuxent, is operational and currently producing 90 to 95 million gallons per day, which is not enough to meet demand. The average demand from customers is approximately 170 million gallons per day.
WSSC Water is a not-for-profit public utility focused on serving our 1.9 million customers, not shareholders. Every dollar collected is reinvested directly into infrastructure, technology and workforce to strengthen reliability, improve service and protect public health for generations to come.