Washington Aqueduct (LB0)
The mission of Washington Aqueduct is to collect, purify, and pump an adequate supply of potable water to the distribution system managed by the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), Arlington County, and Fairfax Water Authority, in Virginia.
The agency plans to fulfill its mission by achieving the following strategic goals:
- Provide an adequate supply of high quality potable water;
- Provide potable water at an equitable, economical rate that covers all costs; and
- Protect the drinking water consumer from both microbial risk and adverse health effects due to chemicals in the drinking water.
Washington Aqueduct owns and operates intake facilities on the Potomac River at Great Falls and Little Falls, Maryland. Washington Aqueduct also owns and operates two 10-mile gravity conduit systems with a combined 200 million gallon per day (mgd) capacity, a 525-mgd raw water pumping station and transmission system, two major treatment plants with 320-mgd capacity, three booster pumping stations, a 480-mgd finished water pumping station, seven finished storage reservoirs, and many large diameter transmission mains.
Washington Aqueduct is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is governed by a Wholesale Customer Board. It sells water to three wholesale customers: DC Water, Arlington County, Virginia, and Fairfax Water Authority, in Virginia. For the first time since 1947, when Falls Church became a customer of the Washington Aqueduct, a change occurred in the wholesale customers. On January 3, 2014 Fairfax County Water Authority assumed ownership and operation of the water distribution system previously owned and operated by the City of Falls Church.
A revision was made to the Memorandum of Understanding among the Army (through Washington Aqueduct), DC Water and Sewer Authority, Arlington County and Fairfax County Water Authority to establish Fairfax County Water Authority as a wholesale customer of Washington Aqueduct in place of the City of Falls Church. The number of customers served will remain the same initially, but could grow as Fairfax County Water Authority may extend the use of Washington Aqueduct water to other parts of their system. If this happens it would have a positive effect on overall rates. In FY 2013, Washington Aqueduct pumped 48.2 billion gallons of purified water to its customers, a decrease of 5.4 percent from FY 2012. In Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015, Washington Aqueduct projects the production and supply of water to its customers to continue the trend of decreasing by approximately one to three percent per year.
Washington Aqueduct does not receive appropriated funding from the District of Columbia or the federal government.
DC Water funds the District of Columbia's portion of the costs of the Washington Aqueduct. As a wholesale customer, DC Water purchases potable water and makes payments to Washington Aqueduct based on the number of gallons provided. Washington Aqueduct charges a rate based on water sale agreements with DC Water, Arlington County, and Fairfax Water Authority. The individual wholesale customers are responsible for water distribution.
Water Quality
Water being produced by Washington Aqueduct treatment plants has consistently met and surpassed all Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards.
