PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — On Jan. 12, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) issued a warning to the 1.9 million residents of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties to use water only for essential purposes. The alert comes in the aftermath of 47 water main breaks and leaks caused by recent winter weather as of Jan. 12. That number has since increased to 63 total breaks and leaks in the past 24 hours.
The WSSC states that while there is currently no need to boil water, that situation could change unless water use decreases. Residents are advised to take shorter showers, turn off faucets immediately after use, limit toilet flushing, and reduce the use of washing machines and dishwashers. Some customers may experience water outages or lower pressure as repairs continue.
“Customers are urged to contact WSSC Water’s Emergency Services Center at (301) 206-4002 to report any running water or if they smell chlorine, which is used to disinfect drinking water. Reports can also be made via the WSSC Water Mobile App using the ‘Report a Problem’ feature,” the WSSC said in a statement.
Speaking to WTOP News, a WSSC spokesperson said, “Our system is losing a lot of water… there is a lot of work to be done [but] we have crews all over both counties working around the clock.”
The problems with Maryland’s water infrastructure, however, extend beyond frozen pipelines caused by poor weather conditions. According to the WSSC, of the 11,000 miles of water and sewer mains it manages in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, about 40% — or 4,400 miles — are more than 50 years old. Some are made of asbestos cement, a material now largely illegal due to inherent health risks.
Despite this being a long-known issue, federal and state governments have invested “relatively little” in Maryland’s water infrastructure, according to the WSSC. Even with the federal government’s “unprecedented” $124 million investment in Maryland’s water infrastructure in February 2024, followed by an additional $81 million investment in October 2024, the funding falls short.
Replacing just the sewage collection system is estimated to cost $1.65 billion, and replacing one mile of water pipe costs about $1.4 million. Addressing the estimated 4,400 miles of aging pipelines would cost around $6 billion. In short, a massive and unprecedented investment from state and federal governments would be needed to resolve these issues fully, but the investments to date have not been sufficient.
There is currently no end date for the WSSC’s “Essential Water Use Only Request.”
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