A new regional effort is underway to answer a question that affects everyone in the D.C. area: What happens if the Potomac River can’t be used for drinking water?
The area’s three water companies — WSSC Water, the Washington Aqueduct and Fairfax Water — are launching a $25 million, two‑year study called “Secure the Source,” which is aimed at identifying a large-scale backup water supply for the region.
“The entire Washington metropolitan region — that’s over 5 million people — we rely primarily on a single source, and that’s the Potomac River for drinking water,” said Dr. Priscilla To, WSSC Water’s director of operational reliability and resilience…