Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-07-28

$4,000 population, one of ev
supply and two of every five
are deficient in treatment ca
pacity.
In suburban Montgomery and
Prince Georges Counties, the
Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission has made a sue
,cessful and continuing effort to
adequately provide for the ex-
listing and future water supply
needs Of a booming population.
The net result has been pro-
duction of one of the best en-
gineered and most reliable
water distribution and treat
ment systems in the nation.
The Com missio MS major
source of raw water is the
Patuxent River, which is i'm.
pounded by two Brighton
in Montgomery County and
Rocky Gorge in Prince Georges
County-with a total storage
capacity of more than IA billion
gallons.
Patuxent Plant
Raw water is pumped through
a force main from Rocky Gorge
to the big Patuxent Plant, near
Laurel, where up to IS million
gallons can be purified and dis
tributed to suburban Maryland
ers in one day. At present,
water from the Patuxent Plant
supplies the entire Montgomery
County portion Of the Suburban
District and most of the WSSC
service area in Prince Georges
. County.
Com mi ssion water flows
through a network of 1650-plus
miles of distribution lines,
which reach as far north as
Gaithersburg and Olney in
Montgomery County and south
ward to the Surrattsville area
of Prince Georges. The Savage
area of Howard County also
receives WSSC water.
This system is bolstered by
is pumping stations and 81
storage tanks, which have a
total purified water storage
capacity of 1927 million gallons.
In addition to the Patuxent
Plant, the WSSC has several
deep wells serving a small part
OF Prince Georges County and
maintains the old Morse Filter
Plant at Burnt Mills, Silver
Spring, on a standby basis for
use during periods Of peak
water consumption. These ia
cilities bring the Commissions
total daily water production ca
pacity to more than so million
gallons.
Few Problems
The Commission. as a result
of foresighted planning of IA
cilities, has relatively few water
distribution problems in its AT
square-mile service area. Dur.
ing periods Of exceptionally
high water consumption, gen.
orally occurring on hot, dry
summer days, some areas of
Prince Georges County adjecent
to the WSSC's Hill Reservoirs
and a small part of the western
suburban section OF Montgom.
cry County are troubled by dis
tribution difficulties. These
problems are expected to be
solved by system reinforcement
projects scheduled by the WSSC
for completion before next sum-
mer.
The largest and most i'm
portant water supply expansion
program okayed by the Com
mission during recent years is
the Potomac River Supply De
velopment Project. This work,
which is already underway and
is expected to cost about $29
million, constitutes the WSSCs
first tap of the Potomac.
The initial phase of the Poto.
mac project, which includes a
huge water filtration plant near
Watts Branch on the Potomac
River and more than 20 miles
OF major supply lines to carry
the finished water to suburban
Maryland customers. is expected
to 60 into service this fall.
The first section of the plant
will have a capacity of 80 mil
hon gallons per day. but three
other 30-million-gallon units will
be added as needed during the
next few decades to provide an
ultimate capacity of 120 mil
lion gallons day.
Distribution Growth
Population experts have esti.
mated that the Suburban Dis
trict population will more than