1960's Forecast of shortage
The history of cooperative water supply management in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area begins in the early 1960s, when projected
growth in demand for Potomac water exceeded available supply.
In 1963, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a comprehensive
study of the Potomac River basin in order to identify solutions
to the anticipated shortfall in meeting projected demand. The proposed
construction of 16 large multi-purpose reservoirs in the Potomac
River basin met unexpected difficulty with public acceptance, and
authorization and appropriation of construction funds. In the drought
of 1966, flow in the Potomac was lower than the projected future
demand; unrestricted water use would cause the river to go dry.
Increasing population and droughts in the 1960's and 1970's added
to the motivation to develop new resources. Of the 16 projects proposed,
only Jennings Randolph Lake was constructed. Jennings Randolph was
originally called Bloomington Lake, and was completed in 1981.
In addition to the proposed multipurpose reservoirs, other structural
solutions were examined. Interbasin transfers were studied, a pilot
estuarine treatment plant was constructed and tested, and an emergency
estuarine pumping station was constructed.
Concurrently, a study of the situation was being conducted which
treated the combined distribution areas of the three major Washington
metropolitan area utilities as a single regional demand center,
and investigated the coordinated operation of all the resources
then available. The three utilities are the Fairfax County Water
Authority (FCWA), Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC),
and the Washington Aqueduct Division (WAD) of the Corps of Engineers.
The study showed that coordinated management of the water resources
from a systems perspective led to gains in reliability of the water
resource. The results of the latter analysis and its lower cost
non-structural features led to the adoption of its results with
the signing of the Water Supply Coordination Agreement in 1982.
Cooperative solutions
In 1982, The Water Supply Coordination Agreement was developed
among FCWA, WSSC, WAD, and the Interstate Commission on the Potomac
River Basin. The ICPRB Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations
on the Potomac (CO-OP) was designated by the Water Supply Coordination
Agreement to be responsible for coordination of water resources
during times of low flow. The management objectives embodied in
the agreement and practiced by CO-OP are to keep the off-Potomac
reservoir resources balanced while meeting environmental requirements
and municipal demands for water.
The coordinated operations of the resources allows the utilities
to meet demands through the year 2025 even under a repeat of the
drought of record. This is possible because of synergistic gains
in total yield realized under the cooperative management strategies.
Each of the three utilities gives up a small measure of autonomy
in order to gain the substantial benefits of reduced capital costs
through coordinated cooperative operations of their individually
and jointly owned resources. As an independent interjurisdictional
organization, ICPRB is particularly well suited to engage in multi-state
coordinated cooperative functions.
In order to avoid the possibility of withdrawing all the flow of
the river, Maryland Department of Natural Resources conducted the
Potomac River Environmental Flow-By Study (1981). The parties to
the Potomac River Low Flow Allocation Agreement (1978) agreed to
abide by the study's recommendations for the maintenance of instream
flows to meet minimum aquatic habitat requirements.
The management of the cooperative water resource systems' operations
is overseen by a committee of the water utilities. The water utilities
provide the funding for these activities at the Interstate Commission
on the Potomac River Basin.
A map of the current source areas for the three major Washington metropolitan area water suppliers includes wholesale customers. These wholesale customers purchase treated water from Fairfax County Water Authority (FCWA) and the Washington Aqueduct (eg. Washington, D.C. Water and Sewer Authority purchases water from the Washington Aqueduct and supplies residents of Washington, D.C. with water.)
Download the pdf CO-OP fact sheet. 
June 20 Little Falls Hydrograph Update (Word file) (PDF file)
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