This is the eighth in a series of studies by the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) to evaluate the adequacy of the Washington, DC, metropolitan area (WMA) water supplies to meet expected water demands over the coming decades. The WMA has a unique, cooperative water supply system that was established more than 40 years ago by a set of regional agreements signed by the Fairfax County Water Authority (Fairfax Water), the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water), the Washington Aqueduct Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Washington Aqueduct), the District of Columbia, and CO-OP. One of the requirements of the regional agreements is that every five years, such an evaluation be conducted. The current study’s planning horizon is 2050. It provides decision-makers with the following:

• Forecasts of water demands for the WMA, taking into account projected demographic and societal changes that may affect future water use
• Forecasts of water availability, considering the potential impact of changes in meteorological conditions and upstream consumptive use of water on system resources
• An evaluation of the ability of existing and planned system resources to meet the forecasted demands

A fact sheet is available with a summary of the report’s findings >>>