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EPA AWARDS D.C. $405,000 FOR WATER SUPPLY

Release Date: 9/25/1998
Contact Information: Bill Toffel, (215) 814-5706 & Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543 September 25, 1998

PHILADELPHIA - Today, EPA Region III awarded a $405,000 grant to the District of Columbia’s Department of Health to conduct a source water assessment of the Potomac River Basin.

The District will join the Commonwealths of Virginia and Pennsylvania and the states of Maryland and West Virginia in a regional effort to identify and evaluate potential threats of contamination to the rivers and streams of the Potomac River Basin watershed.  The watershed covers approximately 14,000 square miles and drains into the Potomac.  The Potomac, a National Heritage River, drains into the Chesapeake Bay.

The surface and underground aquifers supply water that is used by more than 4.6 million people who live and work in the Potomac River Basin.  

The district’s Department of Health will lead the effort to identify potential contamination sources to the Potomac River.  On average, 425 million gallons of water are withdrawn from the Potomac each day to meet the needs of nearly four million people living in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area.

The grant project will determine the boundaries of the D.C. drainage watershed, conduct an inventory of chemical and microbial contaminants, and assess which surface and ground water sources used by public water suppliers are most susceptible to contamination.

Public participation is an important aspect of the grant.  The district, in concert with Potomac River basin states, will strive to involve citizens in all stages of the effort.   The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River will convene citizen advisory committees and conduct public hearings and workshops.  The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments will help with community outreach and intergovernmental and interstate relations.

The district and the states will submit their finished assessments to EPA for review and approval.  EPA expects to approve the source water assessments by November 1999.  The assessments are expected to be completed by May of 2003.    


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