Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission

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Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (or WSSC) provides safe drinking water and wastewater treatment for Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. It was established on May 1, 1918. It is the eighth largest water and wastewater utility in the United States.^[1]

A bicounty agency, WSSC has extensive regulatory functions. It promulgates and enforces the plumbing code for its jurisdiction as well as reviews and approves contract plans for extensions of water and sewer mains. The agency operates 4 reservoirs, 2 drinking water filtration plants, and 6 wastewater treatment plants. It also collects wastewater which is treated by the Blue Plains plant in Washington, D.C.

The WSSC is overseen by six commissioners, three from Montgomery County and three from Prince George's County. These commissioners are appointed by their respective county executives with the approval of the county councils. The day-to-day operations are the responsibility of a general manager. The agency headquarters offices are located in Laurel, Maryland. The WSSC currently serves over 1.7 million people in an approximately 1,000-square-mile (2,600 km²) area and owns and manages over 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of water and sewer mains.