Water Engineering Services (BOA)

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water) is a bi-county agency and public corporation of the State of Maryland, established in 1918 to provide water supply and wastewater services to residents and businesses in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. The Commission is among the largest water and wastewater utilities in the nation, with a network of approximately 5,900 miles of potable water pipelines and more than 5,400 miles of sewer pipelines, serving 1.9 million residents. WSSC Water's Planning Division operates and maintains an all-pipes computerized hydraulic water model in the Bentley WaterGEMS modeling package. The model contains approximately 167,000 pipes; 153,000 nodes, 51 tanks, 19 pump stations, and 380 control valves (pressure reducing valves and flow control valves). The Planning Division recently oversaw an extensive update of the all-pipes model using a consultant. The model simulates average day and maximum day demand conditions under existing and future conditions. The model utilizes extended period simulations and is operationally calibrated to reflect actual system operations in the field. The future demands are based on Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) demographic projections, based on Round 10.0 data. The model is an integral tool utilized by WSSC to analyze operational concerns associated with planned and emergency shutdowns, to provide support in the design and construction of capital projects, and determine the improvements necessary to provide adequate capacity to satisfy existing and future demands; and in the development of a long-range Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The Water and Wastewater Planning Section is also integral Water Master and Facility Planning Program as well as the overall Asset Management Program that is embedded throughout WSSC Water. Results from the hydraulic modeling will be used to inform the Master Planning effort and will be evaluated for possible inclusion in the CIP.