Public Water & Sewer Service
The density of development where most Montgomery County citizens live and work makes it impractical for each property to have its own, private water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Instead, centralized water and sewerage systems, owned and operated by public utilities or municipalities, provide these services throughout much of the County. A plan to coordinate and maintain these services is an essential part of the County's responsibilities to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens.
Where the county relies on the use of public systems, the water that flows from the faucets in your home or business is piped in from a water filtration plant—probably some distance away—by the local water/wastewater utility. The wastewater resulting from flushing the toilet, running a washing machine or dishwasher, or letting water flow through a sink or bathtub is piped out of your home or business to a wastewater treatment plant—again, probably some distance away—by the local utility. The utility owns and operates the water supply and wastewater disposal system facilities (or infrastructure), and you pay the utility to provide the service.
This arrangement is referred to as "public" water and sewer service. Some people also refer to it as "city water and sewer"; Maryland classifies it under state law as "community water and sewer service."
Public Water Service
Public water service in the county is provided by a public utility, either WSSC Water or one of the two municipalities: the City of Rockville or the Town of Poolesville.
Public Sewer Service
Similarly, public sewerage service in the county is provided by a public utility, either WSSC Water or one of the two municipalities: the City of Rockville or the Town of Poolesville.
Quick Links:
WSSC Water
WSSC Water provides the majority of public water and sewer service available in Montgomery County. If you have a billing question or other inquiry related to existing service, please contact WSSC Water directly.
- Customer Service - 301-206-4001
- Billing Problems - 301-206-4001
- Permits One-Stop-Shop - 301-206-4003
EMERGENCY CONTACTS
- Water and Sewer Emergencies (such as water main break) - EmergencyCallCenter@wsscwater.com or at 301-206-4002.
Public Service
Is Public Service Available Everywhere in the County?
Residents and businesses in Montgomery County use a combination of public water and sewer service and private, on-site service (wells and septic systems), depending on their location. Public water and sewer service in Montgomery County is generally available where higher density development patterns exist or are planned—in the down-county region straddling the I-495 Beltway and along the major transportation corridors in the up-county. These areas include:
- The I-270 and Maryland Rte. 27 (Ridge Road.) corridor running out from Rockville through Germantown, Clarksburg, and Damascus.
- The Maryland Rte. 97 (Georgia Avenue) corridor running out from Wheaton through Aspen Hill, Olney, and Brookeville.
- The U.S. Highway 29 (Columbia Pike) corridor running out from Silver Spring through Fairland and Burtonsville.
In the lower-density suburban and rural areas of the County, where public service is usually not available, private, onsite systems ( wells and septic systems) provide water supply and wastewater disposal service.
Public Service Providers
Three public utilities own and operate the public water and sewer systems that serve the residents and businesses in Montgomery County.
WSSC Water
WSSC Water is a bi-county agency created in 1917 by an act of the Maryland legislature to build, own, and operate the public water and wastewater systems in Montgomery and Prince George's counties. WSSC Water also has service agreements with the City of Rockville and Washington, D.C.
Of the three public utilities that serve the County, WSSC Water is by far the largest, serving thousands of households, businesses, and institutions. WSSC Water serves customers in the unincorporated parts of the County and in municipalities, such as Gaithersburg, Kensington, and Brookeville. Its regulatory and potential service area, designated as the Washington Suburban Sanitary District (WSSD), includes almost all of Montgomery County. The exceptions are most of the City of Rockville and all of the Town of Poolesville.
The City of Rockville
Public water and sewer systems owned and operated by the City of Rockville serve most properties within the city, although WSSC Water also provides service to some Rockville neighborhoods. The City of Rockville's own water filtration plant on the Potomac River pumps fresh water to the for its water supply. WSSC Water sewage transmission mains carry wastewater from Rockville to the Potomac Interceptor, from which it is sent to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in Washington, D.C.
The Town of Poolesville
Public water and sewer systems owned and operated by the Town of Poolesville now serve or will serve most of the properties within the town. Municipal wells provide Poolesville's public water supply. Poolesville's wastewater treatment plant, near Dry Seneca Creek, serves the town and also serves customers in the adjacent Jonesville and Jerusalem communities through a contract with WSSC Water.
Where does your water come from and where does it go?
Three public utilities own and operate the public water and sewer systems that serve the residents and businesses in Montgomery County.
Where does your water come from?
The majority of Montgomery County's public water supply comes from WSSC Water's water treatment facilities on the Potomac River or the Patuxent River. The Potomac River facility, the larger of the two, supplies most of the public water system in the County.
A typical public water system starts off with a raw (untreated) water source from which the state has authorized the water/wastewater utility to draw its supply. The source may be a surface water source (e.g., river, reservoir) or an underground source. Montgomery County's source water for the public system is the water flowing in the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers. The raw water goes through a filtration and treatment process to ensure that it meets federal drinking water standards.
Once the water is treated, the utility pumps it through a series of pressurized water mains and storage tanks and finally through relatively small connections into customers' homes and businesses. WSSC Water's water treatment plants in that serve Montgomery County are the aforementioned Potomac Water Filtration Plant and the Patuxent Water Filtration Plant, located in Potomac and Laurel, respectively. The City of Rockville also draws water from the Potomac River for its public system. The Town of Poolesville supplies its public water system from municipal groundwater wells.
Where does your water go?
A typical public sewerage system starts with wastewater (or sewage) generated in a home or business, which flows through a service connection into sewer mains along the street. The sewage flows in the local mains are collected by progressively larger mains and, if needed, pumping stations until they reach a wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater system is usually constructed to allow sewage flows to travel downhill by gravity through the system. Wastewater pumping stations are needed to pump sewage into pipelines that occasionally need to flow uphill.
Most of the wastewater generated in Montgomery County flows to a large pipeline that runs parallel to the Potomac River until it reaches the pumping station and the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in Washington, D.C. After the wastewater is treated at the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant to a very high level of purity, it is discharged to the Potomac River near the southern tip of Washington, D.C.
WSSC Water operates three treatment plants in the county in Germantown, Damascus, and Hyattstown. Poolesville also operates a treatment plant.
Public Service Map
Properties designated as service area categories 1 and 3 are eligible to receive public water and/or sewer service. Read the full description of property water and sewer categories to determine your property's eligibility for service.