With most of the D.C. area dependent on the Potomac River, and an ongoing study to seek an alternative to D.C.’s drinking water supply, Loudoun County, Virginia, is taking steps to make sure it doesn’t get caught short.
“We made a decision to build our own supply,” said Mark Peterson, deputy general manager with Loudoun Water, which provides drinking water and wastewater services to over 80,000 households in Virginia’s fastest growing county.
The Washington Aqueduct, which treats raw water from the Potomac River, to provide drinking water to D.C., Arlington County and the City of Falls Church, has no backup water source or storage. WSSC Water and Fairfax Water have alternative sources, in the Patuxent River and Occoquan Reservoir, respectively.
Currently, Loudoun Water has two backup sources, if something should compromise the Potomac River.
“The Beaverdam Reservoir has the ability to be released into the Goose Creek, which then can flow as an emergency supply” to the county’s Trap Rock Water Treatment Facility, Peterson said.
Loudoun Water also receives a supply of water from Fairfax Water, which is processed at its Corbalis water treatment facility and piped to Loudoun Water, for distribution.
Loudoun Water is in the midst of converting a now-empty Luck Stone quarry into a raw water storage facility, Milestone Reservoir, on a 20-acre site north of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and east of Goose Creek.
The Loudoun Water treatment facility’s intake from the Potomac River was opened in 2018.
“What is required now is infrastructure that gets water in and out of the quarry,” Peterson said.
When the project is completed, “We can take water from the Potomac River and fill the quarry, and then that water sits, and is essentially a water bank,” said Peterson. “Then, in times of need, we have the ability to turn our intake of the Potomac River off, and we have a raw water supply that we can pull from our quarry.”
Peterson said the Milestone Reservoir should be operational in 2028.
On Saturday, Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks will open Reservoir Park to the public, situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir, at 22211 Water Vista Drive in Ashburn.
“They can enjoy the property around it, the scenic beauty, and hiking,” he said, as well as fishing and boating.
“What an amazing way to highlight the connections between source water protection, ecological health, and recreation,” said Loudoun Water Board Chair Terry Allen, in a statement.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
