Project Description:
WSSC Water is currently among the largest water and wastewater utilities in the nation, serving over 1.9 million residents in the Outer DC area with EPA-recognized clean drinking water. In the last five years, a growing recognition of the significant value that the reservoir data provides has caused WSSC Water to increase its focus on reservoir monitoring to gain a deeper understanding of how climate change impacts water resources. For our project, we were tasked with taking a deep dive into the data, finding key trends, and making recommendations for future monitoring, reservoir treatments, and possible water treatment plant changes. Using the data, we documented key trends of important parameters; looked into which harmful algal blooms (HABs) co-occur with geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, and toxin production; and laid out the top co-occurrences for these specific HABs in the Rocky Gorge Reservoir over the past 6 years. Based on our findings, we came up with five recommendations for WSSC Water to implement into their reservoir and water treatment facility, along with a communication plan to stakeholders involved. Our recommendation includes several monitoring enhancements, two reservoir treatment technologies, and one water treatment facility modification.
