Prince William County Service Authority

A cleaner and a safer water supply for PWC

August 29, 2007, Woodbridge, VA. BristowEnews.com met with Melissa Hopkins, Communication Specialist for the Prince William Service Authority (PWC SA). According to Melissa, the PWC SA was created by a resolution by the Board of Supervisor County in Prince William County in January 1983. The organization came about as a result and a need in incorporating smaller sanitary district into a chartered organization. The Prince William County currently gets its water supply from three different water sources, namely:

1. Lake Manassas
2. The Potomac River
3. Occoquan Reservoir

 

It is also interesting to note that PWC SSA buys the drinking water from Fairfax County and Lake Manassas. The Mooney reclamation facility is the largest water reclamation facility located in Woodbridge, Virginia. This facility currently process about 18 - 24 million gallons a day.

In addition, she pointed the following pointers especially in the last days of summer:

1. To water the lawn either early in the morning or late afternoons
2. Fully load the dishwasher prior to running
3. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, shaving, and also when washing the dishes by hand
4. Use a broom to wash off the dirt in the garage, driveways, and sidewalks in lieu of hosing off the dirt.
5. When washing cars or trucks, make sure you hose off the suds into your lawn rather than down the sewerage pipes. Grasses and trees have better absorption rate to chemicals far better and more economical than water treatment.
6. Cover swimming pools when not in used and also prevents evaporation.

The PWC SA is about to embark and introduced a water metering program designed to help local residents monitor water usage and identify water leaks. According to Ms. Hopkins, this technology will help consumers monitor average water consumption, identifies spikes in water consumption and help identifies water leaks.

PWC SA has in-house lab facilities for quality control. Water is thoroughly tested on daily basis for acidity, nitrogen content, and alkalinity as well for checking micro-organisms present in the water supply. In addition this valuable natural resource is aerated or oxygenated prior to release for human consumption. PWC SA plans on upgrading H.L. Mooney Water Reclamation Facility in Woodbridge, VA which affects the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The goal by 2011 is to reduce the amount of phosphorous in the water. Phosphorous (P) found in the Periodic Table is often used and associated in fertilizers and in combination of Nitrogen (N) can create a sea of algae i.e., duckweeds seen in ponds can produce an imbalance in the quality of water for wildlife and fisheries. The current rate is 8 parts per million and with this facility upgrade can lower the toxicity to 4 parts per million which dramatically reduces nitrogen in the water system. The plan is currently in the initial phase and the projected date of completion was not available at the time of this write up.

Ms. Hopkins pointed out that residents of Prince William County are fortunate to have safe and clean water for human consumption. She tells us the story how the economic growth has stalled water conservation and suffered particularly in large cities in China where the industrial productivity waste has taken a toll on the natural resources. She said people in China have to boil the water prior to consumption.

For additional information about the Prince William County Service Authority, point your browser to http://www.pwcsa.com/.

 

Date Published: 2007-08-29 06:00:00

Section: Top Headline,