DC Water treats wastewater for about 1.8 million suburban users as well as about 700,000 District residents, yet under the rules in its FY 2027 Approved Budget only the Board's District members vote on retail rates.
A Board split by system
The Board has 11 principal and 11 alternate members: six of each from the District, two from Montgomery County, two from Prince George's County and one from Fairfax County. All members decide joint-use matters such as projects at Blue Plains, which has a rated capacity of 384 million gallons a day. Rate setting is a non-joint-use matter. Loudoun County, part of the wastewater service area, has no seat.
No outside rate regulator
The DC Public Service Commission states that it does not regulate DC Water's rates or operations. The Board approved FY 2027 and FY 2028 rates on September 3, 2026, and approving the budget takes 7 affirmative votes.
A regional sewer, regional scrutiny
The arrangement faces a test. After the Potomac Interceptor collapsed on January 19, 2026, spilling more than 200 million gallons of sewage, the US Justice Department and Maryland both sued on April 20, 2026. Maryland's environment department found DC Water's plan incomplete on June 16, 2026, and the cases were pending as of November 2026.
The money at stake
The capital plan holds US$625 million over ten years for Potomac Interceptor rehabilitation, and the FY 2027 Sanitary Sewer capital budget is US$230.7 million, against US$155.4 million in the revised FY 2026 budget.
What the District's single water source means for resilience, how Blue Plains and the tunnels perform, and where the US$9.69 billion plan goes are covered in the full report. The full report, Water Systems Overview: DC Water, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the DC Water Utility Snapshot.