Chesapeake Bay, Potomac & Local Water Resources

The scope of water resource issues addressed in the metropolitan Washington region encompasses drinking water, wastewater and stormwater; and the associated need to protect and promote those valuable programs and water infrastructure resources.  And, since the collective purpose of wastewater and drinking water treatment, and stormwater management programs is to protect human health and protect/improve water quality; all of these water resource issues are linked.

The region has a major interest in understanding the water quality conditions and trends in local streams, the Potomac River and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay in order to assess how effectively the region’s multi-decade, multi-billion-dollar investments in wastewater treatment and stormwater management infrastructure are working.

COG supports its local governments, and wastewater and drinking water utilities - by providing extensive monitoring and analysis on a wide range of water quality and monitoring issues that impact or may have implications for the region’s wastewater treatment plants, stormwater management programs, and drinking water plants through a variety of regional forums. 

While many COG activities are focused on evaluating state and local water quality monitoring efforts, other COG activities focus on the Chesapeake Bay Program – which utilizes both monitoring and modeling tools. These activities, guided by the Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee, are also coordinated with source water protection activities that help to protect the region’s drinking water plants.