WSSC Urges Prince George's County Residents to Conserve Water After Breaks

WSSC Water has asked roughly 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties to limit water use to essential purposes as crews respond to a surge of cold-weather water main breaks across its 1,000-square-mile service area. The agency’s “Essential-Water-Use-Only” request went into effect at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, January 27, 2026, and WSSC said the tap water remains safe to use.

“WSSC Water is urging all 1.9 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to only use water for essential purposes effective immediately. At this time, water is safe and there is no need to boil before essential use,” WSSC said in its notice. The utility also warned that conserving now could help avoid a boil water advisory and protect system storage and firefighting capacity while crews make repairs. “Adhering to the following guidance could avoid a Boil Water Advisory and help preserve water for system storage and fire protection as crews work to repair breaks/leaks across a 1,000‑square‑mile service area.”

WSSC initially reported awareness of 33 breaks and leaks in the system in its Jan. 27 notice. The utility’s social media updates later raised the count to 41 as of Wednesday afternoon; WSSC cautioned that counts are provisional and system data suggest additional, unreported breaks may exist. Frigid temperatures, heavy snowfall, and reduced visibility have both increased the number of main breaks and made locating them more difficult, WSSC said. Extreme cold is also affecting water production at both filtration plants that serve the area.

To address the surge, WSSC has deployed additional crews, emergency contractors, and staff from other departments. Crews are locating and repairing breaks as conditions permit, but the utility said it may need to temporarily shut down broken or leaking mains to maintain overall system pressure. Those temporary shutdowns could extend repair times and produce longer outages or low pressure in affected neighborhoods.

WSSC urged customers to conserve water indoors by taking shorter showers, quickly turning off faucets running at full force, limiting toilet flushing, and running washing machines and dishwashers only with full loads. To prevent frozen pipes inside homes, WSSC recommended allowing a faucet to run at a slow trickle while residents are at home and opening cabinet doors to expose pipes to indoor heat. The utility emphasized that the small amount of water used to keep lines moving will have minimal impact on overall demand and may prevent costly household repairs.

Prince George’s County residents should report visible water surfacing in streets, sidewalks, or rights of way so crews can locate hidden breaks more quickly. WSSC said it will continue to post updates as conditions evolve on its official channels. For now, conserving water remains the immediate, practical way for residents to help preserve system pressure and protect fire flows while repair crews work in difficult weather.