Building Resilience Through Integrated Water Resources Management Practices of D.C. Water and Sewer Authority

Socioeconomic Impact

Socioeconomicfactors such as population growth, education level, occupation, income level,recreation, tourism, land use, social and cultural characteristics could impactthe performance and the future of the sewer authority (Daniel et al., 2019;McKendry, 2009). The projected 2025 growth in UCB population stands at 115%.This will result in increased development and more land uses such asagriculture, setting up of recreational and tourist spaces, growth ofcommunities and transportation. DCSWA will have a hard time maintaining currentlevels of performance in UCB because of the increased demand for water andcontained sewage systems. Lower income residents have an association withimproper waste disposal practices and have a hard time getting access to propersewage systems because of the high population in those areas and the increasedcontamination brought about by contamination and packed houses. As a result,increased education levels could mean that the waste disposal methods will bebetter irrespective of the houses they live in (Kong et al., 2020). Withoutproper community education on practicing adequate hygiene, the water authorityfaces potential threats of a dying community. While the leading sector inearnings by industry in the UCB region is sales and services, they are closelyfollowed by construction, manufacturing, agriculture and natural resources(McKendry, 2009).

 Stakeholders

DCWSA stakeholders are all thepeople with direct participation or association with the water authority whoare interested in the water management system. The stakeholders are involved inthe IWRM through consultations, participation in interactive meetings, and evennegotiations. Agreeably, the involvement of these stakeholders helps theauthority to gather and readily exchange information, ensures the provision oftransparency by the water authority, and also a sense of accountability.However, stakeholder involvement in water resource management could be apotential threat to the authority because of the low priority levels given tothe general public.

In September of 2018 DCWSA created anew 21-member Stakeholder Alliance consisting of residents, businessman, ngos,riverkeepers, watershed societies, archidiocese, ward keepers, and others whoprovide input on important issues to the management of DCWSA (DCW, 2018). Tofurther encourage stakeholder participation, DCWSA appointed Kirsten Wiliams asthe newly created Chief Communications and Stakeholders Engagement Officer in2021 (DCW, 2021-a). The most important stakeholders of DCSWA are the 22-panelBoard of Directors representing the private and public sector, employees, otherstakeholders and their customers, the media, federal government and districtgovernments (DCW, n.d.-g). DCSWA also has partners such as the Blue Plains, theWATP, the Anacostia Watershed Society, Potomac Drinking Water Source ProtectionPartnership and Partner Schools.  

Water Management Strategies

A detailed strategic plan is thefoundation of any effective water management program. DCWSA serves residentswith both drinking water and wastewater treatment. Water management strategiesimplemented by DCWSA include recycling of wastewater biosolids intofertilizers, implementing new infrastructure for threat management such asseawalls and CSO prevention tunnels. Water management strategies can representa threat to performance and operations because not all employees,infrastructure, and residents can be accommodated equally. Specific componentsof a water management strategy include deadlines which have a possibility ofbeing pushed due to construction delays; or not being met altogether because ofvarious conflicts and/or issues including funding. In regard to residents, partof a plan might be to focus on areas where there is a high volume of wastewatermovement which means other residents will have to wait a longer period of timebefore improvements can be initiated in their community.

Water Doctrines

The federal water law plays a rolein managing the larger river systems for hydropower, irrigation, water storage,and flood controls through the federal reservoirs and dams (Craig, 2020). Theuse of the Potomac River is governed by Riparian Rights. With riparian rights,the land owners are entitled to withdrawing water from the water bodies with nomore than 50% of the water being diverted to a single property. In cases whenthere is plenty of rainfall, there are minimal limits to water control anddistribution. The different Potomac river rights of the citizens and thecommonwealth as confirmed by the 1958 Potomac River compact have to berespected by the water authority (VALIS, n.d.). DCSWA may be challenged bythese water authorities in the future, especially with the unpredictableclimate changes and the legal inflexibilities of this doctrine. The riparianownership allows the UCB citizens to handle the water from the river as theyplease. However, the increasing population, the land usage and the waterdoctrines will make it hard for the DCSWA.