Sewer Repair, Replacement & Rehabilitation

Welcome to the SR3 Program!

Sewer Repair, Replacement and Rehabilitation (SR3) Program – Protecting the Essential!

As a WSSC Water customer living in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties Maryland, you may have encountered construction crews performing sewer repair work in your neighborhood.

This work is a part of WSSC Water’s Sewer Repair, Replacement and Rehabilitation (SR3) Program. 

About the SR3 Program

The SR3 Program is a continual effort to improve the condition of the wastewater collection system assets and to reduce system overflows, for improved water quality in our waterways.  It is also a key element of the Consent Decree, an agreement between WSSC Water, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), for a multi-year action plan to dramatically minimize sewage overflow - and eliminate it where possible.  The goal is to maintain or improve the condition of aging sewer infrastructure. 

Leadership of the SR3 Program

The SR3 Program is under the leaderships of the Pipeline Design Division (PDD) and Pipeline Construction Division (PCD) of the Engineering and Construction Team.

The work includes the following:

• Sewer Pipe Lining, which is a trenchless sewer pipe repair method (Cured in Place Pipe);
• Pipe or manhole relocation, and or replacement;
• Replacing of manhole frames and covers;
• Protection of exposed pipes and manholes in the environmentally sensitive areas; and
• Chemical and cementitious grouting
• Sewer house Lateral replacement and sealing connections. 
• Sewer armoring and Stream Restoration. 
• Lining Manholes with cementitious or epoxy lining. 
• Abandon Sewer system. 
• Sewer system inspection and evaluation. 
• Upsizing the existing sewer system to provide enough capacity.
   

Rehabilitation descriptions for pipes and manholes, respectively, can be viewed here.

Benefits of the SR3 Program

These improvements will allow less groundwater to infiltrate the sewer system during rain events. As a result, there will be fewer sewer overflows into our waterways, enhancing the protection of both public health and the environment, while improving services to WSSC Water customers. 

The net effect of these changes will be an improvement to local water quality and updated infrastructure, that will serve communities for many years to come.

In a region as large as the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, the economic impact of a program of this magnitude can be far reaching.  To date, the program has provided work for many parties including:

• Small, minority and local businesses (on both the design and construction sides).
• Construction contractors specializing in sewer repair, along with work in environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs).
• Environmental design consultants (along with a myriad of specialty subconsultants).

The SR3 Program moving forward

The SR3 work is a continuing process and may cause minor inconveniences while in progress.  WSSC Water will work to provide a quality and communicative platform for customers to be informed.