Most of Washington's sewage collects at a 150-acre facility called the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. Water, Fillmore said, is "probably the leader of that group." "There's maybe about a dozen wastewater utilities who are taking up the future, so to speak, and positioning themselves to be a different type of utility - not so much a reactive, but a proactive utility," said Lauren Fillmore, senior program director at the nonprofit Water Environment Research Foundation.ĭ.C. water utilities, especially with its work toward emissions reduction and energy independence. The projects, a sea wall designed to protect the plant from an unprecedented 500-year storm surge and an on-site combined heat and power plant set for completion this summer, are among a handful of measures the utility is taking to cut carbon and prepare for extreme weather events.Įxperts in the field say D.C. Two major, multimillion-dollar construction projects underway at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority's Blue Plains facility will demonstrate to other utilities that the time to prepare is now and, despite the expense, the alternative of doing nothing in the face of global warming could flood a city and its water source with raw sewage. But downstream, the largest facility of its kind in the world is busy preparing to protect the lawmakers and the capital from a foul-smelling catastrophe that could arise if the threat of sea-level rise is ignored. Capitol, lawmakers may dither over the right national strategies to cope with climate change and some Republicans would prefer not to believe in it at all. High pressure will build into the region providing plenty of sunshine and day time highs in the low 50s and overnight lows 30-35 (suburbs-city).Upstream at the U.S. Confidence: Medium-Highīoth Monday and Tuesday will be cooler than this weekend, but a little warmer than average. Tomorrow Night: Skies should gradually clear, and it will turn a bit cooler, with lows from the mid- to upper 30 downtown, to the low 30s in the cooler suburbs. Sky conditions will likely be mostly cloudy and some showers may develop between late morning and mid-afternoon as a cold front moves through. Tomorrow (Sunday): For one more day it will remain nice'n mild, as temperatures aim for the mid 60s. Keep reading for the forecast into early next week. Low 50s should about do it for the night time minima, maybe some upper 40s in the 'cooler' suburbs. Tonight: More mild air will push northward and night time lows will probably be warmer than average day time highs (mid 40s). With a little help from the sun, 60 isn't out of the question. Winds from the south (at around 10 mph) will assist temperatures in their climb into the mid 50s. Today (Saturday): The passage of a warm front last night paves the way for an unseasonably mild day. Hover over and click icons for more info.