Few people, even in the nation’s capital, realize that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers provides all the drinking water in Washington, D.C. Tom Jacobus does. He’s the man in charge of the Washington Aqueduct (WA).
Jacobus attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1967. He spent 27 years as a Soldier in the Army, holding a number of positions including battalion commander at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and the deputy chief of staff of Engineering and Housing for the Military District of Washington.
In 1994, he retired as a colonel and accepted a job with Baltimore District as the chief of WA. "This is my only job on the civilian side after 27 years of active duty," Jacobus said. "I never expected I would be here, but this is the best thing that ever happened to me."
As chief, Jacobus is responsible for providing safe, high-quality drinking water to three customers — Washington, D.C., Arlington County, Va., and Falls Church, Va. It is a historical mission. In the 1850s, Congress funded the construction of a permanent water supply for the cities of Washington and Georgetown. Eventually placed under the supervision of engineer Lt. Montgomery Meigs, the project evolved into the Washington Aqueduct Division of Baltimore District.
"Our job is to take the water out of the Potomac River, make it safe to drink, and get it to the right distribution system," said Jacobus. "Then we turn the water over to the customers to distribute."
On average, the aqueduct produces 180 million gallons of water per day, and its customers are distributing the water to more than one million individuals who live, work in, or visit the District of Columbia and Virginia service area.
"Washington Aqueduct is serving the headquarters of our government’s military," said Jacobus. "We’re ensuring the water is safe and available. The government could not do its vital work unless we do ours successfully every day."
Unlike other divisions within Baltimore District, the aqueduct is considered an owner-operator. As an owner-operator, the aqueduct functions as a business and buys services from the district.
"We purchase engineering, construction management, and planning services from Baltimore District in the same way that other district customers buy those services," Jacobus said. "So in addition to being part of the district, we are also a customer of the district."
Although the aqueduct buys services from the district, it primarily maintains its operations through its four branches — the administrative branch, planning and engineering branch, plant operations branch, and the maintenance branch.
The administrative branch is responsible for the aqueduct’s budget and financial tasks. The branch also handles the logistics operations including operating a storeroom, providing information technology support, and coordinating human resources functions.
The planning and engineering branch is responsible for planning, programming, and obtaining designs for capital improvements to the facilities, then overseeing their construction. There are no appropriated funds, so funding for daily operations as well as new construction comes from the customers.
The plant operations branch is responsible for day-to-day water production. The branch manages the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant, the McMillan Water Treatment Plant, and the water quality laboratory, all located in Washington, D.C.
The maintenance branch maintains all the equipment and facilities that are part of the aqueduct. Within the branch, there are specialized shops such as a control and instrument shop, a plumbing shop, and a facilities maintenance and repair shop.
Among the four branches, there are about 165 employees. Most of them work at the aqueduct’s headquarters, the Dalecarlia Water Treatment Plant. A smaller number of employees work at the McMillian Water Treatment Plant.
According to Jacobus, being available to help solve a problem or perform an urgent maintenance task is accepted as part of the job. Employees go into work at night and on weekends when duty calls.
"The commitment of our employees is superb," Jacobus said. "This is an operation that never stops and when things may not go exactly as planned, those who can fix the problem willingly come in and do it regardless of the time of day or weather."
While the employees focus on their individual tasks, Jacobus focuses on doing his part to keep the aqueduct running smoothly.
"My responsibility is to motivate, provide resources, encourage, and resolve different methods of approach," he said.
One of his primary responsibilities is maintaining the relationships that have been built with the aqueduct’s three customers.
"Our real focus is on the customers because they depend on the product," Jacobus said. "We never forget that we’re serving the public."
Jacobus also promotes ways of developing the organization. Not only does he encourage employees to attend conferences to develop their individual capabilities, but he also exchanges knowledge with other water utility organizations to learn about new systems that could benefit the aqueduct.
"We want to look at really great water utilities and learn from them and hopefully they’ll want to learn from us," he said. "Improvement must be continuous for us to be successful."
Although Jacobus is responsible for many tasks, he finds the most reward in communicating with people.
"It’s most rewarding to work with people, the customers, and the public to deal with different viewpoints and requirements," he said.
Overall, Jacobus said the Washington Aqueduct provides a great service, but there is more to it than just water.
"The Washington Aqueduct is its people," he said. "It’s the people who make it work."