WSSC is forming a citizen advisory committee, made up of up to 25 people from the downcounty, as well as two representatives from Prince George's County. So far 37 people have signed up to participate on the committee.

The committee will meet with members of WSSC's project team twice to give input on the alignments it thinks would be best. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in summer 2007.

The main would fulfill water needs for projected population growth in Prince George's County and help maintain water pressure in parts of Wheaton and Silver Spring. All of those areas could see a dip in water pressure if the main is not built, according to WSSC officials. If pressure is not high enough, officials said, fire hoses won't operate correctly.

All nine of the routes begin near the Montgomery County bus depot at the intersection of Tuckerman Lane and Interstate 270. The new pipe will connect to an existing main that comes from the Potomac Water Filtration Plant on the Potomac River. From there, depending on the route chosen, the pipe will run roughly 5 1/2 miles through Bethesda, Rockville, Garrett Park and Kensington before ending at Stoneybrook Drive near the Mormon Temple.

There are three methods WSSC could choose to install the pipe -- each with benefits and drawbacks. The less expensive method would strip more land than the alternative, which would save more land but cost millions of dollars more.

The first method involves clearing about 60 acres of trees and digging a trench to lay the pipe. After it is installed, the pipe would be covered with dirt.

The second, more expensive option, involves clearing nine acres to dig holes up to 350 feet to lower machinery into the ground so the pipe can be installed. A third option would use a combination of the two methods. The project is expected to cost between $40 million and $175 million, depending on which construction method is chosen.

WSSC provides drinking water and sewage services to Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The pipe through Montgomery County is a necessary link in the chain of pipes that provide water to Prince George's customers.

Chuck Brown, spokesman for WSSC, said he and Mitchell are talking to the 37 people interested in being on the committee and are trying to make sure there is an even geographic distribution among members. He said that if several people from a neighborhood want to be on the committee, WSSC hopes to find one person who can represent the whole group.

"We've got a large community map of the...area [being considered for the new water main]," he said. Geographically we're looking at where each interested person lives. We want to select from those areas for the [citizens advisory committee]."

Brown said he feels confident that the people chosen for the committee would represent the area fairly. He said the group would be chosen this month and would meet for the first time within a month.

The timeline for the project calls for a few of the possible alignments to be reduced from the current nine by April and for the final alignment and construction method to be chosen by early 2006.