But now that the process has gotten more complicated, some committee members say they're not sure they're qualified to make such a decision.

"We don't know enough to rank these [options]," said John Scott, a committee member representing the Luxmanor community in North Bethesda.

WSSC officials had hoped that a May 31 meeting would give them clear indication of what the advisory committee thought would be the best path for the underground pipe. But because of the confusion, project manager John Mitchell and his team decided to put off the decision until the committee could meet again with clearer information. That meeting is planned for next month.

Scott said that while he appreciates WSSC's efforts to include the public in the decision-making process, there are too many variables, which make forming an opinion difficult.

Most of the confusion about the water main began at last week's meeting when committee members were asked to rank several options for the pipe's location and the location of construction sites where the pieces of pipe would be delivered and installed.

At a previous meeting, the committee had narrowed the nine original options to three, each of which involved tunneling a path 150 to 350 feet underground along the length of the approximately five-mile route.

The new water main will stretch from Interstate 270 near the intersection of Tuckerman Lane to a site near the Mormon Temple in Kensington. It will affect many communities in the downcounty, including Bethesda, Kensington and Garrett Park.

The pipe will deliver water from the Potomac water filtration plant to Prince George's County and will help keep water pressure at a safe level in parts of Montgomery County, including Wheaton and Silver Spring.

At the meeting last week, the advisory committee was asked to look at each of the proposed alignments and determine which would be least disruptive.

Members were to decide on which of the three alignments they preferred, taking into account the necessary construction sites along the pipe's route. The score sheet they were asked to fill out had them rank each alignment using nine criteria, including mature tree loss, traffic disruption, noise and vibration and construction proximity to homes.

The problem, several committee members said, was that WSSC officials haven't worked out major details that could affect the amount of disruption that would accompany the alignments.

"There are questions about where [trucks would go]," said Barbara Sollner-Webb, one of two members of the committee representing Prince George's County. "If they're going in front of houses, that makes a complete difference about how you vote."

Sollner-Webb and Scott were both quick to add that they appreciate the level of involvement WSSC had given them in the process.

"They could have done it without us," Sollner-Webb said.

Mitchell later admitted that it seemed that many people found the process confusing.

"Clearly we could have done a better job of communicating," Mitchell said. "We should have quantified the impacts better than we did. We're discussing how were going to do that in the next phase."

But there are some factors that WSSC doesn't control, Mitchell said.

"There are a lot of unknowns until you get a contractor on board," he said, listing scheduling questions and type of materials as just a few of the questions still unanswered. For example, the contractor could decide that it would be easier to have sections of pipe delivered at a different location, which would mean delivery trucks might have to go through usually quiet neighborhoods.

"The more restrictions you put on a contractor, the more difficult it will get."

WSSC had originally planned to hold just two meetings of the advisory committee. The hope, he said, is that once a final alignment is chosen, the advisory committee will rotate people who do not live along the pipe's route, and then include people who will be affected by the construction.

All three remaining alignments begin at the intersection of I-270 and Tuckerman Lane and end at Stoneybrook Drive near the Mormon Temple:

*The first proposed alignment runs parallel to I-270 and then goes through Rock Creek Park before ending at Stoneybrook Drive;

*the second alignment runs under Tuckerman Lane and then along Saul Road to Stoneybrook Drive; and

*the third alignment also goes under Tuckerman Lane before splitting off under Rock Creek Park, where it roughly parallels Beach Drive. It goes up to the CSX railway tracks, which it follows to Stoneybrook Drive.

WSSC is considering a number of locations for shaft sites, which is where the machinery that digs the tunnel would be put into and retrieved from the ground. Sites being considered include the MCPS bus depot near I-270 and Tuckerman Lane, a site in the northeast corner of the I-270/Tuckerman Lane intersection, the Connecticut Avenue cloverleaf and several sites in Rock Creek Park near Rockville Pike.