Historical Note
From 1854 until 1890, Seattle's water was provided by wells, springs and
private water companies. A public waterworks was created by City Charter
Amendment in 1875. However, Seattle was served primarily by small private water
companies for the next decade and a half. In 1888, prompted by a tenfold
population increase during the previous decade, Seattle's mayor and city
council called for an election to decide if the city should own and operate its
own water system.
Shortly before the election, the "Great Seattle Fire" of June 6, 1889,
destroyed the entire 64-acre business district. A major contributor to the
widespread destruction was the lack of water available from the patchwork of
private water suppliers. The vote on establishing a municipally-owned water
system was approved by a resounding 1,875 to 51 margin.
In 1890, a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowed municipalities to issue
bonds secured by future revenues. Shortly thereafter, Seattle issued $845,000
in bonds and purchased two private water companies -- the Spring Hill Water
Company and the Union Water Company -- both of which pumped water from Lake
Union and Lake Washington. In 1895, Seattle residents again voted to approve
revenue bonds, this time to construct the Cedar River water system. Water first
flowed from the Cedar River into Seattle's system on January 10, 1901. Water
was diverted by a dam at Landsburg, and then was channeled into a
newly-completed 28.57 mile pipeline. This pipeline carried water to the
Volunteer Park and Lincoln reservoirs on Capitol Hill in Seattle, which were
also built at the time. This new system had a capacity of 23.5 million gallons
per day.
The system was administered by the Superintendent of Water under the
auspices of the Board of Public Works. In 1905 the Department of Lighting and
Water Works was created. Five years later, the Water Department became a
separate entity. In 1909, a second pipeline was added, providing an additional
45 million gallon per day capacity to meet the water needs of a fast-growing
Seattle. The next water supply source was not added until 1964, when the South
Fork of the Tolt River began supplying north Seattle and the Eastside. In 1987,
the first ground water source was added to the system when two wells in the
Highline Well Field began operation. A third well was added in 1990.
In 1997 the Water Department was consolidated with the utilities of the
Engineering Department to form Seattle Public Utilities.
Content Description
Photographs and news clippings documenting efforts by the Seattle Water
Department to monitor and improve water quality. News clippings cover topics
such as pollutants, waterborne disease, rust in pipes, and reservoir lids.
Photographs document signage, equipment, reservoirs, and tanks.
