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Seattle Water Department Water System Services Records, 1958-1996

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.
Title
Seattle Water Department Water System Services Records
Dates
1958-1996 (inclusive)
Quantity
3 cubic feet, (8 boxes)
Collection Number
8203-05
Summary
Records related to operations of the Seattle Water Department.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for processing this record series was provided through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

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. Following the Great Fire of 1889, citizens voted to fund creation of a municipally owned water system. The City purchased the private systems and began development of the Cedar River Watershed, and since 1891, has owned and operated a municipal water system. 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. Most of the water used by the Seattle Water Department came from the Cedar River Watershed property, which also provided income for the department through the selling of logging rights. Several timber companies including Weyerhaeuser Company, Scott Paper Company and Pacific States Lumber Company, all had contracts with the Water Department. In the 1950s, Seattle voters chose to add fluoride to the city's water supply and charged the Water Department with the task of fluoridating. The election was a close one, however, and debate over the policy lasted into the '70s. In 1997 the Water Department was consolidated with the utilities of the Engineering Department to form Seattle Public Utilities.

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Content Description

Records of the Director of Water System Services and division staff, 1993-1996, as well as Director’s records from the predecessor Operations Division. Records consist of project files, subject files, meeting materials, correspondence, email and reports concerning the water delivery system and its maintenance, as well as customer assistance. Topics include the Cedar River pipeline and Tolt River dam and pipeline. Also included are Water Department internal communications and documents concerning Department policies and employee training.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle Water Department Water System Services Records , Record Series 8203-05. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in two subseries: Operations files and Administrative files.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Cedar River (King County, Wash.)
  • Municipal water supply--Washington--Seattle
  • Tolt River Dam (Wash.)
  • Tolt River, South Fork (Wash.)
  • Water utilities--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Water-meters--Washington--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Drawings
  • Maps
  • Photographs

Finding aid prepared by Janet Ness
2011

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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