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.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

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.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

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.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in two subseries: Operations files and Administrative files.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

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

Operations files, 1958-1996Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Cedar River East Side Supply Line
1975-1978
1/2
Cedar River Pipeline No. 1
1975-1978
1/3
Cedar River Pipeline No. 2 (Incl. Photographs)
1968-1976
1/4
Cedar River Pipeline No. 3
1979
1/5
Cedar River Pipeline No. 4
1974-1977
1/6
Cedar River Pipeline Right of Way
1974-1978
1/7
Lake Youngs Control Works
1975-1978
1/8
Lake Youngs Control Works 42" Waste Line
1975
1/9
Locating Reports
1981-1990
1/10
Mercer Island Pipeline (Incl. Photographs)
1975-1979
1/11
Meter Programs
1988-1989
1/12
Meter Replacement Programs
1991-1992
1/13
Meter Replacement Programs
1989-1991
2/1
One-Call Subsurface Warning
1980-1988
2/2
One-Call Subsurface Warning
1978-1979
2/3
One-Call Subsurface Warning System of King County Agreements
1978-1988
2/4
Operations Division Managers' Meeting
1983-1987
2/5
Operations Division Managers' Meeting
1988-1993
2/6
Operations Focus Group
1991
2/7
Operations - Support Services
1990-1993
2/8
Photographs - Westlake Mall, Freeze, Others
1988-1989
2/9
Pilot Program - Super Crews
1995
2/10
Pipeline Construction
1990-1993
3/1
Plastic Pipe
1993-1996
3/2
Plate Lifting Proposals
1993
3/3
Preventive Maintenance Program
1986-1991
3/4
Productivity Initiatives
1991-1993
3/5
Public Drinking Fountains
1994
3/6
Pump Stations
1993-1994
3/7
Purveyor Meter Maintenance Program
1984-1985
3/8
Purveyor Meters
1982-1989
3/9
Purveyor Meters
1973-1982
3/10
Purveyors Information
1995-1996
3/11
Spaghetti Lines (Private Water Lines)
1993-1994
4/1
Spaghetti Lines (Private Water Lines)
1993
4/2
Spaghetti Lines (Private Water Lines)
1993
4/3
Tolt Charts
undated
4/4
Tolt River Dam
1962-1969
4/5
Tolt River Dam
1974-1977
4/6
Tolt River Dam
1978-1979
4/7
Tolt River Dam - City Engineering Dept.
1964-1973
4/8
Tolt River Dam - Clippings
1976-1978
4/9
Tolt River Dam - Drawings
1958-1963
4/10
Tolt River Dam and Slide Area Maps
1961-1979
5/1
Tolt River Dam Photographs
1978
5/2
Tolt River Dam Photographs - Construction, etc.
1960-1966
5/3
Tolt River Dam Photographs - Spring Slide Area
1978
5/4
Tolt Pipeline No. 1
1974-1979
5/5
Tolt Pipeline No. 1
1974-1976
5/6
Tolt River Project
1995
5/7
Tolt River Project - Remlinger and Dolder Claim
1963-1964
5/8
Tolt Regulating Basin
1975-1978
5/9
Tolt Regulating Basin
1993-1996
5/10
Transmission Line Maintenance
1994
5/11
Water Main Replacement
1993-1994
5/12
Water Quality Lab
1995
5/13
Water Supply Plan
1993-1995
5/14
Watershed
1993-1996
5/15
Waterways 2000 Project
1993
5/16
Windstorm 1/20/1993
1994
6/1
CIP, 1994 (Water Dept.)
1993-1994
6/2
Noise Ordinance
1982
6/3
Non-Revenue Water
1990-1991
6/4
Partners In Public Education (PIPE)
1992
6/5
Planning Issues
1992
6/6
Planning Unit
1990
6/7
Planning Unit
1990-1991
6/8
Policy Committee
1993
6/9
Responses To inquiries
1981-1986
6/10
Risk Management
1994-1995
6/11
Ross Store Flooding
1996
6/12
Safety Awards
1993-1996
6/13
Seattle Center
1993
6/14
Security
1996
6/15
Seniority Status
1995
6/16
Sexual Harassment
1994-1995
6/17
Skyway Water
1996
6/18
Spoil Hauling
1991
6/19
Standard Operating Procedure, Environmentally Critical Areas
1994

Administrative files, 1978-1996Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7/1
State Legislation Evaluation
1995
7/2
Street Use Permits (Citywide)
1994-1995
7/3
Supervisory Development Program
1994-1996
7/4
Tacoma - Seattle Interties
1995
7/5
Take Your Daughters To Work
1995-1996
7/6
Telecommuting Policy
1995-1996
7/7
Tippett Marine
1995
7/8
Training Activity Report
1993-1996
7/9
Training Council
1993-1995
7/10
Training Council / Budget
1993-1996
7/11
Training Plan
1994-1996
7/12
Tri-Caucus Members
1993
7/13
Tuition Payment Program
1988
7/14
Tukwila Takeover
1993
7/15
Tunnel Safety
1992
7/16
Underground Storage Tanks
1993-1996
7/17
Unfunded State Mandates
1987-1996
7/18
Utilities and Environmental Management Calendar
1996
7/19
Utility Coordinating Council of King County
1978-1988
8/1
Volunteer Standpipe Climbers
1995
8/2
Warehouse Issues
1994-1995
8/3
Water Action for Safety and Health (WASH) Board
1994
8/4
Water Pipe Worker
1994-1996
8/5
Water Stats, Water Utility Database Water Utility Surveys
1996
8/6
Water System Services Division Overview
undated
8/7
Weston - Water GIS
1993-1994
8/8
Woolworth Building
1993
8/9
Workplace Expectations
1989-1995

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