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Seattle Water Department Central Files, 1889-1987

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.
Title
Seattle Water Department Central Files
Dates
1889-1987 (inclusive)
Quantity
18 cubic feet, (45 boxes)
Collection Number
8200-05
Summary
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, studies, and agreements relating to Seattle Water Department activities and projects.
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
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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

The Seattle Water Department Central Files contain correspondence, memoranda, reports, studies, newspaper clippings, maps and agreements relating to the City's water system and the Department's activities. The records date from 1889 to 1987. Subjects include: Bonneville Power Administration, the capital improvements, development of the Cedar River and Tolt River watersheds, Lake Youngs, Snoqualmie River facilities, claims and litigation, fluoridation of the water system, landslides, reservoirs and dams, and water quality. A large body of records related to land ownership and property exchanges in the watersheds, railroad rights of way, and timber sales.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle Water Department Central Files, Record Series 8200-05. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The material is arranged alphabetically by subject

Related Materials

Seattle Water Department Historical Files (8200-10)

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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

  • Snoqualmie River (Wash.)
  • Cedar River Watershed (King County, Wash.)
  • Claims--Washington (State)
  • Dams--Washington (State)
  • Forests and forestry--Washington (State)
  • Landslides--Washington (State)
  • Litigation--Washington (State)
  • Puget Sound Governmental Conference
  • Reservoirs--Washington (State)
  • Tolt River Watershed (Wash.)
  • United States. Bonneville Power Administration.
  • Water quality--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Water--Fluoridation--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Youngs, Lake (Wash.)

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Adrienne Meier
2009

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

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