Have you ever wondered where your drinking water comes from? Yes, it comes from the tap, but where is your water supply source?
The Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District provides water service to approximately 16,300 water connections and serves a population of 54,000 residents. Our primary source of water supply comes from groundwater aquifers, and some are 900 feet deep! The District maintains 14 groundwater wells with a total capacity of 15.2 millions of gallons per day. We maintain 8 water storage tanks with a combined total capacity of 23 million gallons. The water system consists of 287 miles of water distribution mains that bring the water to the service line leading to your home. Over 90% of the District’s supply comes from the groundwater aquifers.
The District is a member of Cascade Water Alliance, a regional water supplier. Cascade maintains a contract with Seattle Public Utilities to provide water from the regional surface water supply that supplements the District’s groundwater supply. This drinking water comes from the Cedar River Watershed, which consists of 90,638 acres east of North Bend, and the Tolt River Watershed, 12,500 acres located in the Cascade foothills east of Carnation, Washington. The District maintains two regional connections to the surface water supply. We blend the surface water with the groundwater before sending it to the distribution lines. Both the groundwater and surface water are treated prior to distribution to our customers. Our water meets all state and federal drinking water standards.
Thorough planning is required to operate our water system to bring the water from the source to your home. For more information on your water system, please see our website a www.sammplat.wa.org. The next time you turn on the tap, think of the journey water makes from the source to you!
