Seattle (Wash.). Water Dept.

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 6 June 1889, destroyed the entire sixty-four-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 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 Dept. was consolidated with the utilities of the Engineering Dept. to form Seattle Public Utilities.