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Subjects › Public Works › Water Utility
Updated 05/2012

Water Utilities

Contents

Introduction

Tap water is a ordinary marvel. Ordinary because we expect clean potable water out of any water faucet we turn on - anywhere. A marvel because it takes an increasingly extraordinary level of effort to provide clean potable water in the quantities needed for municipal use. This webpage provides an introduction to the complex issues that municipalities must consider as they provide domestic water.

Statutes and Regulations Relating to Provision of Domestic Water

Domestic water is provided by a number of local government entities in Washington State, as noted in the list of applicable statutes below. All water systems are regulated by the Office of Drinking Water in the Washington State Department of Health.

Administration

Finance

Fire Hydrant Service

  • Lane v. City of Seattle, 164 Wn. 2d 875 (10/16/2008) - Is it legal for the city water utility customers to pay for fire hydrants? No; provision of hydrant service is a governmental function. Following a decision regarding the payment for street lights, Seattle had its general fund pay for hydrant service, paying the cost from proceeds of a utility tax it levied on its water utility. The utility then raised its rates to pay for the tax. As to earlier (pre-tax) charges, Seattle must make refunds to its affected customers, plus interest. Furthermore, other jurisdictions who have secured hydrant service must pay Seattle for that service.
  • Fire in the Hole: Cities Need to Reassess the Ways They Assess for Fire Hydrants (Adobe Acrobat Document), David W. Findlay and Angie Sanchez Virnoche, FCS Group, and John Milne, Inslee, Best, Doezie & Ryder, PS., AWC CityVision Magazine, November/December 2009
  • Fire Service Impacts on Water Utilities: Managing the Effect of Lane vs. City of Seattle (Adobe Acrobat Document), by Edward Cebron, FCS Group John Milne, Inslee, Best, Doezie & Ryder, P.S., September 2009 - This presentation is made available to you with compliments of FCS GROUP. Further posting, copying or distributing is copyright infringement; contact FCS GROUP Marketing at 425-867-1802 for additional permissions.

    Water Rates

    Planning

    Information Resources

    This section contains general resources and links to organizations which are involved in all aspects of domestic water, from regulation to supply.

    United States Environmental Protection Agency

    Washington State Department of Health

    Water and Utility Organizations

    Water Providers in Addition to Cities and Towns