WATER-SUPPLY UPDATE: Almost back to normal. New request for you – ‘don’t waste water’

The region’s water supply is now almost back to normal. So the request for you has changed to “don’t waste water.” Here’s the latest, from Seattle Public Utilities and its regional counterparts:

Recent rains have improved our region’s water supply. Now cautiously optimistic about water supply conditions, Everett, Seattle and Tacoma are moving to the lowest stage of their Water Shortage Response Plans, the advisory stage.

Conditions no longer warrant being in the “voluntary” stage, in which customers were asked to reduce water use by 10 percent. The advisory stage means that a potential water supply problem may exist. This is still the case due to an ongoing strong El Nino that is expected to bring warm weather through the spring. While in the advisory stage, the cities ask customers to use water wisely by not wasting it.

The three cities thank their customers for helping the region stretch its water supplies to meet the needs of people and fish in this unprecedented year. … “We live in a region where our customers truly understand and value drinking water as a precious resource,” said Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “When we asked them to partner with us by reducing their water use, they stepped up and responded. I want to personally thank the residents and businesses of Seattle for doing their part.”

… With rain from the Halloween storm, supply reservoirs on the Cedar and South Fork Tolt rivers rose 12 and 14 feet, respectively, and are now at 92 percent of normal for this time of year. The utility continues to provide beneficial flows for spawning salmon in both the Cedar and South Fork Tolt rivers.

The full regional update, and water-saving advice, can be found at savingwater.org.

4 Replies to "WATER-SUPPLY UPDATE: Almost back to normal. New request for you - 'don't waste water'"

  • blueemerald November 10, 2015 (2:11 pm)

    This is good news. Please, lets not return to selfish and wasteful water use. Just because we have more water now does not mean we should use more water now. Lets continue to be responsible in the way we use our resources (water, in this case).
    There are so many ways to conserve water in our everyday lives-requiring effort that anyone could manage (effort from miniscule to mighty).

  • JanS November 10, 2015 (2:59 pm)

    what blueemerald said. Now is not the time to get complacent about water usage.

  • Marcus m November 10, 2015 (7:22 pm)

    The easiest and most effective way to conserve water and save the planet? Reduce your meat consumption

  • Anton November 11, 2015 (7:34 pm)

    Or eat as much meat as you want and pee outside thereby not flushing.

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