UPDATE AS OF MONDAY DECEMBER 11:
Customers no longer need to voluntarily conserve water.
The best thing about all that rainfall last week… “in 48 hours, a whopping 4.4 billion gallons of water dumped over the Cedar River and the Tolt River reservoirs (Seattle’s regional drinking water sources)—just what we needed to bounce back from our unusually dry summer and fall.”
Read more in this article from Seattle Public Utilities >
Originally posted on September 21, 2023:
After a rapid snowmelt this spring, little to no rainfall this summer, and above-average water consumption due to an ongoing lack of rain, our region’s water reservoirs are lower than usual. In response, Seattle Public Utilities and North City Water District have activated the “voluntary” stage of our water shortage contingency plan.
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) — the source / supplier of water for the majority of the utilities in this area, including ours — has been closely monitoring the situation all year long. Should this year’s El Niño pattern continue with a warm, dry fall and winter, SPU has identified a number of strategies to address water supply. Some of these have already been implemented, given the onset of salmon spawning season, others are waiting to be activated or adjusted as we join countless generations who have looked to the skies for rain.
What Does That Mean for North City Water District Customers?
The District is joining with water utilities throughout our region to ask customers to reduce their water use by 10 percent. Here are three ways you can do this around the home:
- Shorten your shower (every minute = 2 gallons), and turn off the faucet while shaving or brushing your teeth.
- Flush less often if possible, and check to make sure you don’t have a leaky toilet… if you hear your toilet occasionally hissing or refilling, this could be an indicator of a leak. Stop by the District office to pick up easy toilet leak test strips.
- Use a broom instead of a hose to do outside fall clean up.
Note: the District recently received several messages regarding the level of development taking place in our area as it relates to water conservation. As a special purpose utility district, we have no input or jurisdiction over development decisions; North City Water District works in partnership with both the Cities of Lake Forest Park and Shoreline to ensure new development meets current development standards for water systems. We recommend contacting your City with these concerns.
Visit the Saving Water Partnership website for more water conservation advice, rebates, and handy DIY tips!