Water Utilities

Statutes and Regulations

Domestic water is provided by a number of local government entities in Washington State, as noted in the list of applicable statutes below. The Office of Drinking Water, located in the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), maintains the rules and regulations for all water systems.

• Ch. 35.92 RCW — Municipal Utilities
• Ch. 36.94 RCW — Sewerage, Water, and Drainage Systems
• Ch. 54.16 RCW — Powers Public Utility Districts
• Ch. 57.08 RCW — Powers Water-Sewer Districts
• RCW 87.03.015 — Powers of Irrigation Districts Enumerated
• Ch. 70A.100 RCW — Public Water System Coordination Act of 1977

Fire Hydrant Service

The applicable statute is Ch. 70A.145 RCW, which establishes and clarifies the authority of water purveyors to supply fire suppression water facilities and services for cities, towns, and counties, and to recover the costs of providing those facilities and services. A purveyor may allocate and recover the costs of fire suppression water facilities and services: (1) from all customers as costs of complying with state law and regulations; (2) from customers based on service, benefits, burdens, and impacts; or (3) both.

In the 2008 case, Lane v. City of Seattle, 164 Wn. 2d 875, the Washington State Supreme Court determined that public fire protection was a governmental service that could not be recovered through water rates. The decision also validated alternate cost recovery consisting of charging general purpose governments for this public service based on their mandate for such service through land use regulation. The decision did not clarify how this would work in situations differing from the considered case.

Additional resources compliments of FCS GROUP:

• Fire Service Impacts on Water Utilities: Managing the Effect of Lane vs. City of Seattle (2008)
• Water Utilities and Fire Hydrants Legislative Update (2013)

Further posting, copying, or distributing of the above material is copyright infringement; contact FCS GROUP for additional permissions.

Water Rates

• DOH: Water Rates - Paying for Drinking Water (2011)
• Royal City Ordinance 21-11 (2023) — Sets water rates to be charged in the city.

Examples of Water Rate Studies

• Bainbridge Island Water and Sewer Rate Study (2019) — Includes ordinance 2019-14 adopting new rates.
• North Beach Public Development Authority Water Rate Study (2008)

Planning

• DOH: Planning Requirements for Public Water Systems
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Planning for Sustainability: A Handbook for Water and Wastewater Utilities (2012)
  • Sustainable Water Infrastructure

Examples of Comprehensive Water System Plans

• Bainbridge Island Water System Plan (2017)
• Issaquah Water System Plan (2018)
• Pasco Water System Plan (2018)
• Renton Water System Plan Update (2020)
• Seattle Water Plans
• Yakima Water System Plan (2017)

Utility Billing and Collection

For information on utility billing – including utility billing procedures, financial assistance programs, property transfers, and collection of delinquent utility accounts – see our pages on Utility Billing.

Recommended 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

• Ground Water and Drinking Water
• National Drinking Water Advisory Council
• Technical, Managerial, and Financial Capacity Resources for Small Drinking Water Systems — Includes resources on a wide variety of subjects such as asset management, financing, regulations, and operation and maintenance.

Water and Utility Organizations

• American Water Works Association
• Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA)
• Evergreen Rural Water of Washington — Provides training and technical assistance to small water and wastewater systems in Washington State.
• National Rural Water Association

Water Providers 

• DOH: Drinking Water System Data — Lists public water supplies.
• MRSC: Water and Sewer Districts — Lists water-sewer districts by county, with a brief description and notes about services areas, mergers, and dissolutions.

Regional Water Providers and Associations

• Everett Water System — Everett provides water to Alderwood Water and Wastewater District, Snohomish County PUD, Marysville, Mukilteo Water and Wastewater District, Monroe, Snohomish, Silver Lake Water and Sewer District
• Cascade Water Alliance — Formed by Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond, Tukwila, Sammamish Plateau Water, and Skyway Water & Sewer District. See Joint Agreement (2012).
• Seattle Public Utilities: List of Wholesale Water Customers
• South King County Regional Water Association — Formed in 1995 between Auburn, Kent, Black Diamond, and King County Water District No. 111.
• Tacoma Water — Provides water service to customers in Tacoma, University Place and portions of Pierce and South King counties.
• Water Supply Forum — Cooperative effort of representatives of public water systems and local governments in the Central Puget Sound region; Addresses current and future water supply issues.