1. NEWS SPLASH
You may have heard that Washington state has initiated a
statewide drought response. Climate predictions indicate we
may experience warmer and drier than normal conditions this
summer. Water utility managers are monitoring the situation and
planning for the hot days ahead. Here’s the good news: Despite
the drought declaration, we anticipate adequate water supply to
get through the summer!
We have sufficient groundwater supply.
Nearly 80% of the water you receive from Sammamish Plateau
Water and Sewer District comes from our groundwater aquifers.
We do not rely on snowpack for our groundwater supply. Much
of Washington, including King County, saw rainfall amounts that
were near normal levels this past winter. We measure water
levels through our sounding wells to determine the depth of the
water in the aquifers. The District’s 2015 groundwater levels in
both the Valley and Plateau aquifers are tracking very closely to
2014 levels. Since rainfall levels were close to normal this past
winter, our aquifers have refilled as expected this spring. We
do not anticipate any issues with our groundwater supply this
summer.
We have adequate supplies from the regional system.
Just over 20% of your water comes from the surface water supply
from the Cedar River and South Fork Tolt River watersheds.
Cascade Water Alliance maintains a contract with Seattle Public
Utilities (SPU) on our behalf to use water from these resources
to provide to its members. This past winter, most of the
precipitation in the state came as rainfall, rather than snow. SPU
has indicated that at the time of this writing, the current water
supply and outlook is good, despite the fact that snowpack in the
watersheds is essentially gone. SPU starting refilling its reservoirs
earlier than usual this year, and has maintained the reservoir
water at higher than normal levels this past winter. Seattle Public
Utilities has indicated that there should be sufficient water supply
to meet customer needs this summer.
WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK
FOR SUMMER 2015
(425) 392-6256
www.spwsd.org
Summer
2015
(Continued on page 2)

2. 2
We restructured our rates in 2012 to better address unpredictable weather conditions.
We are now several years into our rate restructuring process, and we have worked hard to achieve a level of fiscal
sustainability to make the best possible use of the funds you pay through your water and sewer rates. We adjusted
our base rates to ensure that sufficient funds are always available for water and sewer system operations, even
during periods of fluctuating water consumption due to variable
weather conditions.
Using water efficiently is always a good idea.
Over the years, you, our customers, have been using water wisely. We
appreciate your conservation efforts! We experience a spike in our
water use during the summer months, particularly during July and
August, when our rainfall levels are at their lowest. Most of this extra
water is used for outdoor watering of lawns and gardens. It will be
very important to continue to use water efficiently this summer. Here
are some key things to do that will help:
66 Locate and repair all water leaks right away.
66 Automatic irrigation system: Check for leaks in your pipes, valve
boxes, sprinkler heads or at your backflow assembly.
66 Water early in the morning or in the evening.
66 Build your soil with compost and mulch to hold water.
Please know that we will inform you of any changes to our water
supply outlook throughout the summer. Please watch our website at
www.spwsd.org for any updates as the summer progresses.
Sources
Water Supply Outlook. Seattle Public Utilities website.
www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/AbouttheWaterSystem/WaterSupply/index.htm
Washington Department of Ecology’s drought web page contains the latest updates on drought affected areas:
www.ecy.wa.gov/drought.
WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK (Continued from page 1)
Use a hose nozzle when washing your car and
save 100 gallons every time!
Both the groundwater and the regional surface water supply look good for 2015!

3. We are implementing an asset management program to better provide water and sewer service to your home in a
safe, efficient and reliable manner. Our assets include water and sewer mains, pumps, hydrants and lift stations and
many other important components of our water and sewer systems. We have been developing our program based
on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) framework, which includes best management practices that we
can use to do the following:
66 Ensure that our pumps and pipes are always
working effectively.
66 Identify and document all the costs involved over
the life of each asset.
66 Provide the best maintenance approach to make
our assets last longer.
66 Plan for asset repair and replacement to best use
the funds from your rates.
Our Assets
We own and maintain more than 45,000 water assets
and 17,500 sewer assets, including 291 miles of water
mains and 176 miles of sewer mains. Laid end-to-end,
our water mains would stretch to Spokane, Washington
and our sewer mains to Portland, Oregon! If we had to
replace all of our water infrastructure, the cost would
be about $577 million, and our sewer infrastructure
would cost about $293 million to replace.
Telling our story
The District’s Asset Management Team presented
a pre-conference workshop “Asset Management at
Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District” at
the Pacific Northwest section of the American Water
Works Association (PNWS-AWWA) annual conference
at Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue on April 29, 2015.
The presentation was well received by the fifty water
management specialists in attendance. Want to learn
more? See our Asset Management presentation on our
website at www.spwsd.org.
The Team
Our Asset Management team members are Tammy
Whipple, Assistant to the General Manager for Fiscal and
Project Management; Jillian Hostenske, Financial Analyst;
Kyle Wong, Engineering Manager; and Dalton Langlois,
Water Technician.The District’s Asset Management Team. Left to right:
Jillian Hostenske, Kyle Wong, Dalton Langlois and Tammy Whipple.
KEEPING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE SUSTAINABLE
3

4. “Wow! I was impressed with the District’s culture of excellence and team vision...Congratulations on your great team!”
“The water system meets all current water quality standards, has an approved water system plan demonstrating capacity for
the planning period, and is operating with a green operating permit. Findings from the last survey have all been addressed.
No unaddressed significant deficiencies were identified during this sanitary survey. The water system is managed and
operated by a knowledgeable and skilled team with a strong public health focus.”
These are remarks made by Washington Department of Health
representative Derek Pell after a visit to the District on April 2nd
to conduct a sanitary survey. The survey is an inspection of water
system facilities, operations and records, and it identifies any
conditions that may present a sanitary or public health risk. Each
survey includes a review of eight minimum components:
66 Planning and management documents.
66 Distribution system and status of cross connection control
program.
66 Source and sanitary control area.
66 Source pumps and pumping facilities.
66 Source treatment procedures and equipment.
66 Monitoring, reporting and data verification.
66 Finished water storage.
66 Operator certification status.
The District received a satisfactory report with positive comments regarding our programs in water quality and treatment
plant reporting, emergency response, public outreach and cross connection control.
HEREISYOURSUMMERNEWSSPLASH!
PRSRTSTD
USPOSTAGE
PAID
SEATTLEWA
PERMIT315
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IMPRESSED WITH DISTRICT PERFORMANCE