Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Project

Cedar Falls in November Photo

Located in east King County in the Cascade Mountains, the Cedar Falls Hydroelectric Project was City Light's first hydroelectric plant built to light the streets of Seattle. It was also the nation's first municipally owned hydroelectric project. Started in 1902, it was finally completed in 1914 and included the Masonry Dam, penstocks, powerhouse, and a company town. The Masonry Dam that creates the Chester Morse Reservoir is used for power generation while also providing about 70% of the domestic water supply to the Seattle metropolitan area of approximately 1.4 million people. Water flow from the reservoir is also managed to provide favorable instream flow conditions for salmon and steelhead reproduction.

The stream flows are managed under the City of Seattle Cedar River Watershed Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP).

Cultural Resource Protection

The Cedar Falls Project is located within two National Register listed districts - the Seattle Municipal Light and Power Plant and the Cedar River Watershed Cultural Landscape. City Light actively protects cultural resources in the project area, as well as helping to mitigate impacts to these resources. We partner with Seattle Public Utilities, local Tribes, federal, state and county agencies in the management of cultural resources.

City Light

Dawn Lindell, General Manager and CEO
Address: 700 5th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34023, Seattle, WA, 98124-4023
Phone: (206) 684-3000
SCL_ExternalComms@seattle.gov

Seattle City Light was created by the citizens of Seattle in 1902 to provide affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible electric power to the City of Seattle and neighboring suburbs.