Water Supply Conditions
The current supply conditions for Seattle's regional water system.
April 8, 2026
Seattle’s Water Supply Conditions Are Good
- Seattle’s regional water system is not impacted by the emergency drought declaration announced by the state of Washington on April 8, 2026.
- At this time, our water supply conditions are good, and Seattle Public Utilities is not asking people in the Seattle service area to modify their water use. We expect to have enough water through the summer for people and to support fish flows on the Cedar and South Fork Tolt rivers.
- While snowpack in our watersheds is about 50 percent of normal, we’ve been making operational adjustments throughout the winter and spring to make up for the low snowpack. This includes refilling our mountain reservoirs earlier than normal and holding them near capacity while allowing enough room to capture spring rainstorms and keep our dams safe.
- Over the coming months, we will continue to closely watch the weather forecasts and manage our reservoir levels carefully. We’ll also connect with Seattle regional customers if we need them to do adjust their water use.
- As always, we ask people to use water wisely. You can find water-saving tips at www.savingwater.org.
April 6, 2026
Last week, the 7-day precipitation total for the period 3/30/2026 through 4/05/2026 was 1.39 inches in the Cedar River watershed and 1.47 inches in the South Fork (S.F.) Tolt River watershed.
Chester Morse Lake at the Overflow Dike was at an elevation of 1561.8 feet, about 0.8 feet higher than last week and about 7.8 feet higher than its long-term average (based on the years 1990 to 2019). The S.F. Tolt Reservoir at the S.F. Tolt Dam was at an elevation of 1761.4 feet, about 0.1 feet lower than last week and about 3.2 feet higher than its long-term average. Water releases from reservoir storage are actively being managed for water supply, fish habitat, and flood management objectives for both the Cedar and S.F. Tolt Rivers.
Water consumption for the previous seven days averaged approximately 105 million gallons per day (mgd). That is less than the 106 mgd consumed during the same period last year, and more than the 103 mgd used during the same period over the years 2010-2019.
Based on current conditions and forecasts, Seattle anticipates the regional water system will have sufficient water supply for people and fish this summer. As always, we continue to ask customers to use water wisely. For information about ways to save water, visit www.savingwater.org.