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A public waterworks was created by Charter Amendment in 1875. Seattle 880s andhas owned and operated a municipal water system since 1891 when it purchased private local water companies and began development of the Cedar River Watershed. The system was administered by the Superintendent of Water under the auspices of the Board of Public Works. In 1905 the Department of Lighting and Water Works was created. Five years later, the Water Department became a separate entity.

Annual financial and narrative report of department activities. Includes 1891, 1894-1968, 1975-1976, and 1978-1985.

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Outgoing correspondence from the Superintendent of Water concerning all aspects of SWD activities. Arranged chronologically in 54 letterpress volumes. RA
Index Volumes (8200-04)

Correspondence to L.B. Youngs regarding Seattle water system. Includes complaints, requests for service, invoices, and general correspondence.

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Two alphabetical indexes to Superintendent's Correspondence letterpress books for years 1919-1923 and 1923-1948.

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Correspondence, memoranda, reports, studies, and agreements relating to Seattle Water Department activities, and projects. Includes materials on Bonneville Power Administration, Cedar River Watershed, reservoirs and dams, timber sales, and the United States Forest Service. Arranged by subject.

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Folder List

Correspondence and notices of personnel actions to and from the Civil Service Department.

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Departmental policies and procedures for response to emergencies affecting the City and the water system. Outlines general plan and specific responses to earthquakes, contamination, chemical spills, power failures, communication failures, civil and employee disturbances, earthslides, floods, and nuclear disaster.

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Agreements between SWD and government and corporate entities relating to cooperative resource use in the watershed. Agreements cover logging, fire protection, and road maintenance, among other topics. Files include signed agreements, correspondence, memoranda, and meeting minutes.

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Contracts, support documents, and correspondence between the Water Department and federal government. Includes agreements relating to geodetic surveys, military use of the Seattle Waterfront, federal use of department lands, and extension of water services to government installations.

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Correspondence, reports, leases, ordinances, specifications, articles and speeches, and financial records relating to the history of the Water Department and the City's water system. Records were compiled from several sources by Mary McWilliams for research on her book "Seattle Water Department History, 1854-1954." Included are her notes and several manuscript drafts.

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Folder List

Abstracts of ordinances relating to Water and Lighting Departments. Covers ordinances 487 to 22011.

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Newspaper and magazine clippings covering all aspects of Water Department activities.

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First ledger of City water system following the purchase of Spring Hill Water Company and creation of water fund. Includes tap number, street, house number, occupancy type, owner, payer, monthly rate, and payments by month. This is essentially a register of taps, similar to Record Series 8202-01. Ledger cover reads "Water Ledger of the Spring Hill Water Company for 18__ ."

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Departmental payroll and general expenses. Payroll includes name, job title, pay rate, and amount paid. General expense categories include salaries, supplies, type of service, horses, and materials.

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Ledger of supplies for Cedar River Watershed cook and bunkhouses. Includes type and amount of supplies, cost, and supplier.

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Requisition ledger for blacksmith shop supplies. Arranged alphabetically by item requisitioned. Includes item, date, requisition number, amount, and supplier.

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Debit and credit balance sheet showing payments for services, supplies, equipment, and facility construction and maintenance. Includes date, amount paid, and purpose. Arranged chronologically by fund and/or type of service.

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Record of water tap locations arranged alphabetically by street name. Includes house numbers (old and new); owner; type of occupancy; assessment based on size, occupants, water facilities, and livestock; and tap number and location.

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Fire insurance maps of Seattle. Volumes 1-2 were drawn in 1893 and are corrected to 1903; volumes 3-4 were drawn in 1905 and corrected to 1915. Information includes legal descriptions, street names, building construction materials, paving materials, orientation of buildings on lots, and locations of street car lines, sewers, fire hydrants, water mains, and railway lines.

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Correspondence of the assistant City Engineer relating to improvements, construction, and extension of the Seattle water supply system.

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Estimates of costs for replacing pipe, construction of reservoirs, system repairs, and building aqueducts. Includes calculations, specifications, and drawings.

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Various reports by or commissioned by the Seattle Water Department dealing with regional water conservation, water supply, and the environment.

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Folder List

Information requests, contracts for supplies, orders for supplies, notices of appointment, and general correspondence relating to the City's water system.

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Newspaper clippings concerning the proposed introduction of fluoride into the Seattle water system.

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