Tacoma Water Quality

Tacoma Water is an organization that takes seriously its responsibility to provide safe and reliable water to the residents of Tacoma. We all know that water is key to life, and in a city like Tacoma, where rivers, sounds, and rain are part of our identity, it’s particularly significant. With that in mind, I want to take a moment to pamper the excellent quality of Tacoma’s water and the incredible efforts made to maintain and exceed regulatory standards.

How Tacoma Ensures Water Quality

Tacoma Water operates on a simple principle – your water should be safe to drink, always. To ensure this, they follow a stringent quality assurance process that includes frequent testing and continuous monitoring [^1^].

Their primary water source is the Green River Watershed, a mostly untapped and protected area in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. In addition, they maintain five underground wells to supplement the supply during peak usage periods.

In the interest of transparency, Tacoma Water publishes annual drink water quality reports detailing the results of various contaminants tested throughout the year. These reports consistently show that Tacoma Water meets or exceeds all federal and state drinking water standards.

The Green Standards

Apart from the conventional approach and technologies, Tacoma Water has embraced some innovative methods to monitor and improve the quality of water. They use real-time monitoring of the Green River Watershed, paired with advanced statistical modeling, to predict the natural events that could affect the water quality [^2^].

Tacoma Water also partners with other regional utilities and the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group to study the long-term effects of climate change on the water supply. They advocate for watershed protection and participate in extensive research to analyze and improve the ecosystem services that a healthy watershed provides.

Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control

Tacoma Water emphasizes the importance of backflow prevention and cross-connection control [^3^]. Their Cross-Connection Control (CCC) program is an integral part of the water quality safeguard. Cross-connections between water pipes and possible sources of contamination can occur anywhere, and backflow occurs when water flows backward into the public water system, potentially carrying contaminants.

Tacoma Water’s CCC program ensures that proper protection measures are in place, and backflow assemblies are tested annually to prevent any possible contamination of the water supply.

Community Involvement

What I find most inspiring about Tacoma Water’s approach to water quality is their community involvement. They offer tips to residents on how to maintain the water quality that arrives at their faucets by preventing plumbing cross-connections and running water for a minute or two if the tap hasn’t been used for several hours. Educating customers and getting them to participate in maintaining water quality ensures everyone is committed to the process.

Conclusion

Affordable, safe, and reliable drinking water is a necessity, one that we often take for granted. But behind our tap is a remarkable infrastructure dedicated to delivering clean, safe water to us every day. I hope the next time you fill your glass, you’ll, in agreement, say “Here’s to Tacoma Water!” and celebrate the efforts made by this organization to never compromise on quality.