Covington Water Supply

Dear Valued Customer,

The past year has been remarkably productive for our District. We've made significant progress on numerous programs and projects that were in planning stages for several years. While we've achieved many important milestones (highlighted below), we remain committed to continuously improving our services to balance the needs of developers and our existing customers.

Our staff brings exceptional professionalism, skill, and knowledge to their work. However, like many utilities, we recognize we could better communicate our story to the community. To address this, we've increased our social media presence to better connect with those we serve.

We take pride in providing safe, reliable water 24/7/365 and want to share some recent accomplishments:

• Water Supply Partnerships: Our collaboration with King County Water District #111 resulted in a successful wholesale contract, generating $270,500 in revenue during 2017. This arrangement benefits all districts and communities involved.
• Resource Management: Due to cooler winter temperatures and normal precipitation levels, Tacoma Water has indicated the Regional Water Supply System should operate under normal conditions.
• Security Enhancements: We've completed significant emergency response planning and preparation activities, following up on our J100 Risk and Resiliency Study with prioritized security improvements at headquarters.
• Financial Stability: We received a clean audit from the State Auditor's Office. Since 2014, our cash reserves have grown from $9.5M to $22.6M, while our debt ratio has decreased from 51% to 41%. This financial strength has allowed us to avoid rate increases for two consecutive years.

For more details about our accomplishments, please visit: http://covingtonwater.com/DocumentCenter/View/61/2017-2018-District-Accomplishments

We're committed to continually improving our service to you through both immediate and long-term initiatives.

Sincerely,
Thomas Keown, P.E.
General Manager
Covington Water District

Covington Water District is pleased to present your annual Water Quality Report. This edition summarizes water quality testing results from January through December 2017. The results confirm that Covington Water District delivers safe potable water that meets or exceeds all federal and state regulatory requirements.

Our Water Supply

Our primary supply comes from the Green River in southern King County. The Green River Watershed spans 231 square miles of forested area that collects melting snow and rainfall in an unpopulated section of the Cascade Mountains. Tacoma Water owns about 11 percent of the watershed land and carefully manages all activities within the area including recreation, road maintenance and logging.

Tacoma also operates seven wells on the North Fork of the Green River within the watershed, using these sources during periods when Green River water is unavailable due to high turbidity. Covington Water District supplements this Regional Water Supply System (RWSS) with its own groundwater sources.

In 2015, the Green River Filtration Facility began operation, capable of treating up to 150 million gallons daily. This facility significantly improves water quality by:

• Removing a wide range of contaminants, including giardia and cryptosporidium
• Enhancing taste, odor, and appearance
• Reducing silt and sand in the system
• Minimizing organic materials that can create byproducts during disinfection

Health Information

All drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants doesn't necessarily indicate a health risk. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, call the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

Some individuals may be more vulnerable to contaminants than the general population. Those with compromised immune systems, such as people undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders, some elderly individuals, and infants may face higher risks. These individuals should consult their healthcare providers about drinking water safety.

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