Drinking Water Facts

Where Does Our Water Come From?

McAllister Springs surface water (source number S01), located near the Nisqually Delta, and Allison Springs wells (S09 and S11), located in West Olympia, are the primary water sources used for the City of Olympia’s drinking water. However, from May through October, water demand can more than double due to outdoor water use. During this time, we draw water from up to four additional groundwater wells located throughout the City:

• Kaiser Well - S03
• Hoffman Well - S08
• Shana Park Well - S10
• Indian Summer Well - S12

In 2009, the City produced 2.9 billion gallons of water - 80% came from McAllister Springs and 20% from six wells.

Where Does Our Water Go?

The 2.9 Billion Gallons (BG) produced by the City water sources are used as follows:

• 72% (2.1 BG) to City metered customers
• 17% (.5 BG) to wholesale customers (City of Lacey and Thurston County PUD #1)
• 4% (.1 BG) used for authorized but unmetered uses (firefighting, street sweeping, new construction and water quality sampling)

This leaves about 7% (.2 BG) of our water unaccounted for, which can be attributed to water main breaks, small leaks, theft of water, and other unknown water losses.

This is well below Washington State’s limit of 10%.

The City has several systems in place to reduce water that is unaccounted for; a water loss tracking program; a leak detection program; eliminating water theft; and working toward a more accurate and efficient meter reading program.

Find Out Where Your Water Comes From