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About SPU
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Water System
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Water Quality & Treatment
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Water Quality Testing
Water Quality Laboratory
To ensure the safety of our drinking water, Seattle Public Utilities' water quality laboratory analyzes over 20,000 microbiological samples each year -- more than 50 a day -- and conducts chemical and physical monitoring daily, 365 days per year.
At the largest state-certified water utility laboratory in Washington, highly-qualified staff members within our Chemistry, Limnology and Microbiology laboratories conduct tests in conformance with state and federal regulations.
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There are a number of other water quality tests which are not conducted or analyzed at Seattle’s water quality laboratory. We contract with commercial or institutional laboratories for many of these analyses. Some of these tests are required for regulatory compliance, while others are used for treatment process control or routine monitoring of system water quality. These include volatile organic chemicals, synthetic organic chemicals, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, taste and odor compounds, and many others.
Chemistry Laboratory
The Chemistry Laboratory staff provides sample processing for treatment plant process control and assurance, regulatory compliance analyses, as well as analysis related to customer inquiries and construction projects.
Process control and assurance analyses include fluoride, turbidity, pH, conductivity, UV absorbance and chlorine. Some of these analyses are also conducted at the water treatment plants.
Regulatory compliance analyses conducted by the SPU laboratory consist of inorganic chemicals (including lead, copper, cadmium, arsenic, barium, chromium, mercury, selenium, silver, nitrate and nitrite), and organic chemicals (including total organic carbons, haloacetic acid and trihalomethanes (THMs).)
Refer to the water quality annual analysis for a complete listing of parameters monitored by the chemistry staff.
Limnology Laboratory
Since limnology is the study of fresh water such as rivers and lakes, the limnology staff establishes monitoring programs and conduct sampling of physical, chemical and biological parameters of the South Fork Tolt River and Cedar River source waters, Lake Youngs reservoir, and the distribution reservoirs within the City of Seattle.
Analyses of biological samples and taste and odor flavor profile analyses are also performed by the limnology personnel.
Microbiology Laboratory
The Microbiology Laboratory staff provides testing of water samples collected from both the Cedar and Tolt River watersheds, and from sites throughout the retail and wholesale distribution systems.
Samples are tested for total and fecal coliform bacteria, as well as E. coli and heterotrophic bacteria. Additionally, water temperature and chlorine residual tests are done in the field at each sample collection site.
Related links
Water Quality Annual Reports
Cedar River Watershed
Tolt River Watershed
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