Tacoma Water relies on the Green River and South Tacoma wells. During declared shortages it requests voluntary reductions of 10 to 20 percent, escalating to mandatory limits if drought worsens.
Tacoma Water serves about 320,000 people and is governed by Tacoma Public Utilities, a publicly owned utility. The Water Shortage Response Plan defines four stages: Advisory, Voluntary, Mandatory, and Emergency. Voluntary actions ask customers to limit lawn watering to two or three days per week, water before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m., and fix leaks promptly. Mandatory stages set specific watering days by address, prohibit ornamental fountains, and may add surcharges. Tacoma rarely reaches mandatory stages thanks to ample Cascade snowpack, but climate change is shifting that calculus.
During mandatory stages, watering on the wrong day or in midday hours can draw warnings and surcharges added to the utility bill.
Tacoma, WA
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Tacoma, WA
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See how Tacoma's lawn watering restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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