Metropolitan Water Market Development: Seattle, Washington, 1887–1987

In many metropolitan areas it is common for a large central city to sell water to many of its surrounding suburban communities. In the Seattle, Washington metropolitan region, the city (population 494,000) provides water to 34 suburban cities and water districts with a total population of roughly 596,000. The development of this water market has its origins in the geographic pattern of metropolitan population and institutional development, water law, the economies of scale of water production, and the economic scarcity of clean, inexpensive water sources. Management and long‐range planning for such a system are reviewed and the advantages and disadvantages of this market system for Seattle and its customers are discussed. The de facto regionalization of the metropolitan water supply is contrasted with the de jure regionalization of metropolitan Seattle's wastewater system, which is managed jointly by the region's governments.