Mission Statement
"To serve quality water with excellent customer service, commitment to strategic and emergency planning, fiscal responsibility, regulatory compliance, stewardship and partnerships."
Covington Water District was formed in 1960, with less than a hundred customers primarily around Lake Morton. Over the years, a number of small districts merged into Covington Water District and more customers were added as development occurred. The District currently serves a population of approximately 50,000 through 17,701 connections as of August 2017. The District's service area contains residential homes, apartments, small farm, commercial, governmental, schools and medical facilities.
The District's water supply consists of groundwater via our production wells allotted to us by the State of Washington (our Water Right), and water from the Green River Watershed via the Regional Water Supply System. The District has 12 production wells, 4 treatment plants, emergency interties with 2 neighboring agencies, and 20.6 million gallons of storage in steel and concrete tanks at nine locations throughout the District, and approximately 290 miles of pipeline.
The District's service area of approximately 55 square miles is roughly bounded by SR-18 on the northwest, the Maple Valley Highway on the northeast, Ravensdale on the east, and the Green River on the south. Land use designations in the District are 11% Agriculture and Forest Production Resource Land, 21% Urban and 68% Rural under King County Growth Management Policies. The cities of Covington, Kent, Maple Valley and Black Diamond, along with King County, set land use policies that determine zoning and growth demands for the District's service area.
The District is a special purpose district organized under Title 57 of the Revised Code of Washington. Special purpose districts are units of local government that provide distinct, rather than general purpose, governmental services within designated boundaries. Unlike cities and counties, which have a wide range of functions and more general purpose powers and authority, special purpose districts have only specific and limited powers to carry out their services.
The District is governed by an elected board of five commissioners, serving staggered six-year terms. The Board is granted authority under the law specifically tailored to the overall operation of the water utility, including the power to set rates, build infrastructure, enter into contracts and acquire land for public purposes through condemnation proceedings. The District is also subject to many of the laws that apply to other agencies of government, including: the open public meetings act, the public records act, competitive bid laws, state environmental policy act, and the constitutional limitation on the use of public funds for private purposes. Like other agencies, the District is audited annually by the State Auditor and is subject to the rules of the Government Accounting Standards Board.