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1. What’s in my water? Is it safe to drink?

Redmond’s drinking water meets or exceeds all federal, state and local health standards. Our water is tested daily throughout the City to assure safety.

But, there is much more to good drinking water than simple H2O. As the universal solvent, water dissolves and takes on traces of whatever it comes in contact with, for example, minerals. There is no such thing as pure water in nature; and if there were, it wouldn’t taste very good!

2. Is there fluoride in my water?

Yes. A small amount occurs naturally and a little more is added to achieve the optimum level of 0.7-0.8 ppm (part per million).

3. Do I need a water filter in my home?

For reasons of safety, no. American municipal drinking water is the safest in the world. Some people, however, object to the taste of chlorine in their water. In that case, a well maintained NSF approved charcoal filter can help.

4. Why is there chlorine in the water?

Chlorine is a disinfectant that acts as 'health insurance' against the possible occurrence of disease-causing organisms called pathogens. If this type of contaminant were present in the water, chlorine would kill it. Chlorine dosages in Redmond's drinking water are very low, usually between 0.2 ppm and 1.2 ppm.

5. Where does my water come from?

Residents within City Limits who live on the east side of the Sammamish River drink mostly well water pumped from aquifers, also referred to as “groundwater”.

Residents within City Limits who live on the west side of the Sammamish River drink water from Seattle’s Tolt Reservoir, over 20 miles away in the Cascade Mountains east of Duvall. This supply is also referred to as “surface water”.

Residents in the un-incorporated area of Redmond Ridge and Trilogy receive their water from the Tolt Reservoir as well.

6. Do I have hard or soft water?

People on the groundwater system have medium-hard water, about 90 mg/l (milligrams per liter) as CaCO3 (calcium carbonate), or about 6 grains per gallon. Hardness in water comes from minerals like calcium and magnesium.

Tolt Reservoir water is very soft; about 20 mg/l as CaCO3 or 1.2 grains per gallon. Soap easily lathers with soft water; hard water is “harder” to lather.  

7. Why does my water sometimes have an odd taste and other times it doesn’t?

One reason might be that when water sits in pipes overnight or for a few days it will warm to room temperature. After sitting for a period of time, the chlorine in the water reacts to the interior pipe material.  The water might taste musty, stale or like medicine.

Another common reason is leaving your garden hose turned on and under pressure. If you do this for too long, you’ll soon be tasting garden hose at your kitchen tap!

To make the water taste fresh again, flush your cold water tap until it starts to get colder, usually about 1 minute. Now you have fresh cold water from the water main.

If your water continues to taste odd, call us.

8. Is there PFAS in my water?

Redmond supplies drinking water to customers from five City supply wells and from Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) Tolt River Watershed. The City supply wells pump groundwater, which is water stored underground in the pores between the sand and gravel that are under Redmond. Although PFAS are not regulated contaminants, and routine testing is not required, the cities of Redmond and Seattle tested their water sources in 2015 and found no detection of PFAS. The City of Seattle conducted additional testing in 2018 and again found no detection of PFAS in the Tolt River Watershed supplies. Redmond conducted additional testing in 2020 and found trace amounts of PFAS in one water supply well. This well has been taken out of production and no longer supplies drinking water to residents. The City will re-sample all the drinking wells in November 2023 for PFAS following the latest sampling protocols