Tacoma, Washington Water Outage Today
Live Tacoma water outage reports, Tacoma Water’s emergency line and the system’s federal record.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com
No water outage reports in Tacoma, Washington in the last 24 hours
Who supplies water in Tacoma?
Drinking water in Tacoma, Washington is supplied by Tacoma Water, which handles outages, main breaks and boil water notices for the city.
Public water systems in Washington are regulated by the Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water.
Tacoma water system at a glance
Federal records name City of Tacoma Water Division as the public water system for Tacoma, with about 446,170 people on its mains. Customers know it as Tacoma Water; the name on your bill is the one to call.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Water system in EPA records | City of Tacoma Water Division (WA5386800) |
| Run by | Local government |
| People served | 446,170 through 155,577 service connections |
| Source of the water | Surface water (rivers, lakes or reservoirs) |
| Active facilities listed by EPA | 1 surface intake, 32 active wells, 8 treatment points |
| State regulator | Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water |
| Health-based violations since 2015 | 0 |
| Highest lead result (90th percentile) | 2.1 ppb, action level 15 ppb |
Source: EPA SDWIS (Safe Drinking Water Information System).
What feeds the taps in Tacoma
Tap water in Tacoma starts as surface water. City of Tacoma Water Division takes it from the Green River and runs it through treatment before it reaches the mains. Treatment points named in EPA's facility list include Green River WTP.
What this means in an outage. Because the water is drawn from open surface sources, it has to be filtered and disinfected continuously. A plant problem therefore hits everyone at once, unlike a main break, which only dries up the blocks on either side of the damaged pipe.
What causes water outages and low pressure in Tacoma
Which failures hit Tacoma hardest follows from its weather, its housing stock and how it is supplied.
- Freezing weather. Tacoma sees about 28 days a year with a low at or below 32°F, and 1 day at or below 20°F. The coldest morning in the 2015 through 2025 record came on January 13, 2024. The longest stretch with highs that never rose above freezing ran 4 days, ending December 29, 2021. Frozen service lines and meters cause single-address outages, while ground frost and thaw cycles crack older mains and produce the street-wide breaks.
- Older neighborhoods and pipe. 52.4% of occupied homes in Tacoma were built before 1970, against 35.5% nationally. Streets of that age tend to sit on cast iron and early steel mains that are near or past their design life, which is where most breaks start.
- Damage from other crews. Water mains share the ground with gas, power and telecom lines, and a strike by any contractor can dry up a block in seconds.
- Scheduled work, or a fault inside your own home. Utilities warn customers before a planned shutoff. If nothing was announced and the neighbors are fine, the cause is probably your shutoff valve, meter or pressure regulator.
Tacoma weather and water-main stress, 2015–2025
Main break season in Tacoma runs from late fall into early spring, with the coldest stretch around January through March.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Days a year at or below 32°F | 27.5 |
| Days a year at or below 20°F | 1.1 |
| Days a year with a high at or below 32°F | 1.5 |
| Days a year at or above 95°F | 0.3 |
| Days a year at or above 100°F | 0.2 |
| Days a year with an inch of rain or more | 5 |
| Average annual precipitation | 50.2 in |
| Wettest year | 2016 (57.2 in) |
| Driest year | 2019 (35.5 in) |
| Coldest day in the record | January 13, 2024 |
| Hottest day in the record | June 28, 2021 |
Source: NASA POWER daily reanalysis (MERRA-2) for the city center, 2015–2025.
Freezing days peak in February, averaging 7.9 a year. Source: NASA POWER reanalysis, 2015–2025.
The wettest year was 2016 with 57.2 inches; the driest was 2019 with 35.5. Source: NASA POWER reanalysis, 2015–2025.
Because this is gridded reanalysis data, individual hot and cold days can read a few degrees off what the airport recorded. The day counts and yearly patterns are the useful part.
Is Tacoma water safe? Boil notices and EPA record
EPA lists no health-based violations for City of Tacoma Water Division since 2015. It also lists 1 monitoring or reporting entry that is about paperwork rather than water quality, such as a missed sample or a late report.
Most recent entries, all monitoring or reporting:
- July 2015: A late or missing annual water quality report It is marked resolved.
| Type of violation | Health-based | Monitoring and other |
|---|---|---|
| Public notice and annual reports | 0 | 1 |
Source: EPA SDWIS.
A boil water notice in Tacoma is a separate thing from a violation. Tacoma Water issues one when pressure falls low enough for contamination to enter the pipes, after a main break is repaired, or when a routine test comes back positive. The Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water oversees the process, and the notice stays until clean samples come back, usually a day or two after pressure returns.
Lead, older pipes and water quality in Tacoma
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result filed for City of Tacoma Water Division is 0 ppb (2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb, so that result is comfortably below it.
Highest result on file: 2.1 ppb. Source: EPA SDWIS.
The age of the housing matters more than the utility's test average: 52.4% of occupied homes in Tacoma predate 1970 and 1986 was the year lead pipe and solder were banned. Flush the cold tap after an outage and ask Tacoma Water whether your service line is on its lead inventory.
Restoration times for water outages in Tacoma
Most repairs of an ordinary main break in Tacoma take half a day once the crew is on site. Bigger mains, deep bury and busy roads stretch that to a day or more. With 446,170 people on the system, a break on a main that feeds a whole district can leave thousands of homes dry at once, and crews may close valves several blocks away to isolate it.
| Situation | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Planned shutoff | A few hours inside a window announced in advance |
| Ordinary main break | Roughly 4 to 8 working hours |
| Large or deep main | 1 to 3 days |
| Low pressure after a pump or power failure | Hours to a day, once power or the pump is restored |
| Boil water notice after service returns | About 24 to 48 hours, until lab tests are clean |
| Frozen service line or meter | Hours if you can thaw it, longer if the pipe has split |
Source: Utility practice, EPA and state boil water guidance.
For a break that affects many customers, Tacoma Water usually posts an estimated restoration time. When you call, ask the dispatcher what the crew has told them.
How much water to keep on hand in Tacoma
The average household in Tacoma has about 2.4 people, so FEMA's minimum of one gallon per person per day comes to roughly 7 gallons for three days and 34 gallons for two weeks.
- A standard water heater is a ready-made 40-gallon reserve. Shut off its power or gas, open a hot tap somewhere in the house, and draw from the drain valve.
- If a planned shutoff or storm is coming, fill the tub and some buckets for flushing toilets and washing; keep drinking water in clean sealed containers.
How Tacoma compares with nearby water systems
| City | System | People served | Source | Health violations since 2015 | Highest lead (ppb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma, WA | City of Tacoma Water Division | 446,170 | Surface | 0 | 2.1 |
| Kent, WA | Kent Water Department | 166,421 | Bought (surface) | 0 | 1 |
| Renton, WA | City of Renton | 108,091 | Ground | 0 | 1.9 |
| Seattle, WA | Seattle Public Utilities | 1,161,961 | Surface | 1 | 4.1 |
| Bellevue, WA | City of Bellevue | 321,349 | Bought (surface) | 0 | – |
Source: EPA SDWIS.
Water outage pages for nearby cities
Staying informed about water service in Tacoma
Sign up for alerts from Tacoma Water and check its website or social accounts when the water goes off. If a boil advisory is issued, the water outage guide covers how to treat water and when it is safe again.
Tacoma quick answers about water service
Who do I call about no water in Tacoma?
Call the 24-hour line of Tacoma Water. Call 911 only if flooding or a main break puts people or property in immediate danger.
Is Tacoma water from a river, lake or well?
EPA records for City of Tacoma Water Division say Tacoma relies on surface water. It draws from the Green River.
Is the water in Tacoma safe?
EPA lists no health-based violations for City of Tacoma Water Division since 2015, and its latest 90th-percentile lead result is 0 ppb against the 15 ppb action level. Follow any boil water notice until the utility says it is over.
When do water mains break most in Tacoma?
Winter, mostly. Tacoma sees roughly 28 days a year at or below freezing, and the peak runs January through March. Expect breaks to cluster just after sharp temperature swings.
Why is my water pressure low in Tacoma?
A sudden drop usually means a break or valve problem nearby, while a slow decline in the evening points to demand. If the whole street is affected, tell Tacoma Water; if not, look at your own regulator and shutoff.
How long do boil water advisories last in Tacoma?
Usually 24 to 48 hours after pressure is restored. The utility has to collect samples, wait for the lab to confirm there is no bacteria, and then announce the all-clear. Tacoma Water posts notices and lifts them; the Washington State Department of Health Office of Drinking Water oversees the process.
How much drinking water should I keep at home in Tacoma?
Store at least three days of water, and two weeks if you can. With about 2.4 people in a typical Tacoma home, that is roughly 7 and 34 gallons.
Are there lead service lines in Tacoma?
52.4% of occupied homes in Tacoma were built before 1970, and lead service lines were not banned until 1986. Ask Tacoma Water whether your service line is on its lead inventory, and use a filter certified for lead if you are unsure.
Is there a water outage map for Tacoma?
We do not run a pipe map. The report count at the top of this page shows what other people in Tacoma have reported in the last 24 hours. For the official picture, check Tacoma Water for its outage page, alerts and social accounts.
More outage pages for Tacoma and nearby
Other outage types in Tacoma
Water Service Outages in cities near Tacoma
- Kent, WA 13 mi · City of Kent Water
- Renton, WA 19 mi · City of Renton Water Utility
- Seattle, WA 25 mi · Seattle Public Utilities
- Bellevue, WA 27 mi · Bellevue Utilities
- Everett, WA 51 mi · City of Everett Public Works
- Yakima, WA 102 mi · City of Yakima Water
Report counts are user-submitted; other figures name their official source. How our data works
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