Water Quality
It is important to the City of Lacey that our drinking water customers, their families, and businesses receive the highest quality drinking water. In 2025, the drinking water delivered to your home by the City of Lacey’s water utility met or exceeded all Environmental Protection Agency regulations and standards. Our monthly, comprehensive water testing program ensures our water is safe to drink.
Learn about all the programs the City implements to ensure your water is safe and reliable all day, every day.
2026 Water Quality Report Translations available:
Water Quality Testing
The drinking water delivered to your home by the City of Lacey’s water utility met or exceeded all regulations and mandates established by the Environmental Protections Agency for 2025. The results can be reviewed below.
The results will provide you important information about lead and other contaminants that may be present in all drinking water sources. Immuno-compromised persons, such as, persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, some pregnant women and some infants can be particularly at risk from infections and are encouraged to learn more and seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. If you have any questions about this data or the quality of your drinking water, please contact Lacey Water Resources at WaterResources@cityoflacey.org or at (360) 491-5600.
See this interactive map to look at the results of an extensive lead service line inventory which resulted in no lead detected in any areas of the City of Lacey’s water distribution system or customer service lines: Lead Service Line Inventory Map
2025 Water Quality Test Results
Previous Water Quality Reports
2025 Water Quality Report
2024 Water Quality Report
2023 Water Quality Report
Wellhead Protection Program
The City of Lacey relies on multiple groundwater sources to provide a safe and reliable potable water supply for its growing community. This includes 20 wells that draw water from three underground aquifers.
In 1995, the City began implementing its Wellhead Protection Program as a commitment to protect the environment and prevent groundwater contamination. The program outlines hydrogeological (the type of geology concerned with water occurring underground or on the surface of the earth) characteristics, water quality monitoring, risk of contamination, and more to keep our drinking water safe.
You can view the entire Wellhead Protection Program in Appendix P, page 272.
What is a Wellhead Protection Area?
A wellhead protection area (WHPA) is the surface and underground land area that is monitored to prevent contamination of a well or well field that supplies the City’s drinking water.
The protection area is split up into different zones. These zones are based on the time it takes a drop of water to travel from the point where it enters the underground aquifer to the point where it enters the nearest drinking water well.
Critical components that ensure our drinking water stays clean include:
- Identifying WHPAs
- Identifying potential sources of groundwater contamination within WHPAs
- Keeping a contaminant source inventory within each WHPA
- Providing extensive notification network to owners/operators, local regulatory agencies, and local emergency responders.
- Having a Spill Response Plan
To find out if you live within a wellhead protection area, enter your address into this MAP.
What Can You Do to Prevent Groundwater Contamination?
Properly Dispose of Potentially Toxic Substances
- For your health and safety, carefully dispose of hazardous chemicals like motor oil, batteries, paints, pesticides, etc.
- You can dispose of these items FREE at the Thurston County’s HazoHouse, 2420 Hogum Bay Road NE, Lacey, WA 98516
Open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
For questions call (360) 867-2491 or visit the HazoHouse website
- You can dispose of these items FREE at the Thurston County’s HazoHouse, 2420 Hogum Bay Road NE, Lacey, WA 98516
- Using fewer chemicals around your home and yard reduces the amount you’ll have to dispose of! Consider natural/nontoxic household cleaners.
- Materials such as lemon juice, baking soda, and vinegar make great cleaning products, are inexpensive, and environmentally friendly!
- Letting out-of-date or unused prescriptions sit in the medicine cabinet is NOT a good idea. Too often, such medicines are accidentally taken and can be potentially dangerous to digest if they’re past their expiration date.
- Visit the following websites to locate a safe medication takeback location:
For questions contact the Lacey Police Department at (360) 459-4333 or LaceyPolice@CityofLacey.org
Understanding Drought in the City of Lacey
Summer 2026
The Washington State Department of Ecology declared a drought in Washington for the fourth year in a row.
What is a drought and what does it mean for Lacey’s water supply? Drought is a prolonged period of below-average precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc.). This can reduce stream and lake levels, lower groundwater levels, stress ecosystems, and increase water demand.
Drought affects our water resources throughout the region, and the impacts vary by location depending on water sources and local hydrogeology (distribution, movement, and groundwater quality). Impacts felt in Lacey include reduced stream flows, lower lake levels, and the drying of local wetlands. This increases stress on fish and wildlife, as well as increased demand for landscape watering during hot, dry conditions, and puts increased pressure on our water supply system.
Lacey’s Water Supply
The City of Lacey (City) has a dependable water supply and will remain dependable as we continue to invest in infrastructure, groundwater recharge, habitat protection, and long-term planning to help ensure reliable water resources for the future.
The City pulls its water from 20 groundwater well sites located throughout our water service area, which includes much of the urban growth area.
Groundwater is water stored beneath the earth’s surface in soil and rock formations called aquifers. Shallow aquifers are connected to surface water such as creeks, rivers, and lakes and are more directly impacted by drought conditions, while deeper aquifers respond differently.
Most of Lacey’s water supply comes from deeper aquifers, which experience smaller fluctuations in water levels during drought conditions. This provides an important level of reliability for Lacey’s water system. Even so, groundwater sources remain part of the broader water cycle and require careful management to ensure long-term sustainability. Drought conditions affect regional water resources and environmental systems. Conserving water helps protect resources and provides flexibility should future drought conditions become more severe. Lacey Supports Healthy Streams and Aquifers.
Lacey actively invests in projects that support water resources and aquatic ecosystems throughout the region to help make them more resistant to the effects of drought.
Reclaimed Water Recharge: In partnership with the LOTT Clean Water Alliance, the City uses reclaimed water to refill underground water supplies by putting clean water back into them. Reclaimed water is wastewater that has undergone a high level of treatment, filtration, and disinfection that removes contaminants, bacteria, and viruses, making it safe for beneficial reuse. There are two facilities in Lacey that recharge our aquifers with reclaimed water.
- LOTT operates the Hawks Prairie Ponds and Recharge Basins, a 40-acre public open space and recharge facility that helps make our region more resilient to drought.
- The City operates the Woodland Creek basin’s reclaimed water recharge facility, located in Woodland Creek Community Park, that returns highly treated water into our local groundwater. The reclaimed water infiltrates into the aquifer and supports streamflow in Woodland Creek very near its headwaters just north of Long Lake. This reclaimed water helps support naturally occurring streamflow in Woodland Creek. This segment of Woodland Creek naturally goes dry each summer. Our recharge facility helps extend the timeframe that water is flowing, offsetting Lacey’s groundwater withdrawals and benefiting the environment.
Habitat Protection: Lacey improves watershed health by purchasing and protecting sensitive lands such as riparian corridors, the lands immediately adjacent to our streams and other water bodies. We support habitat restoration efforts by investing in projects that improve watershed function. These actions help maintain healthy ecosystems and contribute to long-term water resource sustainability.
Lacey Manages Our Water Rights to Ensure Sustainability
Monitoring, modeling, mitigation projects, and ongoing management ensure that streamflow and aquatic resources are not unacceptably impacted. Protecting water resources today helps ensure a reliable water supply for future generations. Visit the Water Rights Mitigation Plan for more information.
How You Can Help
Water conservation is one of the most effective tools for protecting our water resources. This is true in drought years and non-drought years. The Lacey Water Conservation Program can help you make a difference with rebates on water-efficient equipment and free water-saving items for use in and around your home. In addition, Washington state law (RCW 64.38.057) supports water conservation during declared drought conditions. In affected areas, homeowners’ associations may not fine residents for reducing or eliminating lawn watering during the drought declaration. Water conservation helps reduce demand, support environmental resources, and strengthen our community’s resilience during drought conditions. Conserving water helps protect resources and provides flexibility should future drought conditions become more severe.
Following the Mandatory Odd-Even Watering Schedule reduces stress on the water system by lowering peak summer demand.
Together, we can help ensure a sustainable and reliable water supply for our community well into the future.
Department
Public Works
email: PWFrontCounter@CityofLacey.org
phone: (360) 491-5600
Hours
Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
