Explore Shape Our Water
Seattle wouldn’t be Seattle without our rain, lakes, creeks, rivers, and Puget Sound. We love our water, and it’s part of us.
SPU is working in collaboration with the communities we serve to plan for how we’ll make equitable and environmentally sound drainage and wastewater investments that take care of our natural waters and the people who rely on them for the next 50 years and beyond.
Shape Our Water has been underway since 2019, working to define the next 50 years of Seattle’s resilient drainage and wastewater system investments. We want to create meaningful benefits for everyone and a more innovative and equitable city along the way.
Through collaboration with many project partners and community members, we have learned more about our current system and its needs, and set a community-led vision for future change and investments. On this page you can explore the steps we have and are taking, and the many voices and ideas that are helping Shape Our Water.
Portrait photos by Chloe Collyer.
Illustrations by Natalie Dupille.
As Seattle faces powerful forces like climate change and rapid growth, future investments in water systems will transform our city and make us more resilient. The Shape Our Water project plans for that future, looking beyond pipes and green infrastructure to see their broader role in our lives.
Community Vision
During two years of outreach and engagement, we learned about our community’s goals for long-term resiliency, racial and environmental justice, and personal and community well-being. These conversations helped to create a community vision for the development of the Shape Our Water plan.
Learn about Seattle’s drainage and wastewater systems
Seattle Public Utilities builds and manages drainage and wastewater systems that affect how Seattle looks, feels, and functions as water flows in, out, and around our city.
Community stories
We invited community-based organizations throughout Seattle to tell us about their connections to urban waters, and what they value about how water shapes their lives.
Community tours
Discover innovative natural water management projects that are hiding in plain sight. Our community tours invite you to visit DWW projects that do double duty, providing drainage management alongside beautiful community spaces and parks.
Past events
Learn more about past Shape Our Water events: discussions between community members and local and national leaders within the stormwater and wastewater management community on how future investments could benefit Seattle.
Project partners
Seattle Public Utilities works in collaboration with many partners to connect with communities across the city. Through partnerships, we can ensure that future investments in Seattle’s drainage and wastewater system bring economic, health, and quality of life benefits to everyone.