Making sure you have safe, reliable, high-quality, great-tasting water every time you turn on the tap is the goal of Cascade Water Alliance, the municipal corporation of which Redmond is a part.

You don’t hear about it, and you may not know about it, and we doubt you even think about it. But because of the work we as board members and the City of Redmond have done over the past 15 years, you won’t have to worry that our city will have sufficient water for work, business and play for the next century.

Cascade Water Alliance was formed 15 years ago with the cities of Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah and Tukwila and the water districts serving the Sammamish Plateau and Skyway, so residents could have a voice and a vote in how to serve the needs of our  growing communities. To prepare for future regional needs, Cascade purchased Lake Tapps, in east Pierce County, as its own water source.

To do this, and to be able to operate the entire White River/Lake Tapps project for water supply, we made agreements with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe to ensure in-stream flows for fish; with the cities of Auburn, Buckley, Bonney Lake and Sumner to make sure they had sufficient water to meet their residents’ needs for the future and with the homeowners around Lake Tapps to ensure their lake stayed full and beautiful throughout the summer.

Cascade’s focus is to preserve resources that provide a steady, reliable source of water, now and in the future.

Despite recent population increases, water demand is dropping due to better building codes, more efficient appliances, denser development with smaller lawns to water, wise water use by residents and businesses, and more efficient water supply operations. Cascade and the other major water providers (Seattle, Tacoma and Everett) are planning for the region — together — to ensure the best use of all the water for today and tomorrow before making more investments. They are planning together for the region’s long-range future looking at the impacts of potential drought, earthquake, water quality and climate change on the region and what they might need to do to jointly prepare for those impacts. A plan is expected within months.

Cascade has also been a convener on critical legislation addressing water needs. They have pulled the region and state interests together to help individual governments or utilities form into units like Cascade to provide essential services, and to make sure governments and water and sewer districts can pay for and protect fire prevention services.

Cascade has managed to do all this and more with  a very small staff and a board of elected officials from its members doing all this work quickly, nimbly and in a cost effective manner. Serving on this board, I for many years, and Tom in his first term, have also driven many changes in how the region plans. It has been a challenge, a privilege and an exciting change in regional perspectives serving on the Cascade board.

But from day one today, the goal is and remains constant — ensuring safe, reliable and great-tasting high-quality water to each home and business in Redmond. So that you know every time you turn on the tap. Cascade Water Alliance — water for today and tomorrow.

Redmond Mayor John Marchione is chair of the Cascade Water Alliance.

Redmond City Council member Tom Flynn is a Cascade alternate.