The Water Supply Forum, a cooperative effort of public water supply systems and local governments in the central Puget Sound region, reports that summer water supplies are forecast to be sufficient.

“In general, our current forecast for the entire central Puget Sound region is consistent with the municipal water supply information included in the 2009 Regional Municipal Water Supply Outlook,” said Don Wright, Forum project manager for the 2009 Outlook project.

Linda McCrea, superintendent for Tacoma Water, expects the utility to meet the needs of Tacoma-area customers with an adequate water supply from the Green River and Tacoma’s well fields.

“Improvements to Howard Hanson Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also will aid in that effort,” McCrea said. “In addition, we are currently developing communications that will help our customers begin to think about their water in new ways and encourage smart use now and into the future.”

For additional information go to www.tacomawater/smart.

Ray Hoffman, Seattle Public Utilities director, said Seattle’s water supply is now good.

“We got some much needed snow and rain in the past month and our reservoirs were refilled quite nicely,” he said. “However, we’re not letting our guard down. We will monitor the supply and encourage users to use water wisely.”

For information on Seattle’s water supply go to www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Water_System/Water_Supply/SPU01_001850.asp.

The 2009 Regional Municipal Water Supply Outlook presents a regional overview of municipal water demands, provides an inventory of existing water supplies, and identifies and summarizes potential future water supply and conservation projects for King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. The 2009 Outlook was prepared by the Water Supply Forum over a three-year period, with significant involvement from the region’s water utilities, county governments, state agencies, tribal governments and environmental interests.

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For more information, visit www.watersupplyforum.org.