Seattle City Council members sample Cedar River water in 1899 and joyfully approve.

Using the Cedar River as a potential source of water was submitted to the City Council in 1888 by Mayor Robert Moran. However, one week before the election, an error in the ordinance forced the council to postpone the election until July 1889. One month before the July election, the Great Seattle Fire swept through downtown Seattle leaving much of it in ruins. Realizing that the burgeoning city could not rely on private water supplies, voters authorized construction of the Cedar River Pipeline in July 1889. Unfortunately, politics and economics would delay construction of the pipeline until 1899. Photo source: Building Washington, A History of Washington State Public Works, 1998