About
Mission
Silverdale Water District's goal is to provide the highest quality water at the lowest reasonable price, assuring reliability of source, storage and distribution.
Our Community, Our Water
Present-day Silverdale was known as Dickeyville, with the establishment of a Post Office in 1889. The name didn't stick. Nor is the area known by its earlier Suquamish name, Sa'qad, meaning "to spear it", a reference to fishing at the mouth of the Clear Creek. In fact, the earliest surviving name is Dyes Inlet, after the ship's taxidermist on the 1841 Wilkes expedition. "Goldendale", an 1890 suggestion to replace Dickeyville, had already been taken. In keeping with the precious metals theme, the town's residents chose "Silverdale".
Logging
Between the 1850s and the 1880s, logging was the area's significant industry, starting on the shore in the Tracyton area and moving north into Clear Creek Valley. Logging provided the economic base for the region and opened land for settlers to establish homesteads and farms.
The 1880s brought farming to the area. Ultimately, the Washington Co-op was established, an egg cooperative that saw Silverdale-produced eggs shipped nationwide. In 1930 alone, 48,500 cases of eggs were shipped.
The Thirst for Water
On December 13, 1929, Silverdale Water District was formed to provide water services to the plat of Silverdale, today referred to as "Old Town Silverdale". Within the first year of existence, the District purchased the privately owned water system serving Silverdale for $750, obtained water rights and constructed an earth and timber dam on Woods Creek, and installed two miles of wooden water main from the dam to Silverdale. The Silverdale Water District has progressed to a state-of-the-art telemetry system that controls all aspects of the distribution center, including wells, pumps and reservoir levels.
Mosquito Fleet Days
Steamboats played an significant role in making us what we are today. In fact, without access to marine waterways, it's questionable whether early Silverdale would have existed. As early as the 1850s, long before roads and bridges, shallow-draft paddlewheelers and wooden-hulled steamboats began to replace rowboats and Native canoes as primary freight-haulers on the Sound.
Water Built Silverdale
For more than 150 years, people have been bringing their hopes, dreams, and ambitions to this green, fertile landing at the head of what we now call Dyes Inlet. And for almost 90 of those years, the Silverdale Water District has been successfully anticipating and meeting the water needs of the community, providing water for yesterday, today and tomorrow.