Lake Youngs, Washington

The Cedar River Watershed is the primary source of drinking water for the city of Seattle. Over 90,000 acres of the watershed, mostly located south of Interstate 90 on the west slope of the Cascades, are protected by restricted access (though mining and logging have taken place within the watershed). Two major reservoirs store water, while hundreds of miles of pipelines bring water into treatment and distribution facilities. In the mountains, Chester Morse Lake Reservoir holds the most water, while Lake Youngs, a 500 acre reservoir east of Kent, is the last stop for the water before it is distributed via buried pipelines.