Welcome rain improves outlook for Puget Sound water supply

SEATTLE (AP) — Rains in the Puget Sound region have boosted the area's water supply, and residents of Seattle, Everett and Tacoma are no longer being asked to reduce their water use by 10 percent.

City officials say they're keeping advisories in place that water supply could be an issue, and residents still shouldn't waste the resource, especially as a strong El Nino system is expected to bring a warm winter.

But Everett's Sultan River watershed received more than a foot of rain in the last two weeks, reservoirs serving Seattle are up by more than a dozen feet, and Tacoma has stopped relying on well water and is instead drawing solely from the Green River, which is running well above normal.

Officials thanked residents and businesses for helping to cut water use during the dry summer and early fall, which helped them provide water to meet the needs of people and salmon alike.