Living in Shadow Lake, WA: what to set up and who to call
Shadow Lake has no town government of its own, so King County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Tahoma School District. For emergencies, Shadow Lake is closest to Multicare Covington Medical Center, 3.5 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Shadow Lake, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Shadow Lake.
Power comes from Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Shadow Lake. Its homes paid an average of 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $147 a month (its average across Washington).
Start or move service: pse.com · (888) 225-5773
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Cedar River Water & Sewer District
Cedar River Water & Sewer District supplies Shadow Lake: about 84% of residents live in its service area. Covington Water District serves another 16%. About 6% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Covington Water District and Seattle Public Utilities as sellers) and serves 28,671 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 1.3 ppb. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report
EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. WA5341800.
5 home internet providers serve Shadow Lake
92% of 912 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 88% | 2,000/250 |
| CenturyLink | DSL | 27% | 80/10 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 60% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 31% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 21% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Shadow Lake’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Shadow Lake.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Shadow Lake is in Tahoma School District.
ASchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Shadow Lake is unincorporated, so King County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Shadow Lake spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Shadow Lake residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Shadow Lake | ZIP’s residents in Shadow Lake |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98038 | Maple Valley, WA | 59% | 4% |
| 98058 | Renton, WA | 35% | 2% |
| 98042 | Kent, WA | 5% | 0% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Shadow Lake
Who supplies Shadow Lake’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Cedar River Water & Sewer District (EPA ID WA5341800). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Shadow Lake?
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Shadow Lake?
Xfinity, CenturyLink, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Shadow Lake?
98038 (59%), 98058 (35%), 98042 (5%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Shadow Lake in?
Tahoma School District.
How do I register to vote in Shadow Lake?
In Washington you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 8 days before). Elections here are run by the King County Elections. Check your registration at voter.votewa.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.