Our mayor Mary Verner earlier this year proposed the idea of some water conservation measures (e.g., not allowing lawn sprinklers during peak evaporation hours in summer). The way some reacted, you’d have thought we were back in the days when people were shot over water rights.

For a little on our local water use, there’s a post on the (late, lamented) MetroSpokane blog: http://twurl.cc/8bo, and another on the reaction to the mayor’s proposal: http://twurl.cc/8bp .

We have a complex local water profile, in which the Spokane River and the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer (sole-source, over 500,000 people rely on it) exchange water. At some points the river recharges the aquifer, at other points the aquifer recharges the river. We know this now thanks to a bi-state study funded partly by the federal government, partly by the two states.

If we outrun and outgrow our water supplies, we can drink and sprinkle all we like–if we’re willing to have a bone-dry river. People will have to start recognizing the costs and trade-offs. I just hope it’s before it’s too late.

For more on the river, see http://www.friendsofthefalls.org (I’m on the board of the organization).

@BarbChamberlain on Twitter

@ Tyler Ingram – Canada is characteristic for taking water for granted!