Study of aquifer is long overdue

Finally, the clock is running on the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer study.

After years of debate, moratorium and legal showdowns between water users and conservationists, a group of scientists from three entities began measuring water levels in hundreds of wells that interact with the aquifer. In addition to this long-awaited and welcomed news, Congress appears poised to approve another $500,000 to continue funding the $3.5 million study.

When the study is complete in three years, if all goes according to plan, growing communities, developers, irrigators and water companies in Spokane and Kootenai counties will know how much water the aquifer contains. The knowledge should benefit planners in both counties as they address future growth. In a best-case scenario, the scientists will find enough water to recommend that the state of Washington lift its moratorium on granting permits for Spokane County aquifer use.

At this point, only one thing is certain about the aquifer: It’s finite.

Until 2001, when three power companies overplayed their hands by seeking a combined 20 million gallons per day from the aquifer, the Idaho Department of Water Resources handed out permits for tapping the aquifer as if they were lollipops at a dentist’s office. Although the state agency denied the two largest requests from the power companies, conservationist Rachel Paschal Osborn pointed out last December, it still granted 31 new water rights in two years, totaling about 10 million gallons per day.

Meanwhile, the state of Washington hasn’t issued a water right for aquifer use since 1992.

Although Idaho rejected a call by conservationists to adopt its own aquifer moratorium, local governments and businesses in Kootenai County have changed their thinking about the valuable drinking-water resource. Booming Post Falls trimmed back an initial request for 13 million gallons of water per day to 8 million. Now, the city believes it can meet its growing water needs by requesting landowners to cede water rights as a part of annexation. Silverwood theme park near Athol modeled conservation when it opted to recycle water rather than pursue a request for 1 million gallons per day for its new water park.

Mirroring the regional importance of the aquifer, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., were involved in winning appropriations for the study. Additionally, the study is being conducted collaboratively by the Washington Department of Ecology, Idaho Department of Water Resources and U.S. Geological Survey. Finally, local business leaders were on hand last December when a formal agreement was signed to launch the three-year study that began this week.

A lot of water has flowed under the ground since the requests by the power companies rang the alarm. A lot more will flow before we have some idea how much water the aquifer holds. In the end, the Bi-State Study will provide a crucial road map to the region’s future.