Hayden resident Phil Clements has been active in efforts to preserve the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. Until recently, he wasn’t optimistic that this sole source of drinking water would be well- protected by Idaho lawmakers or others hell-bent on development at any cost.

“It seems to be the human thing to use things until they are all used up,” he said.

Recent events in North Idaho have given him and others hope. In November, Kootenai County residents overwhelmingly said yes to paying up to $6 a year per household to establish an aquifer protection district.

On March 1, the Kootenai County commissioners turned down a proposed Rathdrum Prairie housing development, in part because its 700 homes would have been built over the aquifer. And on March 6, the Kootenai County Commission named 11 residents to a board that will make certain the aquifer gets monitored and protected and that aquifer protection district fees are spent wisely and well. Better still, 28 people applied for the board. In a time when many municipal boards go begging for citizen volunteers, this was remarkable.

Washington was long seen as progressive when it came to protecting the Spokane River and the aquifer it shares with North Idaho. Idaho’s recent actions show that the state is emerging as a regional player in the quest to protect these essential waters that know no boundaries.