The Inlander16%
The region’s love affair with lush lawns comes with a cost, and a growing number of residents are embracing landscapes built for a drier future 18%
By Dora Scott18%
7/23/2026, 8:30:00 AM
Keywords: Water Use, Lawns, Conservation, Drought, Climate Change, Spokane, Aquifer, Irrigation, Xeriscaping, Spokanescape
BS Summary: This article contains 36 faulty reasoning types, including Hasty Generalization, Biased Writer Voice, and Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 7.5% saturation with 289 hits. Analysis detected 3,864 faulty-reasoning hits from 3,858 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 33.3% and a BS Rank of 18% (16,911 of 20,473 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 82.60% of the article peer group.
On many summer afternoons, if you look closely enough, you’ll find plenty of Inland Northwest households waging a quiet war against the scorching sun.
Sprinkler heads pop up, sounding off with rhythmic ticks as gallons of water disperse over turf in attempts to keep it green and pristine through the scorching heat.
For many homeowners, caring for grass is a point of pride, signaling a well-kept property and neighborhood.
But some in Spokane are using four times the amount of water needed to maintain a healthy landscape, according to Marlene Feist, the city’s Public Works director.
During the peak of summer, the average household in the city of Spokane uses 553 gallons of water per day outdoors, as the city’s Water Wise conservation program reported in 2020.
The city ranks in the top 2% nationally for residential water use, with Spokanites using an average of 199 gallons per person per day, Feist says.
The surge in summer demand overlaps with the time of year when the region’s largest groundwater source, the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, has its lowest replenishing rates due to limited rainfall and melting snowpack.
And with the state experiencing less than 75% of its normal water supply after little snow fell this winter, the Washington State Department of Ecology declared a drought emergency in parts or all of the state for the fourth consecutive year.
Despite growing concerns over climate change and other ecological impacts, turf lawns remain deeply embedded in American culture.
At the same time, municipalities like Spokane are engaged in long-term efforts to educate residents about more efficient watering practices and alternative landscaping options.
COLONIAL SEEDS
Long before lush mowed grass became synonymous with the American dream — the vision of a nuclear family’s house surrounded by a green expanse and a white picket fence — these vast decorative expanses originated in 16th- and 17th-century Britain and France.
“The lawn afforded wealthy landowners with a way to take in their grounds, such that they could witness their workers, intercept interlopers and glory in the green carpet,” writes Jolie Kaytes, a professor who heads the landscape architecture program at Washington State University, in an email to the Inlander.
“A sprawling lawn signaled control and affluence and the history of the lawn can be connected to conquest, power, politics, privilege and property.”
Owning land was one thing, but growing a profitless monoculture on it exhibited an even higher level of wealth.
In the shadow of colonial rule, the lawn appeared on the estates of rich American landowners as a new status symbol, including at the White House and homes of many of the Founding Fathers.
Throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the lawn expanded beyond private estates to parks and suburban neighborhoods, offering green spaces where people could escape the hectic, cramped city life.
Today, especially with oversight from homeowner associations, that frontyard plot isn’t just a status symbol but often an expected civic duty.
Uniform and healthy yards can increase property values and represent communal identity and pride.
Lawns encompass more than 40 million acres of land across the U.S., and landscaping services have grown into a $188 billion market, as tracked by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
“As a landscape architect doing this for 30 to 40 years, we were taught that you needed that void space, needed that lawn space, which was typically Kentucky bluegrass and fescue, a blend of grasses that really needed a lot of water,” says Cathy Spokas, a water conservation education coordinator for the city of Spokane.
Kentucky bluegrass, fescue and perennial ryegrass blends still dominate many Inland Northwest properties, proving to be the most tolerant to the region’s arid climate.
In fact, the Pacific Northwest yields about 90% of Kentucky bluegrass seed, according to ag-focused media outlet Washington Grown.
A typical turf blend requires around 50 inches of water per year to stay healthy.
Spokane, however, receives only about 16.5 inches of annual rainfall.
Irrigation drawn from the aquifer (or other smaller groundwater sources) is used to make up the deficit.
SLOW FLOWS
The water keeping the Inland Northwest’s prolific lawns green comes from the same source that fills our glasses with crystal clear drinking water.
The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer stretches about 370 square miles beneath North Idaho and Eastern Washington.
The aquifer originates between Spirit Lake and Lake Pend Oreille and both feeds and takes from the Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers as it flows underground to its edge west of downtown Spokane.
Though it’s easy to imagine the 10 trillion-gallon resource as a static reservoir, water can move through the aquifer underground as quickly as 60 feet per hour, according to the U.S.
Geological Survey.
More than 600,000 people in Spokane and Kootenai counties now rely on it for drinking water.
In 1978, the Environmental Protection Agency listed it as a “sole source” aquifer, increasing awareness about aquifer protection and supporting management practices to improve water quality.
The relationship between the aquifer and Spokane River is complex.
In areas where the aquifer sits higher than the riverbed, groundwater naturally feeds into the river.
But in sections known as “losing reaches,” the aquifer’s elevation is below the river floor, causing water from the river to seep into the groundwater source.
Katelyn Scott, water protector for the Spokane Riverkeeper, notes how these stretches can reduce overall river flows and contribute to warmer water temperatures, negatively impacting fish and other aquatic life as a result.
“What we’re hearing is the aquifer is not changing that much in level over time, it may be a couple of inches,” Scott says.
While that may not sound like much, “literally inches can change 100 [cubic feet per second] in the river,” she adds.
Citing a 2017 water report studying climate change effects on Spokane River flows, Scott notes that short-term, high-volume summer pumping from the aquifer could decrease river flows by 120 to 175 cubic feet per second (cfs).
“A hundred cubic feet per second, when we’re talking about a river that gets up to 40,000 cfs, is not that much,” Scott says.
“But we’re also talking about a river that gets as low as 700 [cfs] in the summer, so adding that extra 100 [cfs], that’s lifesaving for fish.”
People witnessed an alarming example of why it’s important to maintain those flows when a stretch of the Spokane River between Sullivan and Barker roads in Spokane Valley ran dry last August.
A “perfect storm” of factors likely led to it going dry, Scott says, including reduced flows from the Post Falls Dam ahead of Labor Day — the dam controls water levels in Lake Coeur d’Alene for hydropower, recreational and ecosystem needs — plus ongoing drought conditions and lower aquifer levels.
“We’re ultimately talking about how much has climate change impacted the river,” Scott says.
“We talk about lower flows, we talk about no snow this winter, we talk about hot summers, it all goes back to this climate change thing.”
CARROTS OR STICKS
While many of us don’t ponder where our water comes from when we turn on the faucet, it’s got to get there somehow.
In the city of Spokane, water is pumped from the aquifer via well stations and moved to storage tanks and reservoirs in higher elevations.
Then it travels down parts of more than 1,000 miles of city water mains to reach each customer.
Water meters track individual household usage by centum cubic feet, also called units.
One unit (100 cubic feet) equals 748 gallons.
Beyond implementing watering restrictions during drought conditions, which Spokane has been doing since 2022, the way water utilities charge customers can also influence conservation habits.
Many providers, including the city of Spokane, use tiered rate systems on top of a base monthly charge ($20.07 inside city limits; $30.11 outside).
The goal is to keep basic indoor uses, like taking showers and flushing toilets, fairly inexpensive, while making higher consumption, such as extensive summer irrigation, progressively more expensive.
(Utility bills in Spokane also include flat fees for sewer and stormwater services, plus capital maintenance of the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
Here we’re focusing on clean water usage.)
Reaching a higher tier doesn’t mean all water use is billed at the highest tier’s price.
Instead, the block-based system gets more expensive in stages, with customers paying incrementally higher rates as their water use climbs through five tiers.
The first six units per month are charged at the lowest rate ($0.3775/unit inside city; $0.5663/unit outside).
The city’s fifth and highest tier applies to customers using more than 45 units (or 33,660 gallons) and costs roughly $2-$3 per unit once that threshold is reached.
City rate increases that went into effect last year were designed to target residential “super users” who regularly use more than 18,702 gallons per month, putting them into one of the top two tiers.
City data from September 2023, the most recent numbers available, showed those customers made up 18% of residential customers, but used 46% of total residential water.
Compared with other U.S. cities, Spokane’s water prices remain relatively low.
Across the Cascades, Seattle’s seasonal water price structure increases costs during periods of higher demand.
To compare, Spokane’s median residential use in summer is 22 units per month, or 16,456 gallons.
A customer living inside Spokane city limits would pay around $37.87 for that amount, including the base charge, whereas a Seattle resident using the same amount in a 30-day period would shell out around $85.
Meanwhile, water is cheaper still in the City of Coeur d’Alene, with an average residential customer paying around $34 for up to 22 units used in a summer month.
Changing decades-old landscaping habits around the Inland Northwest, however, will likely require more than just water rate hikes.
Homeowners hoping to curb their water use can benefit from education on what alternatives exist and how to pay for the transition.
EFFICIENT ROOTS
For homeowners looking to forgo traditional turf altogether to cut back water use or even time spent maintaining a lawn, xeriscaped yards are on the rise.
In Spokane, more than 500 grass yards have been ripped out and replaced with native plants and more water-efficient designs as part of the city’s SpokaneScape program, which launched in 2018.
“What we’re seeing is that homes that do complete the SpokaneScape conversion use about 15% less water than the residential average,” Davis says.
The most common misconception about drought-tolerant yards is that native plants create messy or unkempt-looking spaces.
“People will call and say, ‘Boy, there’s just not much to them,’ or ‘It’s not very lush,’” says Cathy Spokas, a water conservation education coordinator for the city.
In response, she explains that a SpokaneScape yard requires some patience, as it takes a few years for plants to establish a root system and grow into their full potential.
For those considering a yard renovation, there are virtual tours of some of the city’s hundreds of drought-friendly landscapes at spokanescape.org.
To offset some of the costs of replacing turf, SpokaneScape participants can receive rebates in the form of a water bill credit of up to $500 per 1,000 square feet of converted lawn (50 cents per square foot, with a minimum of 300 square feet).
While xeriscape designs vary widely, to qualify for the SpokaneScape rebates there must be drought tolerant plants covering half the project’s square footage, rocks or bark mulch covering exposed soil, water-efficient irrigation systems, and permeable hardscapes that allow water to filter to the ground.
Residents must also be a city water customer and attend one of SpokaneScape’s free classes.
Options include an annual eight-week series in spring at the Shadle Park Library or SpokaneScape 101, a session held on the second Tuesday of each month at the WSU Spokane County Extension Office, at 222 N.
Havana St.
During these classes, participants learn about the aquifer, water-saving landscape designs, efficient irrigation technology and native and drought-resistant plants.
“This year, we had over 800 community members come to all the classes,” Spokas says.
“It started off with maybe 20 people per class, and this last year we would have over 100 people in quite a few of the classes.”
The program also requires front yards to be converted before backyards, in the hopes that street-visible changes inspire neighbors to rethink their own lawns.
“We want people to see these SpokaneScapes going in, so we require them to do the front yard first, and then it really catches on,” Spokas says.
“It’s crazy how somebody on the street will start off with a SpokaneScape and then you get, the next year, two or three more.”
For South Hill resident Pam Strickland, the decision to replace her lawn was inspired by her daughter, who participated in the program when it was first launched.
After retiring at the beginning of this year, converting her lawn became a bucket-list goal.
She enlisted the help of a SpokaneScape-certified landscaping company called Mulch On.
Although front yards must be converted first to qualify for a rebate, Strickland decided to transform both her front and back yards within a six-month period.
The roughly 9,000-square-foot combined expanse had been in a decadeslong battle against invasive crabgrass and high summer watering demands.
“It was thirsty, and it would go yellow if it got cut too short or if it didn’t get a lot of water, especially during the summer,” she says.
Before beginning the project, her designer pointed her to the library’s Water Wise series to ensure she was on track to get her rebate.
However, it was mostly the environmental impacts of grass lawns that spurred her interest.
“Everybody’s using too much water, especially during the summer,” Strickland says.
“So not only that, I’m using up water that could be potable for us to drink, but also all the pesticides … they go through the soil, and then they’re in the aquifer.”
Today, her front and back yards have small sections of plush, micro clover groundcover, which only needs to be mowed every three weeks, fertilizes itself and attracts pollinators.
She’s made it friendly for birds, too, hanging birdfeeders and installing a small bird bath fountain on the backside of her property.
Despite not having a lot of gardening experience, Strickland was able to finally develop her own green thumb thanks to the SpokaneScape program’s many resources.
“I’ve just now become a lot more engaged and knowledgeable and even though I don’t know all the names of everything, I’m developing a relationship with them,” she says about her fledgling native plants.
“At this point while they’re just getting established, and I’m still figuring out my irrigation plan, I do all the watering by hand.
So I’m out here every morning checking in with my plants.”
Spending more time in the yard has led to more conversations with curious neighbors passing by, interactions that Strickland says have been 100% positive.
“Which surprised me a little bit because most people take a lot of pride in their lawns and their landscaping, and there aren’t a lot of this kind of look around here,” she says.
While she’s an advocate for drought-tolerant landscaping, Strickland isn’t sure how quickly the culture around traditional turf will shift due to the time, cost and labor challenges presented by the process to convert lawns to xeriscapes.
“I think everybody gets to do what they want to do, and I appreciate the fact that my neighbors and the people that comment on my yard are saying, ‘Good on you, maybe not something I would do, but it looks nice,’ and I think that’s good enough,” she says.
LAWN LOVERS
For many in Spokane, the region’s commitment to pristine green lawns may be surprising, especially to those from more drought-prone states where expensive water rates, hot weather and fines for not complying during irrigation restrictions leads many homeowners to leave their grass brown.
“When I first moved here, I thought it was kind of weird about all of the really, really green lawns in an area that I knew didn’t get much precipitation,” recalls Sumner from the Idaho Washington Aquifer Collaborative.
Many water providers in arid climates — including cities with conditions similar to Spokane — set irrigation restrictions or ask residents to follow watering schedules during the summer months.
Some of those rules resemble Spokane’s Drought Response Measures ordinance, approved by the City Council in 2022.
In effect June 1 through Oct. 1, the rules use Spokane River flow levels to determine if outdoor watering restrictions are needed.
During a level one drought response, triggered when flow falls between 1,200 and 1,000 cfs, outdoor watering is prohibited from 10 am to 6 pm, and limited to every-other day.
(Last week, the Spokane River was flowing around 1,080 cfs, according to USGS data.)
When river flows drop below 1,000 cfs, restrictions increase.
Outdoor watering remains prohibited from 10 am to 6 pm, but residents are limited to two hours of watering per day no more than two days a week.
Water may not be used to clean outdoor hardscapes like sidewalks and driveways.
Currently, Spokanites don’t face any penalties for violating the ordinance.
While water waste can be reported by calling city services at 311, Public Works communication manager Kirstin Davis says the city doesn’t encourage residents to report all violations due to limited staff capacity.
The city does, however, encourage people to report more significant water waste, like if a business’ irrigation system is dysfunctional and leaking large amounts of water.
Instead of strict penalties, the Inland Northwest’s water providers are focusing on education and incentives to influence more conservative water habits.
As one of the largest municipal water providers in the region, Spokane delivers around 24 billion gallons of water to about 250,000 residents annually.
The city’s water conservation efforts began more than two decades ago and have since expanded into programs like Water Wise Spokane, which aims to help residents reduce their consumption.
“Many customers want to do the right thing but do not know where to start,” Davis says via email.
“They may not know how much water their landscape needs, how to program their controller, whether their sprinkler system is efficient, or which plants will work well in Spokane.”
One way to start is by taking advantage of the city’s free water efficiency checkups, during which residents can learn how their household uses water, identify potential leaks and see where they could cut back.
To determine if your property has a leak, customers can turn off their water taps and check whether the meter is reading active usage.
Smart meters, which provide real-time data and thus better leak detection, have now been installed for about 53% of the city’s customer base, Davis says.
A step above that are irrigation inspections, where customers can learn their specific landscape’s water needs, assess sprinkler issues, and get a personal irrigation schedule and help programming their controller.
“Some people worry that if they water every other day, water early or late, or reduce turf, their yard will suffer,” Davis says.
“Part of the city’s role is to show that efficient watering can still support healthy, attractive landscapes.”
Instead of simply asking people to be more efficient, the city provides water bill rebates to make change more affordable: replace your old toilet with a high-efficiency model (get up to $100), convert spray irrigation to drip (up to $200), install smart weather-based irrigation controllers (up to $100), or high-efficiency rotary nozzles (up to $4 per nozzle, $200 max).
Launched in 2020, the city also runs a yearly summer Water Wise Challenge, offering a limited number of households that reduce water use by at least 10% utility credits starting at $50.
From 2020 to 2025, a total of 2,579 Water Wise rebates were rewarded, totaling about $494,000 in water bill credits.
In 2020, the city also formalized its conservation goals and strategies in a five-year Water Conservation Master Plan, which is currently being updated “to keep pace with changing conditions, technology, growth, customer needs and climate impacts,” Davis says.
As part of that update, Public Works is reviewing the effectiveness of its existing conservation programs, watering rules and drought response measures.
Surprisingly, in a December Climate Resilience & Sustainability Board meeting, Public Works Director Feist shared that some customers who received irrigation rebates actually used even more water.
The finding underscores how vital customer education is to the Water Wise program’s initiatives.
“We made their systems more efficient, but they’re not taking advantage of that efficiency is what we’re seeing,” Feist stated at the meeting.
“On their own, people are having a little bit of a difficult challenge saving water, even when we give them tools to do better, unless we have much more personal interaction, which is happening on the Water Wise Challenge and what’s happening in SpokaneScape.”
SPOKANESCAPE REBATE STEPS
PREP WORK: Learn program requirements, create a landscape design plan, develop a prospective plant list and document the lawn you plan to remove through photos.
APPLY: Submit your design plan, project square footage, plant list, photos of existing lawn and your City of Spokane utility billing account number.
PRE-INSPECTION: After submitting an online application, you’ll be prompted to to schedule an inspection to meet Water Wise staff who can answer questions and offer project guidance.
INSTALLATION: Once approved, participants have two years to remove their lawn, purchase materials and plants, and complete their water-saving landscape.
FINAL INSPECTION: Email the Water Wise team at waterwise@spokanecity.org to schedule, and get your rebate
and SpokaneScape yard sign upon approval.
WATER-SAVING CHECKLIST
For most of us, daily household water conservation knowledge is limited to things like turning the sink off when brushing your teeth or limiting time in the shower.
Beyond that, here are some other tips and tricks to start changing your water habits:
EFFICIENT YARD MAINTENANCE: Many in Spokane use as much as four times the necessary water to maintain a healthy and lush landscape.
Pay close attention to the weather and the health of your plants to determine when to water next.
Don’t water in the middle of summer days or even everyday.
Set your lawn mower blade a little higher to help reduce evaporation rates, and make sure your irrigation system is working and set up properly — not shooting out onto the sidewalk.
RAIN BARRELS: Instead of using drinking water and racking up your water bill, install a barrel to capture rain and use it to help irrigate your yard.
(In Washington state, property owners don’t need a water right permit to do so).
RE-PURPOSE WATER: Before you dump that stale water from your water bottle down the drain, use it to water plants instead!
EQUIPMENT UPGRADES: Low-flow showerheads can save around 12,000 gallons per year and high-efficiency washing machines can save as much as 50% water per load.
LIMIT RUNNING WATER: If washing dishes by hand, do it in short blasts and soak your dishes in a pre-filled tub with some dish soap.
Find more water-saving tips at my.spokanecity.org/publicworks/water/water-wise-spokane.
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