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City urges water use reductions after Spokane River flow falls below 1,000 cfs
Summary
Spokane Public Works urged residents to limit outdoor watering and follow summer conservation guidance after river flows at the Monroe Street gauge dipped below 1,000 cubic feet per second, triggering provisions of the city's 2022 drought response ordinance. The measures are recommendations so far; no drought emergency has been declared.
Spokane Public Works Director Marlene told the PIES Committee that the city sent public information last week urging residents to use less water after flow in the Spokane River fell below 1,000 cubic feet per second at the Monroe Street gauge, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. The guidance follows the council's 2022 drought response ordinance, Marlene said.
The guidance is intended to be preventive: "Every summer between June 1 and October 1, we ask people not to water outside between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.," Marlene said. She said the city also asks residents to limit watering to no more than four days a week, promotes an every-other-day schedule, discourages long watering sessions, and advises against using potable water to clean driveways and other hardscapes.
Those measures become firmer recommendations when the city's river-flow triggers are met, Marlene said. "When we see that river dip below a thousand cubic feet, we still tell them not to water between 10 and 6," she said, adding that the ordinance anticipates the council could declare a drought emergency but that the council has not taken that step to date.
Why it matters: the council adopted the drought response ordinance in 2022 to give the city a framework to reduce water demand during low-flow periods on the Spokane River. Marlene said staff will discuss the guidance again while developing the water conservation master plan and may propose changes to make the rules easier for residents to follow.
Council members also asked about the fiscal implications of conservation. One council member asked whether conservation recommendations were affecting utility revenue; Marlene replied that recent lower water sales appeared more likely tied to variable weather than to conservation alone. "It feels like we've had sort of a couple of hot days and a couple of cool days. So we're not seeing the same level of water sales that we typically do," she said.
Discussion versus decision: the PIES Committee received staff updates and asked questions; no emergency declaration or ordinance change was made at the meeting. Staff said they will revisit messaging and the water conservation master plan to consider ways to increase voluntary compliance with the current measures.
Timing and next steps: staff recommended continued public outreach this summer and said they would bring conservation-plan options back for committee and council review as the water conservation master plan is developed.
