Hey neighbor. I'm talking to you! Don't get me wrong, I love my neighbors and appreciate the immediate community we share together. But there are few things in life that irk me. And one of those things is wasting water. As Spokane County (including Kootenai, Bonner and Stevens Counties) continue to grow, so does the demand for cold, clean water. Not just for human consumption and irrigation but also for our native redband trout and future salmon. Water is essential to survival. Without water, we're done and dusted. We will NOT survive.
Thankfully Greater Spokane is blessed with the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer. The aquifer spans some 370 square miles in Washington and Idaho and contains an estimated 10 trillion gallons of water. And it flows at one of the fastest rates in the United States. As much as 60 feet per day in some areas. That said, the draw down by human and agricultural consumption is huge. Particularly during a drought like last year. And demand grows proportionally with population growth in our region.
Please don't think that our water is unlimited in supply because it simply is not. Without getting into the raw numbers or opening up a conversation about climate change, lets just use common sense. Is it necessary to water your lawn EVERY day in the spring, summer and fall? NO. Is it necessary to water your lawn every other day or less frequently during peak heat months? Yes! Watering every other day for longer and establishing deeper watering cycles allows roots to grow deeper. Watering more frequently for less time promotes shorter root growth, and a thirstier lawn. Luckily you can train your lawn to tolerate a lower frequency of watering. And training couldn't be easier with smart automatic sprinkler timers such as those made by Rachio.
While I have not tested other smart irrigation products, I'm convinced that Rachio makes the most intelligent sprinkler timer on the market. By way of example our Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller supports up to 8 zones. Rachio also makes a model that supports up to 16 zones. During the incredibly simple self-installation and setup process you input data such as plant type, soil type, sun exposure and slope. Based on your input the system will program itself to optimize watering. And the water schedule automatically adjusts with the seasons. Also, you can start or stop any program or individual zone anywhere in the world with an internet connection and the mobile or web app. This makes system tests and fall blowouts incredibly easy!
Additionally one of the most water conservation friendly features is weather intelligence where based on rain and wind, the system will skip watering if certain conditions are met. For example yesterday and the night before, Rachio learned that we received 0.3" of rain, and we have the threshold set in the system to skip watering if => 0.25" of rain fall within 24 hours of a scheduled watering event. According to the email we received this morning from Rachio, we've saved an estimated 1362 gallons of water. That's a lot! We also have the smart cycle enabled, which waters each zone up to 2-3x after giving each zone a break to soak.
Imagine if nearly every residential and commercial system in the area had a Rachio or replaced some or all of their turf with a water-efficient landscape. The volume of water saved would likely be enormous. Let's say 10% of our population installs a Rachio. That's approximately 50,000 units. Multiply that by the number of gallons we've saved recently and the number is greater than 68 million gallons. Think about that. 68 million gallons of water saved. Water that can be available to recharge YOUR Spokane River during the hottest months of the year when Avista must lower the flows of the river to minimal levels. Our native redband trout will thank you.