Protecting the Source

The goal of Protecting the Source is to conserve the finite water resources of Kootenai County and the Rathdrum Prairie-Spokane Valley Aquifer. To accomplish that goal, KEA is advocating for a revision of Idaho's water rights allocation policies, enforcing the Rathdrum Aquifer Ground Water Management Area Plan, and to establish a water conservation ethic in the bi-state (WA & ID) aquifer area.

Current laws and water policy in Idaho do not provide any incentive to conserve water. KEA is working towards the inclusion of a reasonable "annual water volume cap" in municipal water rights applications, and to reduce the current allowable allocation for domestic ground water users from 13,000 gallons per day to a more realistic and reasonable level.

Water rights applications are monitored, and if an application shows an inordinate amount of water requested,  the application is protested by KEA.  We engage in discussions and negotiation with the applicant to reduce the amount of the request.  Often through devises that use water more efficiently, both indoors and outdoors, the request can be greatly reduced.  This region currently uses nearly three times the daily national average.

KEA is also collaborating with consulting engineers, the three largest water purveyors in Kootenai County, the cities of Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls water departments and North Kootenai Water District, and the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR). These discussions have led to an initial acceptance by the engineers and the regionals manager of IDWR to include an annual water volume cap for subdivisions that have applied for municipal water rights. Discussions continue to determine how much water should be allocated in site-specific situations.

Kootenai Environmental Alliance is also a member of the Regional Water Management Strategy Committee whose long-term goal is to establish bi-state cooperation in the management of the Aquifer. The committee is composed of elected officials, representatives from state, city and county agencies and water purveyors. The short-term goal is to gain acceptance of a region wide mandatory water conservation measure.