Take a minute to think about how much water you use every day. How much water are you using for your morning shower, to brew a pot (or two) of coffee, to wash the dishes and brush your teeth? You'll be shocked to find out that the average American uses about 70 gallons of water each day. Did you know you were using 25,500 gallons each year?

That's why the City of Spokane has the ‘Slow the Flow' program. It encourages our community to be more conscious about the water we are using and teaches us how to reduce water using habits. The Slow the Flow campaign provides great suggestions like watering your lawn before noon and after 6pm to reduce wasted water by evaporation. Other tips include turning off your hose when you wash your car and adjusting your sprinklers to prevent water from going onto streets and driveways where it is wasted.

Another feature of this program includes rebates and incentives. Residential customers receive a $100 water bill credit "to remove 1,000 square feet of lawn and replace it with non-irrigated, drought-tolerant landscaping" and can become eligible for rebates of up to $375 for installing rain sensors or soil moisture sensors. (www.SpokaneCity.org)

So where does Spokane's water come from? The Rathdrum-Spokane Aquifer, discovered in 1895, supplies most everyone in the Spokane and Kootenai Counties with high-quality clean drinking water. It covers 322 square miles in Washington and Idaho and supplies water to over 500,000 people around the region. In order to preserve this natural source, programs have been designed to ensure the aquifer will stay a clean and protected resource for years to come.

And as for water quality, the Spokane Water Department tests our drinking water more than 2,000 times annually checking for 80 contaminants, so we are always assured that our water is safe to drink.