Summer is here! The temperature is rising, lilacs and mock oranges are blooming, and the aggravating yellow film of pine pollen is coating every outside surface– our faces, our lawn chairs, our sidewalks, our windows, and our cars! Summer’s arrival usually coincides with a
dramatic increase in household water use, primarily due to watering our lawns and landscaping. For most of us in the Hayden Lake Watershed, keeping our gardens or lawns lush and green means a true spike in water usage – often between 2 and 4 times what we use the rest of the year!
Given the spike in usage that accompanies outdoor watering, one of the most effective ways to impact your water consumption is to review how and when you water your lawn and landscaping. Sadly, more than half of what we use typically ends up wasted because we a) rely on a timer instead of addressing actual plant needs and soil moisture, or b) water in the heat of the day, when much of it evaporates before it ever benefits our plants. (NOTE: Early morning irrigation minimizes evaporation loss and allows foliage to dry quickly, so you lessen your risk of fungal disease.)
Because water is a shared resource, your action will impact your neighbors and others in your community. In other words, while we share the resource, we also share the need to conserve it. All of us across the watershed need to work together to protect the clean, reliable water we depend on, especially during this drought year. We encourage you to make conserving water a part of your daily life!
Several resources are available to help you find ways to conserve, both inside and outside your home. Here are a couple that we recommend:
- https://www.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-summer-infographic
- https://www.ready.gov/drought
- https://daltongardens.com/vertical/sites/%7B1B243E12-79CE-4605-9AA1-285C446D8824%7D/uploads/BasicLawnCareDontBagItCombined_2018.pdf
Why this year?
Unfortunately, Idaho is in a drought, which is attributed to this season’s abnormally warm weather and dismally low snowpack. Snowpack plays a critical role in the Hayden Lake Watershed; it “keeps” water in the mountains, recharging our groundwater and
creeks as it melts. Approximately 60% of North Idaho’s water comes from snowmelt.
In April, amid warnings about the coming effects of the state’s lack of snowpack, our governor signed an emergency drought declaration for all 44 counties in Idaho. The declaration acknowledges October 2025 to March 2026 as the second-warmest winter in the state since 1896. (The warmest is the 1933-34 winter season, years that kicked off the “dirty thirties” or “dust bowl years.”)
Bottom line: our watershed will likely face challenging water supply conditions this summer as we bear the impact of consecutive years of low snowpack. We will undoubtedly witness historically low streamflow again this summer.
