Public Works & Utilities

Watering Rules and Drought Response Measures

To help you follow the ordinance and maintain a healthy landscape, use the recommended odd/even watering schedule.

Current Watering Ordinance Level: Level 1

In 2022, City Council approved the Drought Response Measures Ordinance to protect one of the region’s most invaluable resources, our water.

The ordinance consists of two parts:

Water Conservation
Drought Response

This ordinance goes into effect each summer from June 1 – Oct. 1 and applies to every City of Spokane water customer, residential, commercial, multi-family, etc. Exemptions are allowed for trees, newly planted landscapes, vegetable gardens and to mitigate wildfire risk. As of Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, City of Spokane moved the response to Level 1 because the Spokane River is flowing above 1,000 cubic feet per second.

Watering Rules

Level 1: Every summer starting June 1st – Oct. 1st

No outdoor watering between the hours of 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Limit watering to no more than 4 days within a week.
Suggested best practice of no more than a total of 2 hours watering per day.
Suggested excluding using water to clean hardscapes such as: sidewalks, driveways, decks, and patios.

The drought response portion of this ordinance will only go into effect when the Mayor or a majority of City Council declare a drought emergency the City shall implement the following conservation measures:

Level 2: When the Spokane River is below 1,000 CFS (cubic feet per second)

No outdoor watering between the hours of 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Limit watering to no more than 2 days per week.
No more than a total of 2 hours of watering per day.
No using water to clean hardscapes such as: sidewalks, driveways, decks and patios.

Find out more about the Drought Response Measures Ordinance.

This website will help you stay informed on the latest summertime watering rules. The ordinance changes from Level 1 to Level 2 when a drought has been declared. Streamflow is captured by the USGS Spokane River monitoring station located between the Maple Street Bridge and Sandifur Memorial Bridge and continually monitors flow in 15-minute intervals.

Streamflow and Water Quality Monitoring

View the USGS National Water Dashboard to see Spokane River’s current and historic streamflow data, and view over 13,000 USGS real-time stream, lake, reservoir, precipitation, water quality, and groundwater stations across the country.

Drought Monitoring

Use the U.S. Drought Monitor to see which parts of the country and county are in drought. You can explore current drought conditions and severity as well as future outlooks.

River Conservation and Advocacy

If you’re curious about river health and current conservation efforts, check out the Spokane Riverkeeper! Learn about the many ways the Riverkeeper is guarding and advocating for the river, and get involved with their community science program or one of their litter clean-ups!