Potable Water
By Jim Palmer Jr.

“Water, water everywhere and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” For some reason, I have always remembered this line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, penned in 1834. I don’t remember much from those dreadful long hours in literature class, but for some reason I remember that line! The premise of this old story is about a sailor on a ship, surrounded by volumes of salt water, but having no water to drink. Water has been the topic of many western dramas, including the serious and silly adult cartoon called Rango, featuring the voice of Johnny Depp, which spins the yarn of a desert town being controlled because of lack of water.

Yes, availability of water has always been a concern that troubles developers and planners who must be sure of the availability of potable water prior to investing to build homes. If you are one who is considering a home building project and are haunted by the thought that you won’t find sufficient water, here are some thoughts on that subject.

The fact is that we are very blessed to live in an area of the world where there is an abundance of water, even though there are preservationists who still promote the fear that there is not enough for all. Another fact is that it is very unusual to find a property where there is just no available water to be found by drilling into the earth. By researching the Dept. of Ecology website, one can calculate the cost and probability of successful well development by studying documented wells in any area of the state.

Akin to the pessimistic approach of preservationists, is the brash claim by the know-it-all uncles of the world who give the advice that “you should never purchase a property unless there is over 20 gpm!” Uncle, you are not only overly optimistic, but you are uninformed!

The minimum flow required to make a legal usable well in this state is one gallon per minute. The most you are allowed by law to use in an exempt domestic well is 5,000 gallons per day (3,000 gals. in the Little Spokane River drainage). If you pumped that well all day and stayed compliant with that rule, you could only pump 3½ gallons per minute. Besides that, the average pump will only do about 7 gpm, so that debunks uncles claim you need more!