When a section of the Spokane River ran completely dry in August, it sounded alarms for environmental advocates, like the Spokane Riverkeeper’s Water Protector Katelyn Scott, who said she had never seen the river flow so low. Described as a “perfect storm,” continued drought conditions, reduced flows from the Post Falls Dam ahead of Labor Day and the region’s slow-to-recharge aquifer were some of the main causes.
Without control over the factors that caused the event, Scott told the Inlander at the time that the biggest difference people could make is to examine their water use and conserve the resource as much as possible.
Scott’s recommendation inspired us to submit a public records request to the city of Spokane in August for its top 20 commercial water users between Aug. 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025, resurrecting the “Hydro Hogs” reporting done by the Inlander a couple of times in the past. The records, received two weeks ago, indicate that the city’s thirstiest businesses have cut their annual water use by more than half since 2007…