Drought is conspicuous for those outside the aquifer

From the Spokesman-Review

The small orchard on Bob Sanborn’s 10-acre Colbert property should have produced bushels of fruit this year.

There are pear and apple trees and Santa Rosa plums “this big around and a deep purple inside,” said Sanborn, a retired computer technician.

But his apple and pear trees are almost devoid of fruit, and the plums are the size of marbles, hard and bitter to taste.

Sanborn stopped watering the orchard in July when his well went dry. He hauls water for washing dishes, laundry and showers, but irrigating the orchard isn’t feasible.

For most Spokane-area residents, this year’s drought has been a non-event. The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer supplies most of the region’s water needs – a 10-trillion gallon resource that has kept faucets running and lawns green during a dismal water year. Read the rest of the story here.