Author, Karla Freeman, Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District Manager
As communities across the Inland Northwest face increasing drought, population growth, and changing hydrologic conditions, discussions about water supply and water quality are becoming more frequent—and more technical. To help ground these discussions in local context, it is useful to hear from practitioners who work directly with land, water, and agricultural systems and who regularly engage with scientists, regulators, and landowners. One such practitioner is Laurin Scarcello.
Scarcello has recently spoken to the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce Natural Resources Committee, the Rotary Club of Coeur d’Alene, and participants at the Northwest Environmental Business Association’s Water Under Pressure Symposium. These forums brought together professionals from across the Northwest representing diverse watersheds with shared concerns about long-term water availability and quality.
Scarcello’s perspective is informed by his service in multiple roles, including chair of the Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, member of the Kootenai-Shoshone Farm Bureau and Kootenai County Aquifer Protection District Boards, Kootenai County representative for the USDA Farm Service Agency, and Dam Keeper for the Twin Lakes Flood Control District. Through these roles, he works continuously at the intersection of science, land management, and policy implementation.
A consistent theme in Scarcello’s presentations is the growing body of evidence documenting hydrologic change across the region. “One thing is clear,” he says, “climate concerns are real. Snowpack trends and melt timelines are real.” Observations throughout the Northwest show declining snowpack, earlier runoff, and longer dry seasons, all of which influence surface water flows and groundwater recharge.
In response, many watersheds are investing in aquifer recharge, water reuse, conveyance improvements, and advanced treatment technologies. The Rathdrum Prairie–Spokane Valley Aquifer has historically remained productive compared to neighboring systems, but it is not immune to broader trends. “It would seem that the Rathdrum Prairie Spokane Valley Aquifer is the only watershed not in trouble,” Scarcello notes. “That said, the Spokane River did dry up this past summer.”
Water quantity and water quality are closely linked. Reduced flows are associated with higher temperatures and less dilution of pollutants from both point and nonpoint sources, increasing stress on aquatic systems and complicating water quality management.
Scarcello’s work focuses on how land use influences aquifer recharge capacity. The ability of the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer to sustain current and future demand depends not only on precipitation and climate patterns, but also on what happens at the land surface. “From my perspective,” he explains, “we are not doing enough to safeguard the future exploitation of this resource.”
Farmland preservation is one management consideration highlighted in his presentations. “The preservation of farmland—open space—above the aquifer is first and foremost,” Scarcello says. Idaho’s Agricultural Protection Area Act (House Bill 608) established Agricultural Protection Areas to support working lands, yet economic pressures continue to drive conversion. Increasing drought frequency, rising energy costs, and development demand make agricultural operations more difficult to sustain in rapidly growing areas like Kootenai County.
Scarcello has discussed incentive-based approaches as a potential tool to align aquifer protection with landowner realities. Stewardship incentives, he argues, may offer “the most bang for the buck—utilizing existing stewards of the land with skin in the game.” Similar approaches are used elsewhere to compensate landowners for ecosystem services such as groundwater recharge and water quality protection.
Potential mechanisms include short-term easements, enrollment incentives, and use of the existing aquifer protection funding mechanism through Kootenai County. Oversight through the Kootenai-Shoshone Soil and Water Conservation District and technical support from USDA programs could be explored as avenues for support.
Maintaining open space also provides benefits beyond groundwater, including protection of surface water quality, air quality, and scenic landscapes. Once land transitions out of agriculture, Scarcello notes, “we—the public—are reliant on regulatory oversight to safeguard our airshed, viewshed, and watershed,” adding that regulation is “often reactive—not proactive.”
Research consistently shows that proactive land and water management can be more cost-effective than remediation after degradation occurs. Agricultural lands deliver measurable ecosystem services, including aquifer recharge, and those services depend on sustained investment.
Decisions about aquifer protection tools occur primarily at the county level. Public engagement helps ensure that scientific information, land use trends, and community values are considered together. More technical information about the Rathdrum Prairie–Spokane Valley Aquifer and local protection efforts is available through the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality: https://www.deq.idaho.gov/water-quality/groundwater/rathdrum-prairie-aquifer/ and the Kootenai County Aquifer Protection District: https://www.kcgov.us/336/Aquifer-Protection-Board.
