Home*A*Syst as a tool to protect the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer

More than 400,000 people in northern Idaho and western Washington depend on the water from the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer for drinking water.

Last spring Home*A*Syst volunteers participated in 40 hours of training. Speakers included professionals working in their respective fields. The training also included field trips to the regional waste-to-energy plant, the wastewater treatment plant, a variety of grassy swales for stormwater treatment and public water wells.

Since completing the training, volunteers helped to create a display for the Second House Exhibit in Post Falls, Idaho where Bonneville power and Kootenai Electric partnered to build an energy efficient home. Volunteers also helped to organize a public tour of the home.

Home*A*Syst volunteers have worked with the Green Zone to sponsor the lecture series, It's Easy Being Green. The monthly programs have featured topics from the Home*A*Syst manual including indoor air quality, heating and cooling systems, waste reduction and recycling, the Spokane Aquifer, yard and garden care and composting. Some of the actions that participants intend to take include: installing a CO detector ; testing for radon; using the information when designing and building their home; checking ductwork; changing furnace filters; do blower door tests to check for air leaks, and seal leaks.

Using the chapters of the Home*A*Syst manual as a guide, we developed portable displays to provide information for the public on topics including storm water management, irrigation practices, naturalizing landscapes, using safer substitutes for cleaning, composting, transportation options, and encouraging backyard wildlife.