Spokane County, WA Water Use Rules: Turf Replacement Rebates (2026)
Key Facts
- Default rule
- Automatic irrigation required
- Alternative allowed
- Xeriscape/naturalized landscape, director-approved
- Qualifying scenario 1
- Designated stormwater control area
- Qualifying scenario 2
- High groundwater area
- Qualifying scenario 3
- Limited water availability (well sites)
- Exempt
- Single-family & duplex homes
Summary
Spokane County's default landscaping rule requires an automatic irrigation system on every required planting area, but section 14.806.180 lets the director approve xeriscaping or naturalized landscaping instead. The swap is limited to three water-conservation scenarios under section 14.806.040(1)(c): designated stormwater control areas, high-groundwater areas identified by the county engineer, and sites with limited water availability, mainly well-served development.
1.Property owners shall keep the required planting area maintained with an automatic irrigation system unless modifications, in accordance with section 14.806.040, are approved for xeriscapes or naturalized landscapes.2.When appropriately installed and maintained, xeriscaping and associated irrigation systems intended to conserve water or mitigate the effects of irrigating in stormwater control areas are considered to meet the intent of this chapter. ... c.Where xeriscape landscaping is utilized as follows.i.In designated stormwater control areas.ii.In areas designated by the county engineer as areas with a potential for high ground water.iii.Where the availability of water is limited (primarily for developments or sites served by wells).
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
806, Landscaping and Screening Standards, covering commercial, industrial, multi-family and planned unit development projects. 180(2) then treats properly installed and maintained xeriscaping as fully satisfying the chapter's intent when it is used to conserve water or to mitigate the effects of irrigation in stormwater control areas, meaning a developer isn't penalized for choosing drought-tolerant planting over turf and sprinklers in the right setting. 040(1)(c), which limits director-approved xeriscape or naturalized landscape substitutions to three circumstances: land inside a designated stormwater control area, land the county engineer has flagged as having a potential for high ground water, and sites where water availability is limited, chiefly developments served by private wells rather than municipal water.
That last category matters across much of unincorporated Spokane County, where private wells draw from the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, the region's federally designated Sole Source Aquifer, and where the county has an independent interest in limiting irrigation demand. 060.
Violations & Fines
Installing xeriscaping or removing a required automatic irrigation system without an approved section 14.806.040 modification leaves a project out of compliance with the mandatory irrigation standard in section 14.806.180(1), which the county can enforce as a landscaping maintenance violation under section 14.806.160(3). That can require restoring the irrigation system or the originally approved planting plan and can hold up a certificate of occupancy until the landscaping is brought back into compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I replace turf with xeriscaping under Spokane County's landscaping code?
Is automatic irrigation required for landscaping in the county?
Does this rule apply to my house's front lawn?
Why would well water availability matter for landscaping approval?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
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