City’s Water ‘Vulnerable’ Yearlong Study Finds Groundwater Susceptible To Contamination

A yearlong study of Spokane’s aquifer has identified businesses and industrial activity near the city’s eight major drinking water wells that could harm water quality.

The $500,000 study, released Friday, concludes that Spokane’s groundwater is “highly vulnerable to a variety of contamination threats.”

“A spill or contamination release within the capture zone of a city well could cause contamination to enter the city’s potable water supply,” the study says.

Tonight, the City Council will decide whether to spend $98,000 on the aquifer study’s next phase: a program to notify more than 1,600 businesses about the risks their activities may pose to drinking water.

From A & E Upholstery to Zoom’s Frame Repair, the businesses on the city’s new “Contaminant Source Inventory” will be notified in March and April.

“The vast majority of these businesses haven’t spilled a thing. But they have hazardous materials that could threaten the aquifer,” said Lars Hendron, the city’s program manager for wellhead protection.

The businesses will be ranked in four categories, from “low risk,” those using less than 220 pounds of hazardous materials per month, to “high risk,” those known to have contaminated soils or groundwater.

The city, working with Spokane County officials and other area water purveyors, also will launch a new round of public involvement to safeguard the large wells drilled into the Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer.

That may eventually lead to new zoning regulations to prevent certain types of hazardous industries from locating over the aquifer.

“Wellhead protection is a federal requirement, but it’s also a prudent thing for us to do,” said Brad Blegen, Spokane’s water services director.

Five of the city’s eight wells are located in highly-developed urban areas with a variety of industrial hazards. The most endangered are:

Nevada and Grace wells: They are near concrete manufacturers, auto and paint shops, metal works, recycling sites and the city’s controversial fleet services facilities in the Logan neighborhood, which many neighbors say should be moved somewhere else.

Parkwater and Well Electric wells: They are near industrial manufacturers, businesses that handle hazardous chemicals, rail lines, a petroleum pipeline and Felts Field.

Central Well: It draws water near dozens of print shops, building supply shops, auto parts stores, paint suppliers, lubrication stations and machine shops.

Spokane’s unique aquifer is an underground river that flows west from Idaho. It’s the largest of its kind in the country and it feeds Spokane’s big drinking water wells. They are able to provide up to 220 million gallons per day of good drinking water.

The aquifer was given federal protection in 1979 as the sole source of Spokane’s drinking water. Several major studies have tracked its path and identified activities that threaten it. A Spokane County program has monitored its quality for years.

The new Wellhead Protection Program goes a step further - adding to current knowledge of the aquifer’s characteristics and compiling a more comprehensive list of the activities that threaten it.

CH2M Hill was hired to develop a new model of the aquifer’s flow and characteristics. Among the study’s findings:

The aquifer’s flow at the Washington/Idaho state line is slower than previously charted.

A subterranean rock dam exists from Five Mile Shopping Center to Northwest Boulevard, directing the main portion of the aquifer’s flow to the north.

A second aquifer exists from Magnesium Road north to the Little Spokane River.

The level of the aquifer and its response to change in elevation is greatly influenced by water flow levels in the Spokane River.

By mid-March, city officials plan to establish a Web site on the wellhead program for public use. Also, a citizens’ committee will be formed this spring, with representatives from business and industry, neighborhoods, environmental groups and the Chamber of Commerce.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Safeguarding the aquifer

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COUNCIL BRIEFING A briefing for the City Council starts at 3:30 p.m. in the lower-level conference room of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. The meeting begins at 6.