Meeting will cover Latah Creek’s water quality

FAIRFIELD – Water quality problems in Latah Creek will be discussed during a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Fairfield Community Center, 304 E. Main St. An open house at 6:30 p.m. precedes the meeting. Latah Creek begins in the foothills of North Idaho and flows into the Spokane River. Several water quality studies have confirmed trouble in the watershed. Water temperatures are too high and the water is too murky to support healthy fish populations. At times, levels of fecal coliform bacteria pose a threat to human health. The Spokane County Conservation District and the Washington Department of Ecology prepared a report on ways to revive the creek’s aquatic health. It recommends limits on the pollutants that wastewater treatment plants in Tekoa, Fairfield, Rockford, Spangle, Cheney and Freeman School Districts can discharge into the creek, and planting trees to shade the creek. The report is available at www.ecy.wa.gov/biblio/0910030.html. For a printed copy of the report, call Elaine Snouwaert at Ecology, (509) 329-3503. Written comments will be accepted through May 22. They should be sent to Snouwaert at 4601 N. Monroe St., Spokane, WA 99205, or by email at esno461@ecy.wa.gov.