In brief: Water education center opens Thursday

Spokane County is opening a new educational center on water resources at the Spokane County Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 1004 N. Freya St.

An open house for the public is planned for 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the facility.

The Water Resource Center will be used for training and teaching, accommodating up to 90 people at a time. It features interactive exhibits to teach people about water stewardship and the water cycle.

Teachers can take advantage of the facility to meet curriculum requirements.

The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer serves as the source of drinking water for the region and is a resource that is subject of long-term environmental protection.

For more information or to schedule a visit, contact Rob Lindsay, water quality program manager, at (509) 477-7259 or by email at rlindsay@spokanecounty.org.

Redistricting prompts mailing to voters

Most Spokane County voters will get cards in the mail updating their voter information.

County elections officials said they’ve mailed 195,000 cards listing new precinct information. That’s roughly three out of four voters in the county.

The changes were prompted by redistricting, which happens once every 10 years after a national census.

Spokane County remains in the 5th Congressional District, but the lines for the legislative districts in the county were redrawn.

In an effort to save some money, the county is sending cards only to voters whose precinct information changed. Spokane Valley’s 4th Legislative District saw the least change, and many precincts in that district remain the same, so those voters weren’t mailed new cards. But the 3rd, 6th, 7th and 9th districts all had significant changes that affected voters.