Metals Not Deterring Swimmers River Getting Plenty Of Use Despite Warnings

Chelsea Maggard and her brother, Mickey, got wet twice Saturday when the hot sun came out.

The first time was a dip in the Spokane River. The second was a shower at home to wash off any lead-tainted sediment from the river.

“It’s OK out here as long as the kids aren’t drinking the water,” said Wendy Maggard, as 5-year-old daughter Chelsea collected smooth rocks on the Plantes Ferry Park beach. “The broken glass on the beach is probably more dangerous.”

Spokane residents are concerned about heavy metals in the Spokane River bottom, but not enough to keep them out of the water.

The Spokane Regional Health District two weeks ago posted signs at 14 beaches and trailheads, warning that unsafe levels of lead, cadmium, zinc and other heavy metals have been found in the river.

Lead that’s inhaled or eaten can cause mental and physical retardation in children. Metals in the river may have come from a century of mining upstream in Idaho’s Silver Valley.

Officials said Saturday that river users are heeding the warnings.

But many who brought their families to the river banks said they did not see the district’s small white signs, which were posted on pine trees, park bulletin boards and other places.

“I may not bring the family down here as much in the future, but I’m not alarmed about it,” said Marcus Townsend as he gave his 6-week-old son, Joshua, a fresh diaper. “There’s danger everywhere. We can tell the kids to wash their hands 150 times a day, but they’re still going to get some bad things in their mouth.”

Louise Allen said that until Saturday, she had never heard that there might be a hazard in the river. But after arriving at Boulder Beach with her six children and friend, Pam Ross, Ross told the group that health officials had warned people not to drink the water.

“It’s kind of sad,” Ross said. “You used to be able to do anything in Spokane.”

Michael LaScuola, a district environmental health specialist who put up the signs, said small children have the highest risk of ingesting heavy metals. They are more likely to put muddy fingers in their mouths or accidentally gulp down floating sediment, he said.

But swimming in the Spokane River is safe if you do not ingest river sediment or inhale dry dust from the shore, LaScuola said. A more deadly hazard, he said, is swimming without a life jacket.

“There is no indication that anyone in Spokane County has shown high levels of lead because of exposure to the Spokane River,” he said. “People who go out to the beach should know that the lead is not in the water; it’s in the sediment.”

Tests this year found a concentration of heavy metals up to 10 times higher in river sediment than the standard for homes in Washington, LaScuola said. An analysis of heavy metals in fish and crawdads has not been completed.

In North Idaho, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted signs years ago that warn people of potential heavy metal contamination along the Coeur d’Alene River. Earlier this year, officials closed the Medimont and Rainy Hill boat launches to campers because of fears that children would ingest high levels of metals from the mud and sediment.

But swimmers and picnickers were abundant Saturday along the snow-fed river as 85-degree temperatures baked the Inland Northwest.

Frank Veltri of Coeur d’Alene thinks the money spent on warning signs could be better spent in other ways - such as paving the road leading to the Killarney Lake campground where he and his family were on Saturday.

“I just ignore (the signs). I figure you’ve just got to live and let live,” he said.

Ed Haley, taking a break from barbecuing hamburgers at Killarney Lake, agreed.

“I think it’s a waste of money,” Haley said. “That river’s so lazy, I don’t think anything comes up it.”

Staff writer Laura Shireman contributed to this story.