Stormwater Team Seeks Residents’ Input Plan Would Reduce Flooding, Erosion

Got stormwater?

If so, and if you live within the planning area, the North Spokane Stormwater Management Team wants to hear from you.

In the first in a series of public meetings to collect North Siders’ comments on stormwater last week, only about 15 people showed up. But it is not too late to get involved in the planning process. The meetings are designed for those in the planning area, but all are welcome to attend.

The team is studying the area containing six North Side watersheds, generally bound by the Little Spokane River to the north, Market Street to the east, Francis to the south and the Spokane River to the west. Members are working toward creating a plan to reduce flooding and erosion and that also considers future growth.

The Planning Team consists of county engineers; Entranco, a stormwater management planning firm; Hubbard Gray Consulting, for public information gathering; and GeoEngineers, for help with groundwater issues.

Participants of last week’s meeting also included residents of Five Mile Prairie and the Little Spokane River Valley, as well as County Commissioner John Roskelley. He admitted errors had been made in the past and emphasized the importance of careful planning for the future.

“We were wrong. We should have been on this years ago,” Roskelley said. “Yes, the county made mistakes, but the county can’t take back what they did.”

Stormwater guidelines developed in the early ‘80s have failed to account for the spread of development into areas where the ground simply won’t accept much water. Much of North Spokane, for example, is built on bedrock. Water tends to pool there at about the same level as basements.

Now, many have stormwater problems.

The Planning Team recently sent a questionnaire to 14,000 residents of the North Spokane planning area. Of 558 responses, 272 reported problems, including flooding, erosion, high groundwater and water quality.

In addition to compiling public comments, the Planning Team will also do field research and use computer tools to project future land use conditions. Then they will develop mitigation alternatives and, finally, a stormwater plan.

Throughout the process, public input is critical, team members said.

People at last week’s meeting spoke out about flooded basements, rising water levels and the thousands of dollars they’ve spent fighting the water.

They asked big questions: Who will pay? How much will it cost? What does the grand plan look like?

But these questions have no answers yet. They are the ones the Planning Team hopes the public will help them answer.

For more information about North Spokane Stormwater Management planning, call the Spokane County stormwater utility at 477-3604. To be notified of future stormwater meetings, add your name to the mailing list by calling 456-8855.