A healthy river requires change

One day recently, when the winter sun broke through the clouds and the temperatures warmed up past freezing and the rain had not yet begun, a man in a suburban subdivision pulled his truck out of the garage and into his driveway and washed the truck’s December grime away.

The scene was eye-catching, because car washing in suburban driveways is usually reserved for spring, summer and fall in the Inland Northwest. But within the next few years, washing cars in driveways might be a thing of the past – in all seasons.

The reason? Car grime becomes wastewater that washes into a street’s sewer drain and then gets filtered through wastewater treatment plants and ultimately finds its way into the Spokane River.

A group of regional collaborators is finishing up a yearlong discussion on the best cleanup plan for the Spokane River. And in early 2006, the Washington Department of Ecology will detail the requirements of that cleanup plan. A preliminary presentation Dec. 16 made it clear that river cleanup will require efforts by industry, municipalities – and individuals.

Under the plan, wastewater dischargers throughout the region will be required to use technology that eliminates excess phosphorous. Algae feeds on phosphorous and gobbles up the oxygen in the river needed by fish and other aquatic life.

And some of this treated wastewater will be reused. In other parts of the country, treated wastewater keeps golf courses and other public lands irrigated and green. Expect more of that to happen here in the future.

There are still 14,000 septic tanks that leach bad stuff into the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. Those septic tanks will be replaced by sewer hook-ups over the next decade.

And residents can expect to hear about ways that their habitual actions harm the river and aquifer. Yard fertilizer and dishwashing detergent also contain phosphates that consume the river’s oxygen. Over-watering lawns and gardens wastes valuable drinking water. Driveway car washing chases pollutants down the drain to the river. Lake Spokane residents who spray pesticides on underwater weeds often worsen problems in the lake.

Behavior changes won’t happen overnight. And some won’t be easy or come without controversy and cost. But the Spokane River, all 111 miles of it, is the lifeblood of the region. And the aquifer provides clean drinking water for nearly 500,000 residents.

“Our goal is a healthy Spokane River,” said Dave Peeler of Washington state’s Department of Ecology.

As 2006 dawns, a healthy river is a goal all Inland Northwest citizens can work toward together.