Liberty Lake urged to reject phosphates
Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District is asking citizens to scrub phosphates from their household dishwashers.
On Wednesday, sewer commissioners passed a resolution asking locals to stop using automatic dishwasher detergents containing phosphates.
Sewer officials estimate that dishwashers add 15 percent to 20 percent of the phosphorus entering the community’s sewage treatment plant. A single dish load can dump up to 6 grams into community wastewater.
Removing phosphorus from wastewater requires costly technology. When discharged, it fertilizes algae and contributes to declining oxygen levels in the Spokane River and Long lake, a downstream reservoir that’s also known as Lake Spokane.
Like other dischargers, the sewer district would have to add costly technology to remove the chemical to meet expected environmental standards. Even the district’s new $13 million treatment plant would require significant upgrades.
Nearly all dishwasher detergents contain phosphates. This spring, the ongoing ban discussions attracted a visit from representatives from Procter & Gamble Co. and the Washington, D.C.-based Soap and Detergent Association, an industry trade group.
Although the sewer district can’t enact a formal ban, sewer commissioners hope the resolution will influence the city and neighboring governments to prohibit the sale of those detergents. Laundry detergents containing phosphates were banned in Spokane County in the late-1980s.
State Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, is trying to take action at a state level.
He proposed a bill last session for a statewide ban on the sale or distribution of dishwasher detergents containing 0.5 percent or more phosphorus by weight. Although the bill expired before coming to vote, it will be reintroduced during the upcoming session.
The ongoing phosphate discussion inspired some citizens to lobby Liberty Lake grocers to stock phosphate-free products.
Safeway Food and Drug recently added Seventh Generation gel to its shelves. At $6.79 for a 50-ounce bottle it costs more than 75 ounces of Electrasol – but requires only half as much detergent per load, the manufacturer states.