S pokane-area leaders are marking a milestone in the decades-long effort to improve water quality in the Spokane River.

Recently, an 18-month collaboration between Spokane water users, municipal governments, environmental groups and regulators reached a successful conclusion with adoption of a Spokane River clean-up framework.

This stewardship plan is a comprehensive 20-year blueprint for increasing the amount of oxygen in the Spokane River, making it cleaner and healthier for aquatic life.

Scientific research shows that, during some months, there is an overabundance of phosphorus in the river. It is discharged into the river from treatment plants and it also enters the river from soil erosion and septic tanks in both Washington and Idaho. Too much phosphorus encourages algae growth, which eventually depletes the oxygen.

The plan calls for upgrading our existing wastewater treatment plants—including about $100 million in improvements at the city of Spokane’s water reclamation plant – and for industrial sites to add advanced filtration technology. This should remove more than 90 percent of the phosphorus, at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, Spokane County will build a new plant with state-of-the-art equipment, treating water and purifying it to the point where it can be reused to water lawns and parks.

When the upgrades are complete, we will have plants that are the cleanest in the country. Still, engineers tell us there’s no known technology we can install that will reduce phosphorus enough to meet the new standards as the county’s population grows. We must do all we can at the treatment plants – and then go further, enlisting the help of everyone in the watershed.

Every household can make a difference. Even things as simple as composting kitchen waste, using low-flow showers or using certain types of dishwasher detergents can have a large cumulative effect.

Eighteen years ago, Spokane was one of the first areas to ban phosphorus in laundry detergents. Last year, a coalition of environmental groups, businesses, Democratic and Republican elected officials won state legislative approval of a phased-in ban on phosphorus-heavy dishwasher detergents.

The dishwashing detergent ban takes effect in Spokane in July 2008.

The stewardship plan also includes these three additional strategies to improve water quality along the full length of the Spokane River:

“ Conserve water, with a goal of reducing household water use by 5 to 10 percent.

“ Reuse treated water.

“ Control “non-point” sources of phosphorus from erosion, storm water, fertilizers and septic tanks.

Conserving and reusing water are at the heart of the plan. The city of Spokane already is moving forward on a pilot project to reuse treated water to irrigate Downriver Golf Course. The county’s planned water treatment and reclamation center will be designed to reuse treated wastewater to irrigate parks, golf courses and farmland. New housing developments will be built with pipes for reclaimed water for lawns and shrubbery.

There is still much work to do and many details to finalize, but the stewardship plan outlines the comprehensive approach that will be needed to ensure a healthy river for years to come. It sets a national precedent for cooperation between regulators, local jurisdictions and business leaders to forge a plan that improves the entire watershed.

The plan shows that environmental protection and economic growth do not have to be in conflict. Indeed, these new, clear regulatory guidelines allow businesses to plan for the future. Two local industries, Kaiser and Inland Empire Paper, have scheduled millions of dollars of investment in equipment and new jobs.

Although the plan lasts 20 years, much of the progress will be made in the first few years, as new technology is installed. Within the first 10 years, the amount of phosphorus entering the river should drop from 200 pounds a day to below 15 pounds.

Twenty years from now, our children will take for granted the careful handling of our water: purple pipes will carry reclaimed water to parks and golf courses; advanced filtration will be utilized in treatment plants, thousands of water-conserving washers, shower fixtures and toilets will be installed inside homes, and thousands of septic tanks will be gone.

The success of the collaboration shows that civic leaders can work together with regulators and environmental groups and arrive at positive solutions. It also reaffirms what we can all see when we look out at the river: A healthy river that is vital to the future of Spokane.