Search for origins of toxic chemicals in river moves into Spokane

SPOKANE - The Spokane Urban Waters Initiative, a team of water quality experts, is beginning work on investigating sources of toxic pollution entering the Spokane River. Now that a background study to find and eliminate toxic chemicals in the Liberty Lake storm drain and sewer system is complete, the team — a collaboration between the Washington Department of Ecology and the Spokane Regional Health District — plans to tackle the larger, more complicated Spokane area. It will start by contacting more than 100 businesses. Results of the Liberty Lake pollution-sleuthing effort are not yet available. In the meantime, large and small businesses are being contacted to be part of the effort in Spokane. Specialists in the Urban Waters program will work with business owners find ways to better manage hazardous materials that might be stored on-site or poured down the drain. The goal is to prevent them from entering the storm drains and sewer system that lead to the river. Activities will be guided in part by sampling conducted in 2007 that confirmed stormwater outfalls are a pathway for toxic chemicals to enter the river. The samples were taken and analyzed by Ecology’s Environmental Assessment Program. More than half the samples collected during the 2007 effort contained flame retardants called PBDEs. Dioxins and furans also were detected in several drains. At the start of March, Ecology released the results of the 2007 sampling that augments data collected from previous studies. Of the outfalls sampled, the highest amounts of toxic chemicals were found in stormwater outfalls east of Hamilton Avenue, in the area between the Spokane River and Trent Avenue. This year, urban waters specialists will sample sediment and water in sewer and stormwater drain systems in Spokane to further pinpoint sources of the toxic chemicals. “When chemicals and toxic materials aren’t stored and disposed of in the right way, they can leak or spill onto the ground,” said Arianne Fernandez, urban waters specialist at Ecology. “From there, they can contaminate water that eventually makes its way into the river. And that’s what we want to prevent.” Pollution can reach the river when rainwater runs off roads, roofs, parking lots and other hard surfaces, carrying toxic chemicals with it. Storm drains and sewers can also carry pollutants to the river when people flush soaps, chemicals and other pollutants down drains. Funded by the state legislature in 2007, the Urban Waters Initiative addresses potential sources of pollution to the state’s most contaminated waterways: Commencement Bay and the Duwamish River in Western Washington, and the Spokane River. While the goal is to educate business owners, the Spokane Regional Health District may refer severe violations of storage and disposal regulations to the Department of Ecology for enforcement action.