Spokane River Toxics Reduction Grant supports clean water and healthier communities

Thanks to Ecology's new Spokane River Toxics Reduction Grant Program, communities in the Spokane River watershed will receive $595,000 to fund locally led projects that address toxics and other emerging contaminants. This grant program is part of a larger multi-partner effort to reduce toxics and protect the health of the river through technical assistance, monitoring and research, and education and outreach.

About the Spokane River

The Spokane River watershed is home to many aquatic species and is part of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer that communities rely on for drinking water. Many parts of the river and its tributaries don't meet state and federal clean water requirements because of the presence of toxic chemicals. Toxics such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) enter the river system from sources such as agriculture, industrial operations, and transportation.

PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," have been used since the 1940s to make products heat, water, and stain resistant. They are known for their persistence in the environment and their ability to bioaccumulate, which can cause negative health and environmental impacts.

"Thanks to the collaborative work between government agencies, private industries, and environmental organizations, the Spokane River basin is getting cleaner - but there's still work to be done," Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller said. "This exciting new grant program invests in Spokane watershed communities helping continue their momentum to address emerging contaminants like PFAS."

Project highlights

A $170,000 grant will go to Spokane County Public Works to support a program that distributes and installs point-of-entry treatment water filters in homes and buildings to reduce PFAS from private wells. This grant will support the staff and administrative resources it takes to establish and administer the water filter distribution program.

Ecology is awarding the City of Spokane approximately $184,000 to understand PFAS concentration levels in the city's wastewater system, with the goal of establishing a plan for regulatory compliance, treatment and mitigation strategies, and long-term management. PFAS enter wastewater collection systems through diverse sources such as industrial processes, commercial products, and households. Since wastewater treatment plants not only accumulate PFAS, but serve as potential redistribution points, understanding PFAS concentrations within the city's wastewater system helps protect downstream water quality. This project will help ensure that Spokane is prepared to address emerging regulatory requirements, protect community health, and safeguard the Spokane River for future generations.

Eastern Washington University will receive almost $241,000 to fill in PFAS sampling data gaps that exist for the Spokane River. This project will conduct late summer sampling of the broader Spokane River basin to identify locations of PFAS contamination, seasonal sampling at site-specific locations, and then focus on two known contamination locations to help guide potential remediation as well as support education and outreach activities. Outreach activities will engage K-12 students, university students, and regional community members in field sampling alongside Eastern Washington University researchers and partner organizations such as the Spokane Riverkeeper and Spokane Tribe environmental staff. This work will provide critical data needed to identify the scope of PFAS contamination, prioritize remediation efforts, and support long term monitoring in one of the region's most important waterways.

More about the grant program

We have a long history of working alongside local Tribes, state agencies, local governments, and community-based groups to develop lasting solutions for cleaning up the Spokane River. This collaboration built a shared understanding that local funding is essential to achieving progress on reducing toxics in the river.

From 2012-2022, the Spokane River Regional Toxics Task Force played a key role in identifying and reducing toxics in the Spokane River and was a strong advocate for state funding. The task force included conservation and environmental interest groups, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Spokane Regional Health District, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permittees in the Spokane River basin, and Ecology. While the task force ended in 2022, their efforts and advocacy directly supported the creation of this grant program. The Spokane River Toxics Advisory Committee now serves as an advisory forum for issues related to toxics in the watershed.

For more information about this program, reach out to Cheyenne Brown at [email protected] or 509-999-0682. To view the funding offer list, please visit our website.