Marlene Feist, 509.625.6505
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 8:34 a.m.
The City of Spokane will host a celebration of its “Cleaner River Faster” program on Friday, Oct. 25, at noon at the new pedestrian plaza on Spokane Falls Boulevard between Lincoln and Monroe streets.
The event, which will continue until 2 p.m., will include an opening ceremony at noon, and tours of the plaza’s artwork and the below ground infrastructure.
Construction fencing still will be in place, and attendees should plan to enter by traveling west from City Hall on the north sidewalk along Spokane Falls Boulevard. The plaza also will be open for public viewing during daytime hours on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 26 and 27, and then closed again for some final work. Construction also continues on Lincoln.
The Cleaner River Faster program has included $180 million in work to manage overflows from combined wastewater and stormwater sewers to the Spokane River, including the tank project on Spokane Falls Boulevard that will hold 2.2 million gallons of combined wastewater.
In some parts of the City, wastewater and stormwater sewers are linked together, and during heavy rain or rapid snowmelt, these pipes can become overwhelmed and overflow to the river. The City has built about two dozen underground storage tanks that hold the excess water until the water can be sent to the Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility for treatment.
