Kirstin Davis, Communications Manager, Public Works, No Phone Number Available
Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 11:31 a.m.
The topic of PFAS, or “forever chemicals” is a hot topic nationally. We’ve read about PFAS contamination from use of firefighting foam, regulatory action by EPA to set appropriate limits, and recently a report by by the Waterkeeper Alliance that looked at PFAS in surface waterways around wastewater facilities, including the Spokane River.
There’s a lot of emerging, evolving data about PFAS, and we are all learning more together as testing and reporting become more advanced and comprehensive. While there’s more work to be done, one thing is clear: the more we know, the better prepared we will be to act.
PFAS compounds are a group of more than 11,000 manmade chemicals that have been used in countless everyday products – from non-stick cookware to waterproof fabrics to firefighting foam. Because they don’t easily break down in the environment, they can accumulate over time in water, soil, and even our human bodies. EPA has set regulatory limits for just 6 of these compounds.
City of Spokane has been working to address Spokane River water quality concerns for decades. Over the last two decades, the City spent hundreds of millions of dollars on clean water improvements at the City’s Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility, to reduce overflows to the River from combined sanitary and storm sewers (CSO), and on stormwater management projects. In 2013, we revolutionized our thinking and adopted the Integrated Clean Water Plan to improve water quality with a goal of getting enhanced results more quickly at a more affordable price.
Today, more than 99% of combined wastewater and stormwater is captured in our CSO system. Those combined flows are sent to our reclamation facility – along with daily wastewater flows of some 34 million gallons a day. We treat it all with an advanced tertiary membrane filtration system before it reenters the Spokane River. This is technology that most other communities use to treat their surface drinking water! That’s not just progress – it’s a transformation that is helping to keep one of our region’s most important natural resources cleaner and healthier.
So what about PFAS and the Spokane River? It’s encouraging to note that the Waterkeeper report shows the levels detected in the river were well below any regulatory threshold, including the most more stringent levels for drinking water. In fact, of all the waterways sampled in that report, Spokane’s measurement downstream from the Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility was one of the lowest they found.
The report also works to take a look at PFAS in “biosolids”. Biosolids are the nutrient-rich organic material that results from the treatment of domestic sewage; they are used primarily as fertilizer and soil amendments. Using biosolids instead of chemical fertilizers helps to promote soil health and sustainability.
While biosolids have been beneficially reused for land application purposes for decades, we continue to learn and investigate the impacts of all emerging contaminants, including PFAS compounds and how they may affect human health and the environment. PFAS and biosolids and PFAS is an emerging area of study, with the EPA and lots of scientists doing work. And the City continues to research ways to manage wastewater solids in a beneficial and sustainable way; we are committed to continuous learning and transparency as we respond to new data and evolving research and regulations.
We’re also working collaboratively with environmental advocacy groups like the Spokane Riverkeeper and Spokane River Forum. We have the same overarching goal: a clean and healthy river.
Ultimately, we must keep perspective. PFAS have been in our environment for decades, and the tools and testing resources to detect them at such minute levels are rapidly evolving. While the manufacturing of certain PFAS compounds has been curtailed, removing hazardous chemicals from the supply chain remains a key step in preventing their release into the environment. The Washington State Department of Ecology is working on new rules to try to get PFAs out of a variety of consumer products, and we support that!
Thanks to advanced technology and community support, Spokane is leading by example, and we are proud of the incredible progress the community has made in protecting the Spokane River over the last 20 years.
