(The Center Square) – Despite cutting ties more than two decades ago, Spokane may ask voters in August to rejoin an Aquifer Protection Area to preserve the city’s sole water source.
State law allows municipalities to authorize Aquifer Protection Areas, or APAs, with fees for pulling water and/or sewage disposal. Spokane County formed an APA in 1985, but the city of Spokane withdrew before voters could renew the agreement for another 20 years in 2004.
If Spokane rejoined, the associated fees could generate roughly $1.8 million annually, which it could then spend on projects to protect the aquifer. According to a 2004 Spokesman-Review article, the city of Spokane left the APA for more control over the funding and related efforts.
“Protection of our sole-source aquifer is really important to the city,” Public Works Director Marlene Feist told the Spokane City Council on Monday. “We’re the largest water provider in the region, providing up to 150 million gallons a day of water to our 230,000 residents.”
According to the 2004 renewal, residential property owners must pay $1.25 per month per household for water with an additional $1.25 for sewer. The total cost per household would be up to $30 annually, $15 for water and $15 for sewer.
However, commercial properties or “non-household units” must pay fees based on meter size.
Under the APA, “non-household units” with three-fourths-inch meters must pay $1.25 per service each month; units with 1-inch meters pay $2.50 fees, increasing to $5 for 1.5-inch meters, $10 for 2-inch, $20 for 3-inch, $37.50 for 4-inch, $56.25 for 5-inch and $80 for meters 6-inches or larger.
Spokane County uses some of the revenue to fund its sewer system, removing around 30,000 septic tanks and drain field systems over the last 40 years to protect the water source. It also monitors pollutants, which Feist said the city relies on for water quality data.
“A portion of the proceeds that we get from that actually go to centralized education and monitoring that the county’s managed for 40 years,” Feist said. “That has provided us with a lot of data, so we would intend to continue to support that.”
Other uses could include addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, controlling stormwater and “projects that would mitigate the impacts of climate change,” she said.
The new Climate Resilience and Sustainability Board passed a resolution last week asking the council to put the APA up for a vote. The Board of County Commissioners is responsible for that since it controls the APA, but the city would need to enter an agreement to outline the terms.
The council didn’t provide much feedback on Monday, but Councilmember Jonathan Bingle said the APA seems like a “fair way” to pay for monitoring as the state imposes new regulations.
Councilmember Michael Cathcart wants more details on the spending plan before proceeding. While $1.8 million is only a drop compared to the rest of the budget, he wants to ensure they distribute the revenue appropriately before authorizing another fee on residents.
“This would be another revenue source for us to help protect the aquifer,” Feist said. “We know there’s other costs coming as we deal with regulatory compliance around particularly contaminants, and so this would be a way for us to be able to help manage those needs.”
