Spokane County hears West Plains residents’ concerns about contaminated wells; commissioner announces $7.495 million state grant for filtration

Spokane County commissioners heard multiple public comments April 29 urging faster, clearer county action on contamination of private wells on the West Plains and announced state funding to begin household filtration work.

At an open-public-forum segment, several residents described a sense of being left out of internal county planning and urged a sustained, collaborative response. Craig Ballasing of the West Plains asked the county to “help keep us informed so our input is more up to date.” John Hancock told the board private wells on the West Plains “have a contamination that can't be fixed using just the perspectives of people who live in town,” and urged the commissioners to move beyond campaign promises to continuous action.

Commissioner Pam French told the board the state legislature has approved funding to assist West Plains residents. “We did hear, yesterday, that the state legislature, has awarded ... 7.495 — I round up to $7,500,000 — to provide water filtration for residents in the West Plains,” French said. She added county staff will work with the state, the Washington State Department of Ecology and the Washington State Department of Health to prepare a contract and deploy point-of-entry treatment (POET) systems to affected homes.

Other public commenters included members of a group calling itself the Spokane County Assembly and residents who urged new forms of engagement between county officials and the West Plains community. One speaker, who identified themself as Dream, told the commission they opposed increased law-enforcement spending and urged investment in housing, mental health care and clean water.

Why it matters: West Plains residents have reported contamination concerns affecting private wells; the announced state funding sets a step toward household filtration while county and state agencies sort implementation details such as contracting and equipment siting. Commissioner French named the Department of Ecology and the Department of Health as partners in the coming work.

What the record shows and what remains to be decided: French described the awarded amount as roughly $7.495 million and said staff will prepare the contract with the state and work on deploying POET systems. The board did not vote on a related ordinance or allocation at this meeting; the announcement was informational and directional. The specific list of eligible addresses, timeline for installations, and how remaining local matching funds (if any) will be handled were not specified during the meeting.

Public-comment context and next steps: Residents repeatedly asked for more two-way communication from county staff and for formal mechanisms—such as a task force—to guide aquifer protection. Commissioners acknowledged the concerns; Commissioner French committed to partnership with state agencies to implement filtration. Additional procedural steps, procurement actions, or required approvals from state agencies were not finalized during the session and will be addressed in follow-up staff work.