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Council to ask voters whether Spokane should rejoin county aquifer protection area
Summary
City staff recommended placing a measure on the ballot this year to join the Spokane County Aquifer Protection Area; staff and advocates said the program would fund monitoring, education and infrastructure to protect the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, while several residents raised questions about costs and local controls.
City leaders discussed a resolution to refer to voters a proposal for Spokane to rejoin the Spokane County Aquifer Protection Area, a county-administered program that charges parcel fees to fund aquifer monitoring, education and pollution-control projects.
Marlene Feist, city staff working on water issues, told the council "we have an opportunity this year to join the county's aquifer protection area" and said the current county authorization expires at the end of the year. She described how the program can charge fees per parcel and use revenues for education, planning, stormwater and wastewater projects and monitoring.
The measure would collect roughly $15 a year from most residential parcels connected to municipal sewer and drinking water service; Feist said the city would expect about $1,800,000 in annual revenue if Spokane joins. She told the council the county program has a…
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