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Spokane County outlines West Plains aquifer protection area; Medical Lake council asks for more information
Summary
Spokane County Public Works Director Kyle Tuohig presented a proposal on Oct. 7 to create a West Plains Aquifer Protection Area funded by parcel assessments; the model would require Medical Lake to pass a resolution to be included and could produce roughly $40,000 a year for the city under current estimates.
Spokane County officials on Oct. 7 presented a proposal for a West Plains Aquifer Protection Area (APA) to the Medical Lake City Council, describing a voter-funded program that would assess parcels to pay for monitoring, education, stormwater and other groundwater protection activities. County staff estimated a fund roughly comparable to the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie APA could raise about $400,000 annually across the proposed boundary, with Medical Lakeexpected to receive a little over $40,000 of the proportional allocation if the average fee model is used.
The presentation, led by Spokane County Public Works Director Kyle Tuohig, said APAs are established under state law (RCW 36.36) and are created by county commissioners after affected municipalities adopt resolutions asking to be included. "An APA cannot include any municipal jurisdictions without them requesting to be included," Tuohig said. He described eligible expenditures as broad, including monitoring, drinking water and on-site sewage work, stormwater, education and enforcement.
Why it matters: the proposal would create a 20-year, voter-approved local funding source for groundwater protection and related projects. Tuohig said the county used the SVRP (Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie) fee model as a starting point and that, using the roughly $22-per-parcel average from that model, the West Plains boundary as drawn would encompass just under 20,000 parcels (about 11,600 unincorporated, ~2,400 in Airway Heights, ~1,800 in Medical Lake, ~2,800 in Cheney and about 40 parcels on the Air Force base).
Details presented to council included: - Legal framework: APAs are created under RCW 36.36 and placed on the ballot as a voter-approved assessment; counties administer the program but municipalities must opt in by council resolution. - Fee model: county staff used the SVRP average of about $22 per parcel per year to estimate revenues; at that level the West Plains APA would generate a little over $400,000 annually and Medical Lakewould be allocated roughly $40,000 under a straight proportional distribution. - Eligible uses: monitoring programs, water-quality testing, education, conservation programs, planning and some capital projects; staff emphasized the funds are intended for water-related activities and cannot be diverted into unrelated general fund purposes. - Timeline and next steps: Tuohig said preliminary discussion had identified an August 2026 ballot window as a possibility and that municipal resolutions to request inclusion would likely be due by April 2026 to meet election deadlines. He also said the funding measure typically runs for 20 years if approved by voters.
Council reaction and next steps: council members asked clarifying questions about how fees would be calculated at the parcel level, what types of projects would be funded, and whether local water purveyors would control conservation programs. Tuohig said conservation program design would generally be decided by the local purveyors and municipalities, although county APA staff could provide technical support and offer unified education across jurisdictions. Council members asked for more time and for additional outreach; the council did not adopt a resolution at the meeting and asked staff to return for another workshop once more detailed information and answers to their questions are available.
County staff also noted technical and data benefits for the West Plains: extending the countymonitoring program would make long-term groundwater data more accessible to local leaders and residents, and funding could be used to staff monitoring and education work tailored to West Plains needs. Tuohig cautioned that the proposalwould require interlocal agreements that specify administration and how funds are distributed.
The council did not vote on the APA at this meeting; staff were asked to provide additional detail and return for further discussion. If the council later votes to join, the municipal council would adopt a nonbinding resolution indicating it wants to be included on the ballot; the county would then hold the required public hearing and place the measure before voters.
