Spokane to rejoin Aquifer Protection Area if voters approve
Apr. 14—When Spokane County asks voters to reauthorize the 40-year-old aquifer protection area for another 20 years, the city of Spokane will be included for the first time since 2004.
If approved, every plot within the protection area will be charged $15 a year for programs to protect the aquifer, which supplies drinking water to approximately 500,000 people. The Spokane County Commission will have authority to place the measure on an upcoming ballot.
The Spokane City Council voted unanimously Monday to request the county to include the city in the upcoming, unscheduled vote to renew the aquifer protection area.
The Spokane County Aquifer Protection Area was created in 1985 to protect the Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer from pollution, primarily by expanding sewer systems and ending the region's reliance on septic systems. Voters at the time overwhelmingly approved to pay the fee, which cost homeowners $15 a year for homes connected to a sewer system and $30 for homes still on septic tanks.
The program was highly successful at its goals at the time. When the Aquifer Protection Area was first approved, there were about 40,000 septic tanks in the "aquifer sensitive area," including 2,700 in the city of Spokane. By 2004, there had been a net reduction of 20,000 septic tanks, of which fewer than 350 were left in city limits.
The city pulled out of the protection area, arguing it needed more control over the funds paid by its residents, though its leaders ultimately decided against creating its own fee system. When voters narrowly approved renewing the aquifer protection fees in 2004, the city of Spokane wasn't included.
But the focus has shifted from sewage to modern pollutants, and city leaders have requested to rejoin the aquifer protection area. The new agreement would only allow city ratepayer funds to leave the city for limited education and testing programs that benefit the entire aquifer system, but not for subsidizing infrastructure in other cities, according to Marlene Feist, director of Spokane's public works division.
If voters approve reauthorizing the aquifer protection area for another 20 years, it would cost $15 per year for single-family homes connected to water. Multifamily and commercial properties would be charged based on the size of their water meters.
The protection area also imposes an additional maximum $15 annual fee for homes not connected to municipal sewer systems. Only the 300 or so homes among the city's 75,000 utility accounts are still not connected to the city sewer system and would have to pay the fee .
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Yahoo
Abortion rights organizer Sarah Dixit running for Spokane city council
May 29—Reproductive rights organizer Sarah Dixit is running for Spokane City Council in the seat currently held by Councilman Jonathan Bingle. Bingle is one of two conservatives in the minority of the seven-member council. Fellow conservative Michael Cathcart and Bingle represent council District 1, which covers the northeastern third of the city — east of Division and north of Trent. The district also includes almost all of downtown Spokane. Bingle is running for re-election for the first time after winning his first four-year term in 2021. Last year, he unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination of Spokane's Congressional seat. Cathcart announced Wednesday that he's running for Spokane County Auditor in 2026. In challenging the incumbent, Dixit said she wants to bring a young voice to city council that will uplift marginalized communities and those who may not be civically engaged. "A lot of folks are working jobs," she said. "They have kids at home. They can't follow what's happening at city council. We need to make this whole process more accessible for people, and especially for communities of color, immigrant populations and young people." At 29, Dixit believes she can reach these underserved populations as a young, queer woman of color. Dixit said she does not see that kind of advocacy from her opponent. "I don't see Jonathan in the community. At the events I'm at," she said. "I just haven't heard that type of advocacy from him when it comes to transit, bike safety investment, other issues." A big focus of her nascent campaign will be accessibility to public transit . Dixit wants to increase investments in public transit and have fares on a sliding scale, allowing those with the least resources to get the most access. Though firmly aligned with the council's progressive majority, Dixit said she would not be a "cookie-cutter" version of those already on council. Having grown up in Southern California, Dixit came to Spokane to attend Whitworth University. While in college, the first election of Donald Trump spurred her into activism. She went on to found the Christian college's first pro-choice club. Since graduating in 2018, she has advocated for reproductive and abortion rights full time at Planned Parenthood and as organizing director of Pro-Choice Washington. At Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, Dixit worked under Paul Dillon, who now serves on Spokane's city council. Dixit called Dillon a "mentor" who encouraged her to run. As a potential representative of downtown Spokane, Dixit said she has pride for the city center. "There's a lot of rhetoric about downtown that I don't necessarily agree with," she said. "I love downtown, and it's a place that makes Spokane really special." When addressing homelessness, the city should have a "multipronged approach" that uses less incarceration and more resources to prevent someone from becoming unhoused in the first place, she said. "A lot of the issues stem from the dehumanization of folks who are unhoused. I really want to make sure that we are working on issues in a way that recognizes these folks are Spokanites too. And their humanity needs to be a part of the conversations we're having," she said. Asked about concerns she might be too young to effectively serve, Dixit said there is no shortage of older voices on council. "I approach the work in a way that comes from all my lived experiences — being the daughter of immigrants, being someone who really loves the culture and the heart of Spokane. That lends itself to me being a different type of council member for Spokane," she said. Her parents emigrated from India. Endorsements for Dixit include Council President Betsy Wilkerson, Dillon, state Rep. Natasha Hill, state Sen. Marcus Riccelli and others.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Spokane City Council seeks applicants for four-month stint on council
May 23—The Spokane City Council is seeking applicants for a roughly four-month stint on the council to fill a seat being vacated by Councilwoman Lili Navarrete. Navarrete formally announced earlier this week that she planned to resign, citing health concerns and other job opportunities, effective July 1. She already had announced she did not plan to seek election to maintain the seat, and Alejandro Barrientos, chief operating officer at SCAFCO Steel Stud Company, and Kate Telis, a former deputy prosecutor from New Mexico, have filed to run for the seat. The winner of the election in November will be sworn in earlier than normal — as soon as the election is certified mid-November. The person selected for appointment will serve on Navarrete's seat in the meantime. Applications will open May 23 and will be available on the city's website, the council offices on the seventh floor of city hall, or at the service desk on the first floor, according to a city news release. Applications are due 5p.m. June 19 . Public interviews will be conducted by the City Council on July 10. The public will be able to provide testimony on the applicants on July 14. The City Council plans to vote to select the applicant on July 28.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Spokane Councilwoman Lili Navarrete to step down ahead of election
May 15—Spokane City Councilwoman Lili Navarrete, believed to be the first Hispanic or immigrant member of the Spokane City Council, will step down in the coming months, she said Thursday. Navarrete announced in March that she would not run for a new term, citing health concerns. Alejandro Barrientos, chief operating officer at SCAFCO Steel Stud Company, and Kate Telis, a former deputy prosecutor from New Mexico, have both filed to run for the seat. On Thursday Navarrete confirmed recent rumors that she planned to step down ahead of the election. In a brief interview outside City Hall, she cited two recent health scares worsened by the stress of the job and potential employment opportunities that she couldn't juggle with council commitments. She hasn't decided exactly when to step down and hadn't planned on publicly announcing the decision yet, but will fully lay out her resignation plans soon, she said Thursday. Navarrete's resignation opens the door to a short-term appointment to fill her seat, similar to the musical chairs that played out ahead of the council election in 2023. At the time, then-Council President Breean Beggs resigned to accept an appointment as a Superior Court judge, then-Councilwoman Lori Kinnear was appointed to serve as council president, and Priority Spokane Executive Director Ryan Oelrich was appointed six weeks later in August to fill Kinnear's council seat. Oelrich's appointed term was just over two months long; Paul Dillon and Katey Treloar were running at the time for Kinnear's seat, and while election winners are usually sworn in the following January, appointees are replaced immediately after the election is certified, so Dillon took office in mid-November. In a brief interview Thursday, Dillon said neither Barrientos nor Telis should be appointed to fill the seat ahead of their election, arguing it would give the appointee an unfair and undemocratic advantage. Navarrete also was appointed to her seat in January, 2024, to a nearly two-year stint representing south Spokane on the city council, filling a seat vacated when Wilkerson was elected as city council president. At the time of her appointment, she anticipated serving the full appointed term and planned to run for re-election in 2025, she said Thursday. Navarrete immigrated from Mexico City to Spokane in 1988 and wrote in her application for the open seat that while growing up she had not felt represented by city government, noting she had "always wondered why a person of color was not up on the dais" until recently. Prior to her appointment on the city council, Navarrete served as community development officer for the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs and previously as director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood for Greater Washington and North Idaho, where she worked alongside Dillon, the other representative for south Spokane. During her time on council, Navarrete has shepherded an ordinance to encourage the recruiting of more multilingual city employees, worked on a slate of reforms to increase employment and housing rights for the homeless which was ultimately whittled down to the hiring protection dubbed "Ban the Address." Most recently, she introduced legislation meant to prevent federal immigration officers from warrantless raids in city parks.
