Cleaning the Spokane River is goal of campaign

SPOKANE — A 20-year Spokane River cleanup effort that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars was announced Wednesday by civic leaders and the state Department of Ecology.

The plan seeks to reduce phosphorus pollution in the Spokane River by, among other things, building a $100 million wastewater-treatment plant and reducing the number of septic tanks in the region.

Every aspect of water use from watering lawns to flushing toilets will be affected.

The goal is to reduce phosphorus in treated wastewater to the same level of phosphorus as would be in the river naturally.

Efforts to clean up the Spokane River led to a statewide ban on phosphorus in dishwasher detergent, adopted by the Legislature early this year.

High levels of phosphorus can cause an influx of algae, which depletes oxygen from the water, making survival more difficult for fish.