City presents annual report on drinking water quality

Kirstin Davis, Communications Manager, 509.625.7773

Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 2:14 p.m.

The city of Spokane today publishes its required annual report on the quality of the drinking water provided by the city water board. As in previous years, the city has met or exceeded all federal and state drinking water standards for 2020.

“The city strives to provide our customers with safe and clean drinking water at an affordable price,” says Marlene Feist, director of public works for the city. “We continue to focus on efforts to conserve water, reduce leaks in our system and provide information to citizens on how to make water-related decisions. This work is particularly important in view of the drought conditions in our region. ”

The city’s 2020 water quality report is available on the city’s website. Citizens can request a copy by mail by calling the Department of Water at 625-7800 and providing an address.

In addition to basic information on water quality, the annual water quality report also provides information on efforts to reduce water consumption, especially during the high season for irrigation in summer. The city encourages citizens and businesses to voluntarily introduce one every other day, “odd / even” watering schedule to protect water resources, maintain affordable water prices, support landscaping health, and reduce the need for costly water system extensions over time.

The Washington Department of Ecology has issued a drought notice for much of the state, including the Spokane area, making wise water choices even more important. To help customers in their water conservation efforts, the city offers a variety of discounts on water-efficient equipment upgrades and a lawn replacement program called SpokaneScape.

The report also highlights the city’s updated fire hydrant permitting program, which aims to improve fire hydrant safety, ensure the use of necessary equipment to protect the city’s water supply, and adequately account for water consumption. The city has 7,500 hydrants in its water system.

Under the streets of our city is a network of aqueducts that deliver water from the city’s wells to around 75,000 households and businesses in the current water supply area. The city maintains more than 1,000 miles of aqueducts and smaller aqueducts.

The city of Spokane operates the third largest water system in Washington state. Only Seattle and Tacoma have larger systems.