Spokane Riverkeeper recently participated in a nationwide study led by Waterkeeper Alliance that reveals a troubling truth: PFAS—often called “forever chemicals”—are contaminating waterways across the United States, including right here in the Spokane River watershed.
What We Found
In partnership with Waterkeeper Alliance and other Waterkeeper organizations across 19 states, Spokane Riverkeeper collected samples at sites upstream and downstream of wastewater treatment plant discharges and permitted biosolids application sites. The results show clear signs that biosolids—treated sewage sludge commonly used as fertilizer—are introducing high levels of PFAS into our environment.
In our sampling, Spokane Riverkeeper deployed passive water samplers from August 7, 2024 to September 11, 2024 at several key points: near the discharge of the Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility, and in a waterway adjacent to a known biosolids field. These samplers were designed to measure the presence of bioavailable PFAS—the types of PFAS most likely to be absorbed by wildlife and people.
Spokane Riverside Water Reclamation Facility Results
The Spokane Riverside Water Reclamation Facility is the city’s main wastewater treatment plant. It collects sewage from homes and businesses before discharging the treated water into the Spokane River. While the facility removes many pollutants, it has not been assessed how well it can filter out PFAS, which can pass through the treatment process and enter the river.
Samples collected from upstream and downstream of the wastewater treatment plant showed that concentrations of four types of PFAS increased at the downstream site resulting in a total PFAS concentration increase of 4.76 ppt or 383.87%. These downstream PFAS concentrations also exceed the levels EPA has identified as being necessary to protect the general population from adverse health effects due to ingesting water, fish, and shellfish from the waterbody.
Biosolids Results
Biosolids are treated sewage sludge—the solid material left over after wastewater is cleaned at treatment plants. They’re often spread on land as fertilizer because they contain nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Spokane Riverside Park Water Reclamation Facility land applies biosolids at various locations in the Spokane River watershed.
For this part of the study, we placed passive samplers upstream and downstream of multiple land application sites, all of which are located along Dragoon Creek. The downstream sampling site detected multiple types of PFAS. However, the upstream location only detected one type of PFAS, FOSA at 0.63 ppt. Downstream concentrations increased significantly with a total PFAS concentration increase of 32.26 ppt—an increase of 5,120.63%. These results indicate that the Spokane Riverside Park WRF’s biosolids land application fields are likely a significant source of PFAS in Dragoon Creek, a tributary to the Little Spokane River.
Additionally, the concentration of PFOA in the downstream sample exceeded the EPA’s draft human health guidelines, indicating the concentration exceeded the levels identified as being necessary to protect the general population from adverse health effects due to ingesting water, fish, and shellfish from the waterbody.
“Unmonitored and unregulated PFAS compounds in biosolids used for fertilizer are poisoning our creeks,” said Jule Schultz, Waterkeeper. “These forever chemicals don’t break down. They accumulate in the environment, in our fish, and in our bodies. It’s time for the state to take a hard look at the biosolids program and take action to protect our waterways from this toxic legacy.”
Why PFAS in Our River Matters
PFAS are a class of chemicals used since the 1950s in products ranging from non-stick cookware to firefighting foam. They are incredibly persistent in the environment and have been linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, hormone disruption, immune dysfunction, and developmental harm.
Figure: PFOS levels in fish translated into equivalent monthly drinking water exposure, based on an average adult consuming one 8-ounce serving of fish (Barbo, et al, 2023)
Fish consumption is a major route of PFAS exposure in humans. Eating a single serving of contaminated freshwater fish can be the equivalent of drinking water contaminated with high level of PFAS for a month (Barbo, et al, 2023). PFAS enter rivers, lakes, and streams through sources like wastewater discharges, stormwater runoff, and the land application of contaminated biosolids. Once in the water, these chemicals are absorbed by small aquatic organisms and move up the food chain, accumulating in fish tissue at levels far higher than in the surrounding water. Because PFAS don’t break down over time, they build up in fish that people catch and eat, making contaminated surface water a key link in human PFAS exposure.
PFAS are accumulating in the fish in the Spokane River, and threatening the well-being of those who rely on local fish for food. This is not just an environmental issue—it’s a matter of environmental justice. Many of the individuals and communities most affected by this contamination are those with deep cultural, economic, or subsistence ties to the river, including tribal members, low-income residents, and immigrant communities. When fish are no longer safe to eat, these groups bear the disproportionate burden of both health risks and the loss of access to traditional and affordable food sources.
National Trends, Local Action
This effort is part of a broader investigation by Waterkeeper Alliance. In total, 98% of the 2024 national water samples contained PFAS. The group previously found contamination in 83% of water samples collected in its 2022 study, including waterways in 29 states and Washington, D.C. And yet, despite growing scientific consensus around the health risks, federal regulators are backpedaling. The EPA recently proposed rolling back federal PFAS drinking water protections and giving polluters a pathway to evade accountability.
This makes state and local leadership even more urgent. Astonishingly, PFAS are not currently required to be tested in land-applied biosolids in Washington State. There has been little to no investigation into the impacts of biosolids on water quality or contamination from emerging contaminants. This lack of oversight means the public has no clear idea where PFAS are being spread, or how much is ending up in our soil and water.
While the state provided funding for additional research into the presence of PFAS in biosolids, research alone is not enough. State agencies must take the next step of re-evaluating the land application permit program to protect the public from PFAS-contaminated biosolids and to prevent further pollution of our waterways. EPA officials have known about PFAS in biosolids since 2003, and it’s past time to act to protect our communities from this contamination.
EPA’s draft Human Health Criteria (HHC) for PFOS and PFOA are dramatically more stringent than Washington’s water quality standards—by several orders of magnitude. Washington’s freshwater chronic criteria allow up to 8.4 µg/L (8,400 ng/L) of PFOS and 94 µg/L (94,000 ng/L) of PFOA in surface water, while EPA’s proposed HHC limits PFOS to just 0.06 ng/L and PFOA to 0.0009 ng/L when accounting for both water and organism exposure. It’s clear Washington’s current standards fall far short of what is necessary to protect human health, especially for communities that rely on fish consumption or are exposed to contaminated water sources.
Additionally, the City of Spokane has a responsibility to ensure that its waste management practices, including its biosolids program, are not contributing to the contamination of our waterways or putting communities at risk from PFAS contamination. It is the city’s duty to manage its waste in a way that protects water quality and prevents long-term harm, rather than allowing toxic substances to quietly spread through practices that may seem routine but carry serious consequences.
What Needs to Happen
Spokane Riverkeeper is calling on state and local officials to:
Halt the land application of biosolids that contain PFAS until safety can be guaranteed.
Require routine PFAS monitoring in wastewater effluent and biosolids.
Fund additional testing and treatment technologies to protect disproportionately impacted communities and ecosystems.
We know that once PFAS contamination occurs, cleanup is difficult, expensive, and often ineffective. The only way to prevent further harm is to stop these chemicals at their source—before they enter our waters and bodies.
Learn more and explore the national data at: www.waterkeeper.org/pfas