2017 Water Quality Report Card

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2017 Water Quality Report Card

The results are in for 2017 and once again we find that Hangman Creek harbors conditions that fail to support our native redband trout, much less the salmon that once swam in it's waters. 

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2017 Phosphorous Study

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2017 Phosphorous Study

We partnered with EWU to look at phosphorous loads in Hangman Creek during the spring of 2017.  The amount of phosphorous in our waters is extremely important to primary production in our surface waters, causing algal blooms and (indirectly) low dissolved oxygen in Lake Spokane.  Phosphorous is locally regulated in surface water discharges due to it's effect on Lake Spokane,

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Calling the Salmon Home

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Calling the Salmon Home

The Spokane Riverkeeper attended the canoe landing and Salmon Ceremony on the Columbia River at Kettle Falls. Before the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, Kettle Falls served as a sacred gathering spot for tribes and First Nations peoples during salmon runs. The Ceremony of Tears in 1940 was the last Salmon Ceremony held before Kettle Falls was permanently inundated with water and the salmon runs blocked - until 2016 when these canoes were built by tribes of the Upper Columbia River Basin and the journey to Kettle Falls and tradition of the Salmon Ceremony revived.

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Join us!  Free tour of Bunker Hill Superfund Site, June 8

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Join us! Free tour of Bunker Hill Superfund Site, June 8

The Spokane Riverkeeper, along with staff from the EPA and the Idaho Panhandle Health Department will lead a free tour of the Bunker Hill Superfund Site on June 8th. Although downtown Spokane is many miles away from the Bunker Hill Mine, mining operations that began in the 1880s continue to impact the health of downstream waterways from the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River all the way to the Spokane River.

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Spring 2018 Newsletter

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Spring 2018 Newsletter

Paul Lindholdt's newest book, The Spokane River pulls together a diverse array of experts and enthusiasts to expound about the River, including past and present Spokane Riverkeepers, Rick Eichstaedt, Bart Mihailovich, and Jerry White, Jr.

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Celebrating Hangman Creek

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Celebrating Hangman Creek

Canoes are tippy.  After a brief safety talk and paddle demo (provided by yours truly), Uncle Jerry White (your Riverkeeper) treated us to a devotional sermon, and we were off.

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Do Fish Hear?

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Do Fish Hear?

What does polluted stormwater have to do with fish hearing?  Until today, I’d say absolutely nothing.  But in the last weeks, new science points to polluted stormwater runoff as the culprit for damaging the ability for salmon and other fish to hear.

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Spokane Riverkeeper Settles Lawsuit over Hangman Creek Cleanup

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Spokane Riverkeeper Settles Lawsuit over Hangman Creek Cleanup

Spokane Riverkeeper Settles Law Suit with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington Department of Ecology to Protect Water Quality in Hangman Creek

The Spokane Riverkeeper has settled a federal lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) approval of Washington Department of Ecology’s plan to clean up pollution in Hangman Creek. 

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Temperature Monitoring in Hangman Creek, Summer 2017

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Temperature Monitoring in Hangman Creek, Summer 2017

The Spokane Riverkeeper conducted a water temperature study in the Hangman Creek watershed in summer of 2017.  Our results show that mainstem water temperatures are much too high to support redband trout.  However, results were more promising in the tributaries.  

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Toxics in the Spokane River – why we care

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Toxics in the Spokane River – why we care

While it may not be apparent, the river that we love, the river that’s vital to our health and economy – needs your help.  As your Riverkeepers, it is our job and our privilege to protect and defend your river so that it’s clean and safe for all to enjoy. Here’s a little background on why the river is polluted, why this pollution matters, and some easy steps that we want you to take to keep toxic pollution out of the Spokane River.

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Microplastics in the Spokane River

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Microplastics in the Spokane River

Our winter intern, Jake Peterson, takes a look at the potential sources of microplastics in the Spokane River.  A previous study found microplastics in over 60% of the fish in the Spokane River, but where are they coming from and why are fish eating them?

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Spokane Fall Trout Unlimited Sediment Study

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Spokane Fall Trout Unlimited Sediment Study

What does a dedicated group of anglers do when sediment threatens to bury the habitat of their prized sport fish, the redband trout?  Citizen science!  Spokane Falls Trout Unlimited (SFTU) is leading a study to understand the intensity and duration of sediment pollution in Hangman Creek and how that effects the Spokane River. 

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Fishing and Protecting Small Streams

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Fishing and Protecting Small Streams

Our guest blogger Erik Rockliffe, an angler of all waters, describes below how and why he fishes small streams.  These streams provide a solitary fishing experience, full of adventure, in habitat unspoiled by humans.  Read on for the report...

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A Letter of Support for the City of Spokane

A Letter of Support for the City of Spokane

Cleaning the Spokane River isn't easy.  One way of doing it is supporting the people and organizations that do much of the expensive work.  The Spokane Riverkeeper applauds the City of Spokane's work to upgrade sewer and stormwater infastructure.  This work will lead to a much cleaner Spokane River.  

Help Keep Toxics Out of the Spokane River

Help Keep Toxics Out of the Spokane River

Spokane should not be conducting any effort, or be a part of any conversation to weaken Washington state water quality standards that apply to our Spokane River.  Any effort on the part of any pollution discharger to weaken standards that have been put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for public health and safety will be met with a robust response from the Spokane Riverkeeper and the rest of Washington Waterkeepers.  It is one thing to ask for time to get over a challenging bar… and quite another to work on lowering that bar.

Sampling Fecal Coliform at Cochran Basin Outfall

Sampling Fecal Coliform at Cochran Basin Outfall

In mid July we received a number of complaints of a sewage smell from just downstream of the TJ Meenach Bridge.  We investigated and found the smell to be coming from the Cochrane Basin Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) #12.   The sample results of 4.5 bacteria/100mL were of a safe level for water recreation.  Through monitoring like this, we can ensure that the Spokane River is safe for all who use the Spokane River.  

Is Our River Clean?

Is Our River Clean?

When I talk to folks about the river, I can always count on one question: Is the river clean? This can be tough to answer since clean is in the eye of the beholder and can be a point of contention among different parties that work along the river.