The Spokane River is spectacular as it roars through downtown Spokane at high flow. It’s a sight that attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year. But that same water also contains high levels of hazardous pollutants that may harm our health and could affect the aquifer that provides drinking water. Much of the river’s water, particularly during the summer, comes from underground springs fed by the Spokane-Rathdrum Aquifer. The aquifer provides drinking water for 400,000 people in the Spokane area, as well as extensive irrigation water along its course. The use of the aquifer water is so extensive that Spokane Falls, the signature natural feature of the city of Spokane, runs dry during many summers, with all the water being diverted to the Upper Falls and Lower Falls hydroelectric power plants. The lowered water levels have raised the toxicity of the stream, resulting in low concentrations of dissolved oxygen and algae blooms along much of the river’s lower course. In 2002 the Environmental Protection Agency issued a Superfund cleanup plan for the Spokane River-Lake Coeur d’Alene basin. In a controversial move, the Bush administration transferred control of the Idaho portion to the state of Idaho, which opposes the Superfund designation and the cleanup, partly based on its high cost and possible effect on real estate prices. It has also been confirmed that there is heavy metal pollution in the Spokane River, resulting from pollution coming from Lake Coeur D’Alene (a large lake East of Spokane in Idaho) and traveling from the Bunker Hill Superfund Site (BHSS).[7] The Spokane River has also suffered heavily from phosphorus pollution, mostly from dishwashing detergent entering the river. In 2007, an average of 1,769 pounds of phosphorus entered the Spokane wastewater treatment plant every day.