Airway Heights water contamination spurs talks for West Plains water deals.
A drinking water scare that forced Airway Heights residents to turn away from the tap this spring has prompted renewed talks about Spokane providing more water on the West Plains.
“The thing is, we don’t have a lot of redundancy in our system right now.” The emergency in Airway Heights has prompted Medical Lake to once again broach the subject of a water agreement with Spokane, which will have to weigh the option of supplying neighboring cities in need with that of supporting economic growth near Spokane International Airport and the city’s own water needs.
Spokane’s water is being sold to Airway Heights under the terms of a 1984 agreement between the two cities.
Airway Heights can receive about 2,000 gallons of water per minute from Spokane through existing lines, which is the maximum amount they can receive without building new transmission or storage options.
They’ve made that clear.” An existing hydrant, served by Spokane city water mains, is about 500 feet from an existing Medical Lake pump station, Ross said.
The current contract with Airway Heights has no mandatory review of the agreement.
Airway Heights is paying $1.17 for every 748 gallons of water it pumps into its system from Spokane.
Anderson said discussions are ongoing between Airway Heights and the Air Force about compensation for that water, and include talks about a permanent fix.
Options include tapping into the base’s water lines, an option the Air Force seems wary of, Anderson said.