The Spokane Riverkeeper is working to keep our river healthy but members are facing many battles along the way.
Like trying to swim against a strong current, river keeping is not always easy. There are legal battles to fight.
"We actually sued the Environmental Protection Agency for not cleaning up Hangman Creek when it's required," said Jule Schultz with the Spokane Riverkeeper.
There is also a never-ending stream of trash to collect near the river.
Jerry White Jr. and Jule Schultz are two of four members of the Spokane Riverkeeper.
"The Spokane River is the social, psychic and spiritual center of our region," White said. "It runs 111 miles between Coeur d'Alene Lake and the Columbia River, and it's really a massive community asset. All of the communities in this valley are here because of the Spokane River. The degree to which our river is healthy is the degree to which are communities are healthy."
Staff members like Schultz scientifically keep track of the river's overall health.
"We see toxics in the river, we see sediments in the river," Schultz said. “We also have some high nutrient loads that are fueling algae blooms and low dissolved oxygen in Lake Spokane. Although the river looks beautiful and it seems to be improving with a lot of the work that the city has done and others, we still have some big issues to work on."
Volunteers are a huge asset for trash clean-up.
“We have involved 500 people to clean up 16,000 pounds of trash this year,” Schultz said. “We need to make it clean for the trout that live in the river, for the animals and the fish that live in the river, everybody that uses the river not just the people."
There's still much work to be done in the Inland Northwest, but Schultz said the city of Spokane, is on the right track.
“We have massive tanks that will store our sewage instead of going into the river, the city is installing here,” he said.
If you want to help Spokane Riverkeeper, members said you can volunteer to help with trash clean-up or you can donate so they can continue their fight to protect our river.
