"The Spokane River begins in Idaho, at the Lake Coeur d’Alene outlet, and flows 112 miles through Post Falls and Spokane to Long Lake and on to Lake Roosevelt and the Columbia River. Over the years this working river has seen improvements in its health. But there are still many sources of pollution that continue to threaten the river. Ecology is dedicated to working with stakeholders on this complicated task of cleaning up the river and keeping it clean. The Spokane River Urban Waters Team is a partnership between Ecology and The Spokane Regional Health District. Together, we developed a master inspection checklist to guide our visits to business. We work with businesses to identify and prevent pollution from reaching the river through sediment, stormdrains, and combined sewers. In particular, the team is looking for pollutants that contain lead and other heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls(PCB’s), PBDE’s(flame retardants), dioxins and furans."-State of Washington Department of Ecology