Airway Heights asking residents to conserve water while backup well is worked on

The city of Airway Heights is asking residents and businesses to limit their water use indoors and outside beginning Friday as it performs maintenance on a backup well.

Residents and business owners are being asked to water their lawns and landscaping on alternating days, and to only water before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Even-numbered addresses are being asked to water on even dates, while odd-numbered addresses are asked to water on odd-numbered dates.

Airway Heights has been buying water from the city of Spokane since a contamination by a family of chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, was discovered in the city’s municipal water system in 2017. The contamination has been linked to firefighting foam used at Fairchild Air Force Base for decades.

The city of Airway Heights is performing maintenance on a supplemental well that filters water and serves as a backup during the summer months for its water purchased from Spokane. The city did not provide a timetable for that maintenance to be completed.

Violations of the watering restrictions can result in citations from the city, but Airway Heights City Manager Albert Tripp said Friday the city is hoping to rely on public education and cooperation to reduce water use.

A full list of water restrictions and conservation tips is available on the city’s website, cawh.org/water-restrictions.