This led to the construction of a more advanced treatment plant that utilized chemical precipitation technology, which was connected in 1975, and operational by 1977.

[16] After the Northern Pacific Railway lines arrived in Spokane in 1882, there was rapid growth in milling operations along the river.

As a result of the dams blocking the river, salmon populations in the Spokane plummeted, leading to complaints from many of the people living upstream.

[17] After the construction of Little Falls Dam in 1910 by Washington Water Power blocked upstream passage, the river's salmon populations disappeared completely.

Today, the Spokane River system is one of the two largest unoccupied stretches of steelhead habitat within their former range.

[19] Today, the Spokane River supports populations of rainbow trout, northern pikeminnow, and Bridgelip Suckers (Catostomus columbianus), as well as several non-native species.