[1] The aquifer is centralized under Spokane Valley and the Rathdrum Prairie, hence the name, and is part of the Columbia River drainage basin.

The Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer is unconfined and has no protective layer, which makes it vulnerable to contamination from a variety of pollutants.

As a result, many local organizations monitor water quality in the aquifer and investigate potentially dangerous contaminants.

[4] A 1988 technical report of the aquifer from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare investigated and ranked 14 potential contaminants.

In order from greatest to least potential for contamination, these contaminants included: agriculture, petroleum, landfills, hazardous materials, subsurface sewage disposal systems, surface runoff/dry wells, industrial wastewater, land application of septage and sludges, pits, ponds and lagoons, dairies and feedlots, radioactivity, silvicultural activities, well drillings, and mining.

If not properly constructed, monitored, and used, these tanks could burst, contaminating the nearby communities’ source of drinking water as fuel seeps through the ground and into the aquifer.