COEUR d'ALENE - The three-day Spokane River Forum has been set for November and will cover several potentially contentious bi-state water issues.

"We are trying to encourage the dialogue between Washington and Idaho," said Andy Dunau, executive director of the forum.

Dunau said the timing of the forum is appropriate because Washington is trying to establish instream water flows for the Spokane River (which could affect Idaho) and Idaho is going through adjudication (which could affect Washington).

"We have this twin issue going on," he said. "The big question is, 'are we going to figure this out together, or is this going to court?'"

Dunau said there are a number of issues the two states are facing concerning water resources and water quality. He said the state regulators also have issues with local water providers that need to be worked out.

"Purveyors are looking for ways to provide water into the future, and regulators want to make sure the purveyors are permitted for the amount of water they are providing," Dunau said.

He said the forum will cover Washington versus Idaho and local purveyors versus state regulators.

The Spokane River Forum, which was formed in 2008, is a nonprofit, non-partisan clearinghouse for water-related issues. It is not an advocacy group, Dunau said.

"We are not about setting policy," he said. "Our role is to keep the discussion going because we all know what the alternative is."

On the water resource side of the issue at this year's forum, which will be held at The Coeur d'Alene Resort on Nov. 18-20, expert panelists will discuss the water rights between the two states and other issues such as "urban growth and future water demand."

On the water quality side of the forum, Dunau said, the topics range from controlling invasive species to defining "measurable progress," which Washington wants to use as a regulatory requirement.

The one issue which will probably dominate the discussion on water quality is storm water.

"Storm water, storm water, storm water and - guess what? - more storm water," Dunau said.

Dunau said all the cities between Coeur d'Alene and Spokane were just issued wastewater discharge permits and there are several issues to discuss with those as well.

"Basically we are going to be nudging people to try and work things out," he said. "We need to find the common ground and keep the discussions going."