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On January 20, Snohomish County Council passed the required code changes in ordinance 20-081 to officially create a new Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Executive Somers proposed creating the new department September 29, 2020 to consolidate multiple county functions, offices and departments into one organization to achieve more of our environmental sustainability goals.
Effective January 30, SWM officially moved into the DCNR from Public Works, joining the Parks, Recreation and Tourism department, Energy and Sustainability, and Agriculture offices. Although our department has a new name, SWM services as your stormwater utility will remain the same.
Learn more here.
 The new Department of Natural Resources and Conservation works in support of sustainable and livable communities and a clean and healthy environment.
SWM worked with other Public Works divisions to construct 15 projects in 2020 at a total construction cost of $2.34 million. Six projects were completed by contract construction and nine were constructed by Road Maintenance. This includes:
• 4 neighborhood drainage improvements projects to address local flooding issues
• 8 failing culvert replacement projects
• 2 water quality / low impact development (LID) projects
• 1 project that replaced 5 driveway culverts to address fish passage and flooding issues on Connors Road
At Logan Park, an LID project replaced the asphalt parking lot with pervious concrete pavement.
At Meadow Creek Park, the Carter Road stormwater facility was rebuilt to improve water quality.
 BEFORE – Meadow Creek Park detention pond before construction.
 AFTER – Meadow Creek Park detention pond after improvements.
Local Restoration Crews Engage in Both National Service and Habitat Restoration
Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) is an AmeriCorps national service program administered locally by Washington Department of Ecology. Snohomish County SWM has sponsored a WCC crew for 19 consecutive years. The SWM WCC crew focuses primarily on salmon recovery and implementing streamside habitat restoration projects, by planting native trees and shrubs. They also nurture young plants at our native plant nursery, and regularly revisit restoration sites to control invasive plants and to monitor survival, growth, and health of plantings. WCC crews are composed of six team members – an Ecology staff crew leader and five Corps members who are 18-25 years of age and serve an 11-month term. Corps members receive a stipend and educational award for their service.
Learn more about SWM’s Native Plant program and WCC highlighted projects here.
 The Snohomish County-sponsored WCC crew planting native trees and shrubs at Meadow Creek Park detention pond to improve water quality.
New Water Level Gauge Installed at Skykomish River, South Slough
Did you know that SWM maintains 32 river, stream, and rain gauges around Snohomish County? Michael Smith, senior Engineering Technician with SWM’s floodplain services group, recently installed a new water level gauge in the South Slough channel of the Skykomish River at 311th Ave SE, near Sultan. This gauge records the water level every 15 minutes to help better understand when roads are flooding in this area.
Data for the new gauge is available at this link.
This data will be used in conjunction with the existing USGS gauges at Gold Bar (Skykomish River) and Monroe (Snohomish River) here.
 Newly installed water level gauge (red circle) at South Slough, Skykomish River near Sultan, WA.
Flood Hazard Studies Aim to Understand and Reduce Flood Risks
As a key part of the Community Floodplain Solutions (CFS) program, SWM teams and program partners are studying river movement, or channel migration, to better understand and predict risk to people, infrastructure and our natural resources. Traditional flood models show water depth -- how deep is the water in the river channel or on the floodplain. New studies are also looking at the river's changing shape, location and velocity, not just water depth, across a broader reach scale.
In tandem with the channel migration study, SWM is also working with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (CIG) and the Western Washington University to predict how climate change may affect rainfall in the coming century.
With a better understanding of potential risks associated with rainfall and river movements, we can use this information to evaluate and assess potential projects and how they will affect the landscape. For example, the geomorphic assessment completed in the fall identified immediate flood risk at Haskel Slough levee near Sultan that led to an emergency repair in November 2020.
To learn more about flood hazard mapping studies in the Skykomish Valley and find the latest published reports, visit the link.
To learn more and sign up to receive CFS project updates and notices about future meetings, please visit the CFS project webpage.
Substantial gravel deposits have caused rapid bank erosion and added to the large wood debris (LWD) load of the Skykomish River.
Upcoming Public Events and Workshops
Learn more about upcoming SWM co-sponsored events and workshops on our events webpage.
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Community Floodplain Solutions Online Open House – January 22 to February 19: Visit an online open house to share your input on potential floodplain project benefits and impacts in the Skykomish River valley. Residents may also learn about landowner programs and how to get involved. See more details here.
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Septic System Care Workshop – February 9 or 11: SWM is hosting free, online Septic System Care Workshops. Register today to attend the 2-hour workshop on either Tuesday Feb. 9 or Thursday Feb. 11.
 Attendees learn how to care for their system, avoid expensive repairs and more about Savvy Septic grants, rebates, and affordable loans for septic care.
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