Practice Good Firework Housekeeping to Keep our Waters Clean and Healthy
Help us keep our rivers, lakes, and streams healthy by practicing good firework housekeeping this 4th of July holiday. Fireworks have heavy metals, perchlorate and other pollutants that can harm people and the environment. The chemicals in fireworks can pollute our rivers, lakes, and streams when fireworks are detonated over waterbodies and when firework waste is not disposed of properly.
Good Housekeeping Tips
Do:
- Sweep streets and sidewalks of spent firework shells, stars, paper, carboard and fuses and properly dispose of the waste.
- Collect and manage “duds” following manufacturer’s instruction.
- Soak used fireworks in water. Dispose of soaked fireworks in garbage and pour the water into your grassy area away from stormwater catch basins, ditches, or ponds.
- Consider asking firework suppliers and manufacturers for fireworks with low or no perchlorate.
Do Not:
- Leave spent firework shells, starts, paper, carboard or fuses on sidewalks, roads, or allow to enter stormwater catch basins, ditches, or ponds.
- Dump water used to soak fireworks into stormwater catch basins, ditches, or ponds.
The Snohomish County Fire Marshall has a bulletin on where it is legal and illegal to discharge fireworks and tips to keep safe. If you have questions or would like to report a water pollution concern, please call the Water Quality Complaint Hotline at 425-388-6481 or use the on-line water pollution reporting system.
 Stay safe with fireworks and help us keep waters clean and healthy this 4th of July.
Catch More Crab By Preventing Crab Pot Loss
It’s opening weekend for recreational crabbing in Puget Sound! Each year an estimated 12,000 crab pots are lost in Puget Sound, resulting in the capture of an estimated 180,000 Dungeness crab a year with no one to harvest them. The Snohomish County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and the Northwest Straits Foundation continue to partner to educate crabbers about the problem. NW Straits Foundation has many great tips, instructional videos and other resources to prevent lost crab pots. MRC members will be at the 10th Street Boat Launch in Everett on the mornings of July 3 and 10, providing educational materials including free rot cord and gauges for measuring your catch. The goal is more crab for you, less lost pots for Puget Sound!
 Visit the Northwest Straits Foundation webpage for tips, tricks and best practices.
New Lower Skykomish River Presentations Are Now Online
Community Floodplain Solutions (CFS) is focusing efforts in Sky Valley to help lower the flood risk for residents, keep local farms viable, and restore habitat for threatened salmon. To help residents better understand the future risks associated with flood hazards along the Lower Skykomish River and what programs may provide relief, two short presentations have been recorded and are available online.
CFS partners are working now to identify properties that are eligible for incentive programs, including voluntary easement and acquisition opportunities. These partnerships are not possible without community input and willing participation.
Landowners are encouraged to visit the CFS webpage, view the presentations, and contact the CFS team to talk about specific findings near their property and what incentive options are available.
 CFS Presentation: Review Flood Hazard Studies Along the Lower Skykomish River.
 CFS Presentation: Explore Landowner Incentive Options Along the Lower Skykomish River.
Snohomish County Surface Water Management (SWM) is working with several partners to develop a habitat restoration project for Thomas’ Eddy at Bob Heirman Wildlife Park that will restore critical habitat for threatened salmon species while maintaining or improving access to fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing. Design alternatives are scheduled to be made available in fall 2021.
For updates on the project and community engagement opportunities, visit the project website: https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5816/Thomas-Eddy-Restoration-Project
 Bob Heirman Park is located between Connelly Road and the Snohomish River’s west bank.
State of our Waters monitoring program findings were presented at the virtual 2021 Salish Sea Ecosystem Recovery Conference. The conference is a forum where the latest scientific research is shared to guide future actions for protecting and restoring the Salish Sea Ecosystem. Presentations included the use of environmental DNA to support multiple fish habitat goals and an overview of how riparian conditions and habitat have changed over the last 20 years after a habitat restoration project at Glade Bekken Creek. Thanks to conference organizers at Western Washington University, presentations will soon be available for download.
 The Salish Sea describes the area including Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca and Strait of Georgia.
New Map Tool Improves Access to State of Our Waters - Stream Health Reports
Access to over 75 of the latest stream health reports, land cover maps, and water quality data sets are now available on the State of Our Waters webpage through Google Maps©. This tool provides consistency with SWM’s Lakes program, reduces staff time to manage, and most importantly, is easier for the public to use. Check back routinely as reports and data are added when new streams are surveyed for biological, chemical and physical health.
 Visit the State of Our Waters webpage to use the new map tool to find your local stream’s report.
Development leads to changes in land cover (e.g: from forest to impervious surfaces) which can impact surface water flow, quality, habitat, and aquatic life. Identifying how land cover changes over time is central to understanding stormwater flow and impacts to stream health. Snohomish County was selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to pilot the use of high-resolution land cover datasets to map six distinct land cover classifications, ranging from impervious surface to open water.
The results have helped County engineers improve stream flow models to identify drainage issues, while enabling habitat scientists to better understand stressors to aquatic life. The work was featured in NOAA’s Digital Coast Newsletters here: Assessing the Environmental Health of Streams in Washington and Improving Stormwater Runoff Modeling in Washington. High resolution land cover maps are available using an interactive Google© maps tool for over 60 basins where State of Our Waters stream surveys have been conducted.
 Example map uses new high resolution land cover data in SW Snohomish County.
Over 600 drainage facilities within single-family home developments are planned for inspections in 2021. The SWM Utility will continue to provide both inspection and regular maintenance services to these ratepayers.
If you are unsure of whether you have a regulated drainage facility in your housing development please email surfacewater@snoco.org.
 A residential drainage facility can be a pond like this in a housing development.
Upcoming Public Events and Workshops
Learn more about upcoming SWM co-sponsored events and workshops on our events webpage. For the upcoming workshops below, pre-registration is required. Participants must have an email address and internet access.
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Septic System Care Workshop – July 20 or 22: SWM is hosting free, online Septic System Care Workshops. Register today to attend either Tuesday July 20 or Thursday July 22, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
 Attendees learn how to care for their system, avoid expensive repairs and more.
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Natural Lawn Care Workshop – September 21 or 23: Free & Online*; Register today for either Tuesday, Sep 21 or Thursday, Sep 23, 6:30 – 8:00p.m. Grow a beautiful, healthy lawn that keeps children and pets safe and our waters healthy.
 Attendees learn easy, least-toxic ways to grow a healthier lawn.
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