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Practice Good Firework Housekeeping for Water Quality

Help us keep our rivers, lakes, and streams healthy by practicing good firework housekeeping. 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. See our list of good housekeeping tips for this Fourth of July holiday.

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. 

Help prevent water pollution from fireworks this Fourth of July holiday.

New Map Highlights County Fish Passage Culvert Projects

The Snohomish County Fish Passage Culvert Program is actively working to identify and replace culverts under county roads that act as barriers for fish to swim through and reach upstream habitat. SWM staff recently developed an interactive web map that highlights the fish-passage status of culverts at all County-owned stream-crossings. This new map is a valuable tool for County staff and partners working to address barriers to fish passage, helping project managers address priority culvert projects as funding and staff are available.

This web map is a living product and will change as projects are completed and new information is added. To learn more about the County’s work to improve fish passage culverts, visit our webpage.

View an interactive map of County-owned fish-passage culverts.

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 2, 8 and 9, 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!

Snohomish County MRC wants to help you prevent crab pot loss.

Stop the Spread of Invasive Species – Clean, Drain, and Dry Your Boat and Fishing Gear

As you head out to enjoy a local lake, stream or to Puget Sound this summer, you can help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. It’s easy – just clean, drain, and dry your fishing gear and boat, kayak, etc.

Invasive species are plants or animals that have spread to areas they don’t naturally occur. They often have no natural controls and can spread rapidly, displacing our native plants and animals. Invasive plants like Eurasian watermilfoil form dense mats that make swimming, fishing and boating difficult. Invasive animals like New Zealand mud snails grow so dense they can make beaches unusable, destroy motors and clog pipes.

To learn more about aquatic invasive species prevention or to report a suspected invasive species in a local waterway, visit www.snohomishcountywa.gov/Invasives.

Invasive species like Eurasian watermilfoil can harm native species and recreation.

SWM and DCNR Share Resources at Countywide Recovery Roadshow Events

The Snohomish County Office of Recovery and Resilience (ORR) hosted five events in May and June – one in each County Council district – to gather feedback about pandemic recovery needs across our community. These events are part of a countywide engagement effort to guide investment strategies for the county’s $160 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. SWM staff joined our colleagues from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to share information with attendees about our work in the community and ways to get more involved.

To learn more about ORR and pandemic recovery efforts, visit https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5600/Office-of-Recovery-and-Resilience.

DCNR staff host a table at the ORR Recovery Roadshow in Mountlake Terrace (District 4).

Sultan Community Event Highlights Potential Projects in the Floodplain

Community Floodplains Solutions (CFS) hosted its first in-person event April 28 at Sultan High School. The community was invited to learn about CFS and receive program updates. Partners from Snohomish County (Conservation and Natural Resources, Emergency Management, Public Works), Snohomish Conservation District and Tulalip Tribes were on hand to answer questions. CFS project opportunities along the Lower Skykomish River south of Highway 2 near Sultan were discussed and explored – including Shinglebolt Slough restoration, Sultan Agriculture Drainage & Sultan Training Levee, Mann Rd and Ben Howard Rd improvements, and more.

To learn more about the CFS program and the latest updates, visit https://snohomishcountywa.gov/5574/Community-Floodplain-Solutions-CFS

CFS program manager, Jessica Hamill, discusses potential projects with community members.

Upcoming Public Events and Workshops

Attend an upcoming workshop and learn more about septic system care.