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Stories for Snohomish County

Water Quality stories are grouped according to the Water Quality Program's Five Program Activities.  Some Stories may fall under more than one category, and are referenced accordingly.

1. Prevent Point Source Pollution (excluding water cleanup, stormwater, and financial assistance)
   
    
2. Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution (excluding water cleanup, stormwater, and financial assistance)
    
   • Controlling Pet Waste in Suburban Areas:  where to look - and what to say to the public (also under Cleanup Polluted Water)
     Snohomish County used a scientific approach to their pet waste challenge and created a program to help local governments change public knowledge and behaviors to help keep pet waste out of local streams.
   • Cottage Lake: Watershed Education Helps to Protect a Valuable Resource
     Since the early 1970s, King County′s Cottage Lake has experienced algae blooms due to excessive amounts of phosphorus entering the lake. A Cottage Lake Management Plan was created. Data from the plan aided development of the Cottage Lake water quality cleanup plan (formally known as a Total Maximum Daily Load) for phosphorus in 2004, followed by the Cottage Lake Water Quality Implementation Plan in 2007. Once the Cottage Lake Implementation Plan was complete, the Friends of Cottage Lake, a non-profit organization made of of local residents, and King County worked in partnership to develop the Cottage Lake Total Phosphorus Reduction Plan Grant, provided by Ecology′s Centennial Grant Program.
      
3. Control Stormwater Pollution
    
   • Cities, Schools, and Clean Water:  A city works with local schools to protect water quality (also under Cleanup Polluted Water)
     Early education on the importance of good water quality and factors causing pollution is the “ounce of prevention” that leads to a “pound of cure.”
   • Cottage Lake: Watershed Education Helps to Protect a Valuable Resource
     Since the early 1970s, King County′s Cottage Lake has experienced algae blooms due to excessive amounts of phosphorus entering the lake. A Cottage Lake Management Plan was created. Data from the plan aided development of the Cottage Lake water quality cleanup plan (formally known as a Total Maximum Daily Load) for phosphorus in 2004, followed by the Cottage Lake Water Quality Implementation Plan in 2007. Once the Cottage Lake Implementation Plan was complete, the Friends of Cottage Lake, a non-profit organization made of of local residents, and King County worked in partnership to develop the Cottage Lake Total Phosphorus Reduction Plan Grant, provided by Ecology′s Centennial Grant Program.
   • Putting the Reins on Stormwater:  Improving Stormwater Management at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds
     Local fairgrounds are an important part of many agricultural communities. The Evergreen Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington, covers 185 acres. Snohomish County Staff noticed that the fairground’s stormwater treatment plan needed improvement. They worked with the state Department of Ecology to improve stormwater treatment by utilizing low impact development (LID) techniques.
   • Snohomish County – Evergreen State Fairgrounds LID Improvements Project
     Snohomish County recently installed many low impact development (LID) improvements at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.
   • Too Much Water in the Neighborhood: Neighbors find stormwater infiltration provides many benefits
     Stormwater management in Snohomish County historically consisted of engineered delivery systems associated with impervious developed areas. A Snohomish County grant project pilot study began in 2004 to implement green infrastructure retrofits to stormwater facilities within existing neighborhoods and to educate and involve the public in stormwater management. Outreach activities reconnected residents to their natural areas in order to ensure the long-term health of these areas for the purpose of natural stormwater management.
      
4. Provide Financial Assistance
    
   • Cottage Lake: Watershed Education Helps to Protect a Valuable Resource
     Since the early 1970s, King County′s Cottage Lake has experienced algae blooms due to excessive amounts of phosphorus entering the lake. A Cottage Lake Management Plan was created. Data from the plan aided development of the Cottage Lake water quality cleanup plan (formally known as a Total Maximum Daily Load) for phosphorus in 2004, followed by the Cottage Lake Water Quality Implementation Plan in 2007. Once the Cottage Lake Implementation Plan was complete, the Friends of Cottage Lake, a non-profit organization made of of local residents, and King County worked in partnership to develop the Cottage Lake Total Phosphorus Reduction Plan Grant, provided by Ecology′s Centennial Grant Program.
   • Snohomish River Basin: An Ecosystem in Transition
     For several decades, Snohomish County Surface Water Management worked to rehabilitate several prime historical salmonid habitat estuaries in the Snohomish River Basin. With the project nearly complete, they found they needed a small amount of financial help to finish. So, they turned to Ecology’s Direct Implementation Fund to help them complete the project.
      
5. Cleanup Polluted Waters
    
   • Cities, Schools, and Clean Water:  A city works with local schools to protect water quality (also under Control Stormwater Pollution)
     Early education on the importance of good water quality and factors causing pollution is the “ounce of prevention” that leads to a “pound of cure.”
   • Controlling Pet Waste in Suburban Areas:  where to look - and what to say to the public (also under Reduce Nonpoint Pollution)
     Snohomish County used a scientific approach to their pet waste challenge and created a program to help local governments change public knowledge and behaviors to help keep pet waste out of local streams.
   • Cottage Lake: Watershed Education Helps to Protect a Valuable Resource
     Since the early 1970s, King County′s Cottage Lake has experienced algae blooms due to excessive amounts of phosphorus entering the lake. A Cottage Lake Management Plan was created. Data from the plan aided development of the Cottage Lake water quality cleanup plan (formally known as a Total Maximum Daily Load) for phosphorus in 2004, followed by the Cottage Lake Water Quality Implementation Plan in 2007. Once the Cottage Lake Implementation Plan was complete, the Friends of Cottage Lake, a non-profit organization made of of local residents, and King County worked in partnership to develop the Cottage Lake Total Phosphorus Reduction Plan Grant, provided by Ecology′s Centennial Grant Program.
   • Door-to-door Outreach:  Helping Streams One Home at a Time
     Urban and suburban streams experience pollution and hydrologic stresses from local development.  The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation worked with a neighborhood in the Marysville area to lower stream temperatures and improve water quality along Hayho Creek in the Middle Fork of Quilceda Creek.North Creek Watershed - Fighting Flashy Flow
     How the city of Mill Creek helped improved the health of North Creek flows and protected public and private buildings.
   • Solar-powered Livestock Watering: Keeping Cattle, Fish, and People Healthy
     The Snohomish Conservation District installed a solar-powered watering system at a cattle ranch near Arlington, WA, and developed a loaner program. Read about what the District learned and how this off-stream watering technique can help you comply with state and local laws while raising livestock for profit or pleasure.

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