Snohomish Times: County News - Snohomish Washington

Published: Sunday, August 25, 2019
High-efficiency street sweepers

Snohomish County Public Works is advancing its street sweeping fleet to add high-efficiency street sweepers, in order to better protect the water quality of local streams and creeks. The county received a $1.5 million grant from the Washington state Department of Ecology to purchase four new street sweepers and to develop a watershed-focused program. With the use of high efficiency street sweepers, more pollution and debris from county roads will be captured and disposed of properly, before it enters our streams and creeks.

“By incorporating water quality data into sweeping operations, we can more efficiently remove pollution from the road systems before it enters local streams,” said Gregg Farris, Surface Water Management Utility Director. “We are excited to collaborate with the Public Works Road Maintenance Division on the street sweeping program because it is a cost-effective way to continue to protect our water resources now and into the future.”

By investing in new technology, the two divisions (Surface Water Management (SWM) and Road Maintenance) are able to take another step toward improving water quality in Snohomish County. The new, high-efficiency machines will pick up 65 percent more fine dirt than mechanical street sweepers, including particles the size of a grain of rice. A contributor to surface water pollution is rubber particles that shed from tires driving on the roads. The new street sweepers will be able to pick up more of these particles, preventing them from ending up in our local waters or getting captured in storm drains. High efficiency sweepers also reduce the amount of material vacuumed out of storm drains, decreasing the amount of resources used for storm drain cleaning.

“We take pride in maintaining Snohomish County’s more than 1,600 miles of roads,” said Steve Flude, Road Maintenance Director. “With this investment in high-tech equipment, we are able to diversify our fleet to provide safe road travel and cleaner waterways.”

The new street sweeper program will be developed in 2020 and rolled out in 2021, with more staff dedicated to keeping our roads clean and free of debris. The program will establish sweeping priorities based on pollution loads, traffic volumes, proximity to polluted streams, and tree cover.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

August 6 Primary Ballots Mailed
Today Snohomish County Elections mailed ballots for the August 6 Primary to 460,000 registered voters. A voters’ pamphlet has been mailed to every household.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Centennial Trail History Day
Centennial Trail History Day Showcases Snohomish County’s Past July 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Machias Trailhead – Free and open to the public.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Outdoor Burning Ban Announced
Due to high fire danger and expected hot and dry weather conditions, the Snohomish County Fire Marshal has announced an outdoor burning ban

Friday, June 28, 2019

Call for Artistic Concepts
Oso Slide Memorial Design Components Submittals due July 10, 2019

Thursday, June 20, 2019

New Veterans Memorial
Gold Star Moms with Commanding Officer of Naval Station Everett Captain Davis

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

2019 Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness
Snohomish County Releases 2019 Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness Increasing number of people experiencing homelessness outpaces housing efforts

Saturday, May 04, 2019

Community Transit Grants 10 Surplus Vans to Local Nonprofits
Organizations will provide more than 42,000 rides to Snohomish County residents

Monday, April 29, 2019

Litter Wranglers Saddle Up for 2019
Resident participation key to program’s continued success

Monday, April 15, 2019

Community Members Sought for Snohomish County Tomorrow
Volunteer committee members contribute to discussions on growth policy issues

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

EnviroStars Earth Day Challenge
County agencies launch EnviroStars Earth Day Challenge

SNOHOMISH COUNTY NEWS - SNOHOMISH TIMES

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