Stormwater

Project 2

S T O R M W A T E R

Stormwater is water that runs off impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and rooftops, as well as runoff from bare earth that can deliver excess sediment, nutrients and/or bacteria to surface waters. The County protects water quality by cleaning streets and treating the stormwater runoff containing bacteria, nutrients, heavy metals, and gas/oil through facilities such as bioswales, rain gardens, and created wetlands. The risk of flooding is also reduced by properly cleaning, sizing, and routing pipe and ditch infrastructure to receiving waters. Development and land disturbing activities are required to manage their stormwater as part of the land use permitting process. 

OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE

Street Sweeping

San Juan County implemented enhanced vacuum assisted street sweeping beginning in 2019. Street sweeping occurs monthly, May through October, to prevent pollutants from entering our drainage system. Street sweeping allows the safe removal of heavy metals, rubber, hydrocarbons left by our vehicles. Target areas include: Eastsound, Orcas Village, Lopez Village, and the Friday Harbor, Orcas and Lopez Ferry Terminals. Moving cars on your designated street sweeping day is an important way you can help reduce pollution from our waterways and storm drain system. Here is the typical schedule:

Orcas - Eastsound, Orcas Village, and the WSF Terminal 

  • 2nd Mondays, May thru October, between the hours of 7:30am and 11am

Lopez - Lopez Village and WSF Terminal

  • 3rd Mondays, May thru October, between the hours of 7:30am and 11am

San Juan Island - Friday Harbor and the WSF Terminal are swept by the Town of Friday Harbor per their designated schedule.


Storm System Cleaning

San Juan County conducts annual catch basin and storm line cleaning before the first heavy rains of the fall, to ensure the system is functioning properly and to prevent accumulated sediment in the system from discharging into waterways.  Storm system cleaning and regular street sweeping, together, help protect our waters.Storm System Cleaning

Stormwater Monitoring

Stormwater sampling provides quantitative data to determine pollutant concentrations in runoff. Stormwater sampling is conducted twice a year before and after the first Stormwater Monitoringflush of fall rains. San Juan County has been sampling stormwater since 2012 on San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez Islands at a  variety of point sources and test for nutrients, bacteria, heavy metals and hydrocarbons.

STORMWATER CAPITOL PROJECTS

There are several active stormwater projects in various stages of planning, design, and construction throughout the County. These projects construct natural treatment systems to provide stormwater flow control, infiltration, and treatment; they are partially funded by the Department of Ecology. 

To view the project factsheets and design plans, please click on the links below:

Lopez Island:

Orcas Island:

STORMWATER BASIN PLANNING

The Stormwater Basin Planning Volume I & II (2015) provides a general overview of watershed and infrastructure conditions throughout the County and offers recommendations for improvements. This information feeds into the County's management policies and capital improvement programming for Clean Water. 

To view the Stormwater Basin Plans, please click on the links below: