Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Washington State University

WSU Snohomish County Extension office has moved!

Our office is now located in the Snohomish County Parks & Recreation Administration Office at Willis Tucker Park, 6705 Puget Park Drive, Snohomish, 98296.

Rain Gardens

Program Contact: Mary Watts, Master Gardener Program Coordinator
425-357-6001 • mary.watts@wsu.edu

Rain_Gardens_Logo

A rain garden acts like a native forest by collecting, absorbing, and filtering stormwater runoff from roof tops, driveways, patios, and other areas that don’t allow water to soak in. Rain gardens can help clean up the Sound and protect aquatic life. When it rains or snows, more water flows from developed areas than undisturbed areas, carrying oil, fertilizers, pesticides, sediment and other pollutants downstream.

Snohomish County supports nearly 700,000 residents and continues to grow on a fast track. As we have lost native forests and replaced them with solid surfaces and stormwater sewers, water infiltration has decreased while surface water runoff has increased. The runoff has increased the severity of flooding and swept containments from our homes and streets directly into streams. Rain gardens give us the ability to mimic nature by increasing infiltration of stormwater that comes off our roofs, driveways and landscapes. This helps protect Puget Sound.

WSU – Snohomish County Extension, Snohomish County Surface Water Management, the Snohomish Conservation District and the City of Everett are offering information on rain gardens and Natural Yard Care throughout Snohomish County. Look for the rain garden booth at community festivals and fairs. You can also find information at the many Master Gardener clinics around the County.

For more information, visit the WSU Rain Garden Webpage.