Rooftop rainwater collection for outdoor use is allowed in Snohomish County with no water-right permit, following Washington's 2009 state policy. Storage tanks and any plumbed indoor use still follow building/plumbing code, but landscape irrigation from a rain barrel needs no special county approval.
Snohomish County has no ordinance prohibiting rain barrels or cisterns for garden use. Under the Washington Department of Ecology's 2009 rainwater interpretive policy, on-site storage and beneficial use of rooftop-collected rainwater is not subject to the RCW 90.03 water-right permit process, provided the roof is part of a fixed structure whose primary purpose is something other than collecting rainwater. This means residents may capture roof runoff in barrels or tanks for landscaping without a water right. Larger cisterns, structural supports, or any connection to indoor potable plumbing are still regulated by the county's adopted building and plumbing codes, and potable (drinking) use has additional health requirements. Ecology may impose local limits if collection is later found to harm instream flows
No county penalty for a garden rain barrel. Non-compliance arises only if a large tank or plumbed system skips required building/plumbing permits.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County prohibits cruelty, neglect, and abandonment of animals under SCC 9.12.080. Failing to provide adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, med...
Snohomish County, WA
Snohomish County's animal code does not set a general backyard wildlife-feeding ban. Feeding large carnivores such as bears and cougars is prohibited by Wash...
Snohomish County, WA
Where hours are not otherwise posted, Snohomish County parks are open daily from 6:00 a.m. until dusk. No one may be present in a county park while it is clo...
Snohomish County, WA
In unincorporated Snohomish County outdoor lighting must be hooded or shaded so that direct light does not glare onto surrounding property or rights-of-way. ...
Snohomish County, WA
Unincorporated Snohomish County has no formal dark-sky ordinance, but its development standards require outdoor lighting to be hooded or shaded so direct lig...
Snohomish County, WA
In unincorporated Snohomish County a single-family residence may display one unlighted name sign up to two square feet per face. Real-estate signs advertisin...
See how Snohomish County's rainwater harvesting rules stack up against other locations.
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