Embedded Files
Watersheds play a very important role in the water cycle.
WHAT IS A WATERSHED?
Learn how can we help reduce the negative impact precipitation has on our lakes and streams when it mixes with pollution on the ground? In a nutshell…. Watershed refers to the land, both underground and above, which water flows to reach a common body of water. It has two components – surface drainage and groundwater drainage. An underground drainage area is sometimes called a ground watershed. Just as surface water flows over the surface of the land in response to gravity, groundwater flows through spongelike soils and fractures in bedrock in response to gravity.
The water follows gravity and the highs and lows of the landscape. A watershed is identified by the name of the water body that serves as the collecting basin for that drainage are. All land is a part of some watershed! Not only do streams and rivers flow to a collecting basin, but so do the impacts that humans have upon those water bodies. Human activities (people pollution) that impact the quality of the river water flowing into a basin also impact the basin itself.
VIDEO: Watersheds... How do they work?
Learn how a watershed works with Michele from Boone County, MO - Stormwater. A watershed is identified by the name of the water body that serves as the collecting basin for that drainage area. All land is a part of some watershed! Not only do streams and rivers flow to a collecting basin, but so too do the impacts that humans have upon those water bodies.
WHY WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR WATERSHEDS?
Earth is covered in 70% water and unfortunately, 40-50% of our nation’s waters are impaired or threatened. “Impaired” means that the water body does not support one or more of its intended uses. This could mean that the water is not suitable to drink, swim in, or to consume the fish that was caught there.
The leading causes of pollution in our waterways are sediments and bacteria (such as E. coli and excess nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus). Although nutrients sound like things that belong in a healthy environment, they can cause big problems in a poorly managed watershed. For instance, sediment can suffocate fish by clogging their gills and the presence of bacteria alone can indicate that other viruses and germs can be found in the water as well. Erosion, Littering and not picking up your pets’ waste are just a few ways these pollutants reach our local waterways.
Report abuse