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| Understanding Watersheds | |
| The
term watershed is frequently used to refer to the entire area
that water flows across, under and through on its way to a common
body of water. In hydrologic terms, a watershed is a land area that
delivers runoff water, sediment and dissolved substances to a major
river and its tributaries. A watershed includes atmospheric, surface
and subsurface water.
One of the main functions of a watershed is to temporarily store and transport water from the land surface to the water body and eventually on to the ocean. In addition to moving water, watersheds and their water bodies also transport sediment and other materials (including pollutants), energy, and many types of organisms. Watersheds can be large or small. Every stream, tributary, or river has an associated watershed, and small watersheds aggregate together to become larger watersheds. It is a relatively easy task to delineate watershed boundaries using a topographical map that shows stream channels. The watershed boundaries will follow the major ridge-line around the channels and meet at the bottom where the water flows out of the watershed, commonly referred to as the mouth of the stream or river. Connectivity refers to the physical connection between tributaries and the river, between surface water and groundwater, and between wetlands and these water sources. Because the water moves downstream in a watershed, any activity that affects the water quality, quantity, or rate of movement at one location can change the characteristics of the watershed at locations downstream. For this reason, everyone living or working within a watershed needs to cooperate to ensure a healthy watershed. Each one of us can make a difference within our own watershed. The most important thing to understand about the concept of a watershed is that activities on land can very easily affect water quality downstream. That water quality can affect people, along with everything that relies upon that water--from micro-organisms to plants, from aquatic insects to fish. |
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