Watershed Introduction
What is a Watershed?
• An area of land,
from ridge top to
ridge top, that
collects, stores,
and releases water
to a common
point, such as a
river or a lake
What’s in a Watershed?
Streams
Rivers
Lakes
Wetlands
Hills
Mountains
Farms
Cities
Houses
Humans
Animals
Plants
How do we study a Watershed?
If our sampling
site is at the red
dot on the
stream, the water
we are testing
could have
interacted with
any of the
watershed area
upstream of that
point.
Human Impacts on Watershed
Land Use
Pollution
Too much of a good thing
Point Sources
Non-Point Sources
Erosion
Natural
Human-accelerated
18 Basic US Watersheds
Watershed Addresses
Just as our homes have street addresses,
our neighborhood watersheds have
environmental addresses.
South Bend’s Watershed Address
USGS Science in Your Watershed: water.usgs.gov/wsc
EPA Surf Your Watershed: www.epa.gov/surf
Indiana Watersheds
Kankakee River Watershed
St. Joseph River Watershed
Watershed Functions
COLLECT
STORE
RELEASE
Watershed – STORE
Wetlands, Lakes, Reservoirs
Soil
Groundwater
Snow and Ice
Biology
Watershed – COLLECT
Geology
Mountains, valleys, etc
Vegetation
Interception
Manmade surfaces
Watershed – RELEASE
Streams and Rivers
Groundwater
Evaporation
Human Engineering
Sources of Pollution
Precipitation runoff from farms, lawns, and paved surfaces is
the leading source of water pollution in America today.
What’s in the water?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Main pollutants:
Fertilizers
Herbicides
Insecticides
Oil, grease, and
toxic chemicals
from urban areas
Sediment
Road Salt
Bacteria and
Nitrogen
Air pollutants
Urban Runoff
Runoff from:
Streets
Parking lots
Roofs
Driveways
Lawns
Erosion
Watershed Sciences
“Geo” sciences
Hydrology
Chemistry
Biology
Ecology
Geomorphology
Physical shape
Parent material
Soils
Hydrology
Chemistry
Most “water
quality” parameters
are chemical
measurements
Nutrients
Temperature, pH,
DO, etc
Biology
Bacteria
Algae
Plants
Animals
Ecology
Terrestrial
Riparian and Upland Vegetation
Animals
Aquatic
Habitat (pools, LWD, etc)
Vegetation
Animals
Protecting Watersheds:
What You Can Do Everyday
Simple Ways to Protect Your Watershed
Don’t Dump or Litter
Water and Landscape Wisely
Control the Flow
Pick up After Rover
Fix that Leak
Participate in a Cleanup