Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download What is a Watershed? - Earth Day Every Day
Transcript
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
