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What is a Watershed?
A
watershed is an area of land that drains into a
common body of water, such as a nearby creek,
stream, river or lake. Watersheds vary considerable
in size. For example, when it rains, all the water
from a small watershed may travel to a local creek.
That creek, like Little Sugar Creek, will flow into
a larger stream, which in turn collects water from
an even larger watershed. Little Sugar Creek flows into the
Little
Miami River, which then deposits into the Ohio
River. We all live in a watershed.
What is the problem?
During the construction of homes, roads and office
buildings, vegetation is often removed and replaced
by large paved areas. These impervious surfaces
keep rain from seeping into the soil and
recharging groundwater supplies. Paved surfaces also
increase the speed and amount of water that rushes
down gutters and into storm drains during a rain
storm. This stormwater runoff picks up
pollutants from motor oil, lawn chemicals, pet
waste, salt, litter and soil along the way, before
flowing to rivers, lakes and streams — untreated.
What is the consequence?
The
large amounts of untreated water entering the storm
sewer system – and eventually our streams and lakes
– has lasting health, safety, environmental and
economic impacts on our watersheds and communities.
Watersheds support a wide variety of plants and
wildlife and provide outdoor recreation
opportunities throughout the Miami Valley.
Protecting the health of our watersheds preserves
and enhances the quality of
life for Miami Valley residents and all those living
downstream.
Thinking about watersheds helps remind us that our
actions can impact - for
better or for worse - all of the streams and rivers
in our region.
What are the pollutants?
Oil, litter, pesticides, fertilizers,
soil and animal waste are common, potential
contaminates to water supplies. These items can be
carried via wind or attach themselves to raindrops
and travel downstream to settle in the water supply.
Oil has a variety of sources, but
many of the oil particulates come from parking lots,
driveways and roadways where oil is dripped onto the
surface. Oil droplets are picked up by rain drops
and carried into fresh water supplies. One drop of
oil contaminates many gallons of water.
Litter, whether paper, plastic, glass
or metal, ends up in all kinds of places. It not
only looks bad, but can strangle wildlife. Most
litter biodegrades extremely slowly (100 to 500
years), leaving us to pick it up and dispose of it
properly or look at it for extended periods of time.
Pesticides and fertilizers used in
the wrong concentrations, and depending on weather
conditions, can cause damage to things that were not
the intended target. Sprays easily drift during
windy applications, and excess liquid products are
picked up and carried by water molecules during
rainy conditions.
Exposed soil actually is the No. 1
water pollutant in the state of Ohio. Development
and land use changes of many kinds leave soil
exposed and it too is carried by wind and water to
downstream locations. Soil depositing in the bottom
of a stream will aid in starving the bottom feeders
and suffocating the bottom dwellers. This ultimately
upsets the balance in the entire riparian ecosystem.
Animal waste, as a pollutant, is
self-explanatory.
What are some solutions?
Buffers, filter strips, stream
stabilization, having vegetative cover all year long
and the planting of native plants are just some of
the conservation practices we can use to decrease
local watershed pollution. By trapping soil
particles with attached water molecules and
contaminants, and allowing them to filter out or
biodegrade in the soil, these various types of
buffers help to keep our watersheds clean.
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