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Blue August is a month to celebrate, value and promote conservation of our waters in all their forms, and one of the primary places we can help is in our own local watershed.
What is a watershed, anyway?
A watershed is the area of land where all water that flows off it, or exists under it, moves to the same place. These land areas don’t fall in city, county or country boundaries; they follow natural geologic patterns and come in all shapes and sizes. The U.S., including Hawaii and Puerto Rico, boasts 2,267 watersheds.
Why do watersheds matter?
It’s important to be aware of the water quality in your watershed so you can keep the land around your home free of pollution. The leading cause of polluted watersheds is actually land runoff – things like excess fertilizers, oil, grease, sediment construction, and pet and livestock wastes from homes and businesses – that is carried by rainfall and snowmelt. This rain and snow picks up chemicals and pollutants on its journey downstream and eventually deposits them in our groundwater, coastal water, rivers and wetlands.
When these pollutants and excess nutrients are deposited in coastal waters, they can wreak havoc on marine resources, even causing shellfish kills, for example, down the food chain. When there is trouble with water quality, it always affects us in one way or another. Alexandra and Philippe Cousteau, famed explorer Jacques Cousteau's grandchildren, are water advocates who ask us all to get involved in our communities, pay attention to our water consumption habits and care for our watersheds.
What can we do to help?
1. Learn to protect your drinking water.
2. Discover how local watershed planning can help.
5. Prowl for pollution and become a water monitor.
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