Everywhere on earth, water that falls onto the ground as rain, snow or in any other form eventually either drains from the surface of the land or filters into the ground to become ground water. Surface water ultimately finds its way into a wetland, pond, stream, river, lake, or ocean where it is taken up through evaporation to start again in the never ending water cycle.<\/p>\n
Most simply put, a watershed is area of land that drains into a particular water body.<\/p>\n
The shape and size of a watershed is determined by the landforms of that area. High ground (such as hills, slopes or mountains) forms the boundaries between watersheds, and the characteristics of the land also effect the direction and flow of waters within the watershed.<\/p>\n
Watersheds can be very modest in size, or they can be immense. The term \u201cdrainage basin\u201d is used for a larger watershed containing the watersheds of several other smaller rivers and streams. Even within these smaller \u201csub\u201d watersheds, there are many even smaller ones. This idea of \u201cnested\u201d watersheds is very helpful when thinking in terms of environmental planning and action.<\/p>\n
The continental United States has 18 major drainage basins<\/a>, and New York State has\u00a017 major drainage basins<\/a>\u00a0with 54 distinct watersheds. One of these major New York basins is that of the Genesee River, of which the Oatka Creek Watershed is part.<\/p>\n The term \u201cWatershed Community\u201d owes much to the work and philosophy of the teacher, explorer, and scientist Major John Wesley Powell (1834-1902). Powell wanted to organize settlements in the expanding American West around water and watersheds. He argued that an area\u2019s precious water resources would be more easily protected and more properly used by encouraging cooperative use. One of his most popular quotes describes a watershed as an area:<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where as humans settled simple logic demanded that they became part of a community.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Everyone lives in a watershed. And everyone in the Oatka Creek Watershed is linked together as part of the Oatka Watershed Community. Even wildlife is a part of this same Community.<\/p>\n We influence what happens in our watershed by our everyday activities. Everything we do and everything each individual watershed community member does adds up: both positive and negative actions, both past and present. We should not think that individual actions do not have influence in the larger picture of our watershed.<\/p>\n Healthy watersheds are important for a healthy environment and economy. The Oatka Creek Watershed Committee is working to help our watershed community learn what we need to do to improve and protect the quality of our water, and through that, the quality of our lives. What happens to the Oatka on its journey to the Genesee River tells the story of our watershed community. We want the story the Oatka tells to be the story of a community that cares.<\/p>\n Here are some links that you may find useful for helping to better understand what watersheds are and how they work:<\/p>\n The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/a><\/p>\n What is a Watershed – USDA brochure PDF<\/a><\/p>\n The Watershed Atlas of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers<\/a><\/p>\n Model My Watershed<\/a> from the Stroud Water Research Center<\/a><\/p>\n Also recommended is the book\u00a0\u201cWatersheds : A Practical Handbook for Healthy Water\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by Clive Dobson and Gregor Gilpin Beck published by Firefly Books.<\/p>\n\n\nWhat is a Watershed Community?<\/h3>\n
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More about Watersheds<\/h3>\n