Protecting Our Watersheds

Protecting our watersheds is in your best interest. The EPA defines a watershed as "the area that drains to a common waterway, such as a stream, lake, estuary, wetland, aquifer, or even the ocean." The Mississippi River watershed, with area in 32 states, is the largest in the U.S. The United States Geological Service (USGS) breaks these sections into sub-sections for monitoring and research purposes. The problem is we use our waterways as trash cans and often practice dilution as the solution to pollution. Industry and farms play a big role in introducing pollutants into our waterways, but every individual affects their watershed.

Protecting your watershed is good for the environment, our health and our pocketbooks. We drink and recreate in the water from lakes, streams, rivers and ground sources. Water treatment must be done to make it safe. Processes involved with water treatment, such as disinfection with chemicals like chlorine and filtering are expensive.

Here are a few ways you can help protect your watershed.

Limit Runoff

Limiting runoff decreases pollutants entering the watershed, and lessens stress on drainage systems. Many areas have combined sewer overflows (CSO's), where the same pipes take both sewage and rainwater to the wastewater treatment plant. Water treatment plants can handle a fixed amount of water at once. When this limit is reached, overflow is often dumped into a local river.

Perhaps the most urgent watershed issue is that fecal coliform units have a nasty habit of accommodating bacteria such as E-coli and cryptosporidium. Urban runoff includes oil products, road salt and other miscellaneous harmful refuse. Using things like rain barrels and green roofs is one way to limit runoff.

Limit Fertilizers

Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous are essential. They are also common fertilizers, used on farms, gardens and lawns. Too much of a good thing is the issue. They contribute to oxygen depletion of waterways and ultimately "dead zones" like those present in the Gulf of Mexico.

Testing your soil for nutrients tells you if fertilizer is really needed. If you fertilize, use organic fertilizers, as opposed to synthetic, because these are less likely to leach from soil. Synthetic fertilizers are also more likely to create a situation where your soil needs them to continue producing good yields. Planting cover crops, particularly on sloping areas, limits soil and nutrient runoff. These crops serve to hold soil in place.

Clean up after pets

Animals can be great companions, and there is evidence that having pets increases a person's association with nature. Cleaning up after pets is essential in protecting your watershed and making the water treatment process easier. Many rivers have walkways beside them. These are great places to walk a dog. They are also sources of fecal coliform pollution when owners don't clean up after them. These messes enter the river with the next rain storm.

Use "eco-friendly" cleansers

Anything that goes down your drain will have to be removed through the water treatment process or remain in your watershed. Use phosphate free cleansers to limit their impact. Many of these are also biodegradable, which is an added benefit.

Don't liter

Litter is not only aesthetically displeasing but is not good for water resources. Large items can clog storm drains and limit the effectiveness of the water treatment filtering process. It can take 2-5 years for a cigarette butt to "break down" in the environment according to the Maine State Planning Office.

Watershed Organizations

There are many things we can do to protect our watersheds. Most communities have programs which provide education and or services that limit our impacts. You can learn more from these sources or get involved yourself.

Sources: EPA watershed definition
http://www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/

Maine State Planning Office Watershed Information
http://www.maine.gov/spo/recycle/residents/enduringlitter.htm

EPA's "four pillars"
http://www.epa.gov/waterinfrastructure/pricing/index.htm