A Watershed Is an Area of Land

A watershed is an area of land through which rainwater drains by flowing across, through, or under the soil surface to a common low point, typically a stream, river, lake, or ocean. Each drainage system is its own watershed, and all watersheds are connected across the landscape and flow to the lowest point. CHAPTER 2 OVERVIEW OF WATERSHED SYSTEMS Alabama Watershed Stewards Handbook 10819 Overview of Watershed Systems In this chapter you will learn about the following: § watersheds and how they function § watershed hydrology and the water cycle § natural features found in watersheds § streams and riparian zones § the different ways watersheds are used § watersheds in Alabama § how Alabama uses watersheds Figure 2.1. Water flows across land to a common low point. (Photo credit: Texas Watershed Stewards) WHAT IS A WATERSHED? another watershed and flow to a different point. All of the A watershed is an area of land through which rainwater land that drains water to a common point is considered to drains by flowing across, through, or under the soil be in the same watershed. surface to a common low point, typically a stream, river, Watersheds come in many different shapes and sizes lake, or ocean (figure 2.1). Each drainage system is its and have many different features. They can have hills own watershed, and all watersheds are connected across or mountains or can be nearly flat. They may include the landscape and flow to the lowest point).3 farmland, rangeland, small towns, and big cities. We all live and work in a watershed, as all land is part of a Watersheds may be as small as the creek that flows near watershed. Your everyday actions (work, play, and general your house or as large as the Mississippi River Basin, living) can impact (positively or negatively) the quality of which drains 1.2 million square miles. The water bodies water that flows from your watershed. As water flows within a watershed also can be categorized according to through the system, the impacts are cumulative. This their size and function. means that everything you do on the land can impact the water that flows to your downstream neighbors. Likewise, WATERSHED BOUNDARIES everything that landowners above you do impacts the quality and quantity of what flows across your land. The term hydrology means the “study of water.” The functions of rivers and streams are to transport water, Watershed hydrology is the study of water as it interacts transport and deposit sediment, transport and replenish with various parts of a watershed, including the land, the nutrients, and provide biological functions (food, shelter, sea, and the sky (discussed in section 2.3). shading, movement, etc.). Watersheds can be categorized and defined at various The boundary between two watersheds is called a divide. hydrological levels. Hydrologic regions are the largest Watershed divides are defined by the elevational high watershed units, and they may contain several major river points or ridges (the highest point of an area of land, such basins (figure 2.2). The Alabama, Black Warrior, Cahaba, as the top of a hill or mountain) that surround a given Coosa, Tallapoosa, and Tombigbee basins are all part of drainage system or network of drainage systems. Any the greater Mobile Basin.12 water that falls outside of a watershed divide will enter Watersheds are nested systems of smaller watersheds called subbasins or sub-watersheds, as illustrated in figure 2.3. 10820 Alabama Cooperative Extension System Figure 2.2. River basins in Alabama. (Photo credit: Donn Rodekohr Figure 2.3. Subregions and subbasins in Alabama. from Alabama LID Manual) (Photo credit: Office of Water Resources) These hydrologic regions are subdivided into the water in lakes, oceans, rivers, and streams (surface progressively smaller units. Each unit of measurement water) is heated by the sun and converted to a gas has a hydrologic unit code (HUC) that describes the called water vapor. Evaporation also occurs in trees and level of subdivision and the geographic location of the plants through a process called transpiration. In this hydrologic unit. Hydrologic units are nested within one process, liquid water evaporates from plant leaves and another. For example, HUC-6s are nested within HUC-8s, stems and is converted to water vapor. On a broader and HUC-4s are nested within HUC-6s. State maps of scale, approximately 80 percent of all evaporation on Alabama use the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth originates in oceans, with the remaining 20 percent 8-digit HUC or cataloging unit (CU) watersheds as the occurring from inland water sources (streams, rivers, spatial framework for defining its watershed assessment lakes, etc.), and vegetation. categories and for targeting the watersheds it views as its highest restoration priority.15 Figure 2.4. The water cycle is one of the largest physical processes on Earth. PRINCIPLES OF WATERSHED HYDROLOGY Nearly 75 percent of Earth’s surface is covered by water which has been around since Earth was formed several billion years ago. All of the water on Earth is constantly moving and recycling via an endless process known as the water cycle, or the hydrologic cycle (figure 2.4). The water cycle is one of the largest physical processes on Earth. It is driven by energy from the sun and by the force of gravity, and it supplies all of the water needed to support life. There is no beginning or end to the water cycle—it is always happening. As seen in figure 2.4 the components of the water cycle include evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, and runoff. Evaporation occurs when Alabama Watershed Stewards Handbook 10821 Many factors determine what happens to the rainfall received. These factors impact how much water evaporates, infiltrates, and moves through vegetation, as well as the amount and velocity of overland flow that may erode the soil surface and enter the stream.9 Some of the factors include the following: § type, quantity, and density of vegetative cover Figure 2.5. Condensation forms on a window. § storm intensity and duration § soil moisture prior to the storm event § soil water holding capacity § slope Condensation is the process by which water vapor returns to its original liquid state (figure 2.5). It typically occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools, and, as a result, loses its capacity to hold water vapor. Excess water vapor then condenses to form clouds. Condensation in the atmosphere also may be visible as fog, mist, dew, or frost depending on the physical Figure 2.6. When rain or snow falls on impervious surfaces, such as conditions of the atmosphere. parking lots, it often runs off into storm drains and local waterways. Precipitation occurs when condensed water in clouds becomes too heavy to remain suspended in the air and NATURAL WATERSHED falls to the earth as rain, sleet, hail, or snow. Precipitation FUNCTIONS is a major component of the water cycle and the primary source of fresh water found on the surface of the earth. As the water cycle is occurring, a watershed system must be able to balance the influx of water to optimize Several factors affect the movement of precipitation watershed function. A healthy and connected stream, once it lands in the watershed. It can follow one of floodplain, and riparian area provides tremendous five pathways: ecological services such as the following: § It can be absorbed and intercepted by plants and utilized in § erosion control various biological processes. § water quality improvement § It can filter through the soil profile and end up as groundwater (water that is stored in underground layers of rock and sand known § wildlife and aquatic habitat as aquifers). § recreation § It can evaporate, both from the surface of the earth or as it falls § water storage from the sky. § flood protection § It can be stored in ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. A watershed has five primary functions that can be § It can runoff into streams and rivers and become surface water categorized into hydrological and ecological functions. that eventually makes its way to the ocean. Runoff occurs when the rate of precipitation exceeds the rate at which the water can be Hydrological functions: absorbed into the soil. Runoff also occurs when water falls onto an § water capture impervious surface, such as a parking lot (figure 2.6) or a sidewalk, § water storage where it can’t easily be absorbed into the soil. § water release No matter which pathway precipitation follows, it always continues cycling and recycling through the various steps Ecological functions: in the hydrologic cycle. This process occurs continuously § providing diverse sites for biogeochemical reactions to take place in all parts of a watershed and in all parts of the world. § providing habitat for plants and animals of various kinds 10822 Alabama Cooperative Extension System HYDROLOGICAL FUNCTION 1: HYDROLOGICAL FUNCTION 3: WATER CAPTURE WATER RELEASE Water capture is the process by which water from the Water is released from a watershed when it moves atmosphere is captured or stored in the soil. A healthy through the soil profile to seeps and springs or across watershed is a catchment, capturing the rainfall like the land surface as runoff, ultimately flowing into streams a sponge, storing the water to slowly release later. and rivers that flow to oceans. Water is safely released Vegetation is important to slow down and capture the when it moves out of the watershed without causing water in the soil. Water can infiltrate the soil surface and environmental problems. There are two ways water percolate throughout the soil profile. is released: Infiltration is the movement of moisture from the 1. subsurface flow—the flow of water below the land surface atmosphere into and through the surface of the soil.

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