What Is a Watershed?

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WHAT IS A WATERSHED? A watershed is any area of land where surface water drains into a common body of water. If water from a neighborhood drains into a particular ditch, then that neighborhood shares a common watershed. Where ditches from several neighborhoods drain into a creek or brook, then all of those neighborhoods share a common watershed. Likewise, a watershed would include the geographical area of all creeks and brooks that drain into a river. In our area of northwest Ohio, you might live within a watershed that is drained by Reference provided by: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us/ Eagle creek or Riley creek or any num- justforkids ber of other creeks. As those creeks empty into the Blanchard River, then you can say that you also live in the Blanchard River Watershed. On a larger scale, you can claim that you live in the Maumee River watershed as the Blanchard flows into the Auglaize River, which then flows into the Maumee. Of course, the Maumee River flows into Lake Erie, which means that you are a part of the Great Lakes Watershed, too! Interestingly, just a few hundred yards south of the headwaters of the Blanchard River in Kenton, Ohio, water flows to the Scioto River, which flows to the Ohio River and on to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Ironically, folks who live in the north end of Kenton have something in common with folks in Montreal, Canada, where water from the Great Lakes flows past on its way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while residents in the south part of Kenton have something in common with folks of New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Essentially, the quality of water in any watershed affects all living things within that watershed, no matter how large or small that watershed may be. .

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