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Watersheds—Functions and Management1 S ABE350 Watersheds—Functions and Management1 S. Shukla2 What is a watershed? Where do we find watersheds? The term watershed is often used in discussions about All land area is part of a watershed. Irrespective of whether water quality or flood prevention, but most people do not we live in Florida or any other state or country, we all live really understand what a watershed is. The definition of a in a watershed. You can find the watershed in which you watershed is based on a concept with which everyone is live by browsing a map and looking for the stream located familiar: “Water runs downhill.” A Watershed is a land area closest to you. If you trace the stream upward to its begin- whose runoff drains into any stream, river, lake, and ocean. ning you will reach the headwaters, whereas if you trace it Watershed boundary (e.g., Figure 1) is the divide separating downward you will eventually reach a larger stream or river, one drainage area from another. Watersheds may be as a lake, or the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico. small as the portion of a yard draining into a mud puddle or as large as the Mississippi River Basin, which drains 1.2 How does a watershed function? million square miles. Terms like catchment or drainage As water flows downhill in small to progressively larger basin are also used to refer to watersheds. streams and rivers, it moves over land and provides water for urban, agricultural, and environmental needs. The watershed community is made up of everyone who lives there plus all other animal and plant life. The community of humans, plants, and animals depends on the watershed and influence it in some way. Flowing water carries organic debris and dissolved organic matter that provide food and shelter for aquatic life. At the same time, water may also carry pollutants like motor oil, fertilizers, and pesticides. Numerous activities in a watershed have the potential to degrade water quality. There is no “pure” water in nature; all water is “polluted” to some extent. Even in pristine watersheds where water quality is not affected by humans, “natural” pollutant sources are abundant. These include sediment from stream bank erosion, bacteria and nutrients Figure 1. Caloosahatchee river watershed in Southwest Florida. from wildlife, and chemicals deposited by rainfall. Credits: Adapted from USEPA (2003) 1. This document is ABE350, one of a series of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date April 2004. Reviewed December 2019. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication. 2. S. Shukla, professor and water resources specialist; Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Immokalee, FL 34142. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other UF/IFAS Extension publications, contact your county’s UF/IFAS Extension office. U.S. Department of Agriculture, UF/IFAS Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A & M University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. A watershed has five important functions: Florida’s Watersheds 1. It collects water from rainfall; Florida’s watersheds are unique. Before 1845, much of the state was considered to be swampland because it was 2. It stores water of various amounts and for different times; naturally covered with water at least part of the year. Florida was thought to have too much water. Beginning in 1845, 3. It releases water as runoff; several engineering programs were initiated to: 4. It provides diverse sites for chemical reactions to take 1. Drain the swamps to make way for houses and farming; place; and 2. Cut canals to facilitate drainage and to make navigation 5. It provides habitat for flora and fauna. faster and safer; and The first three functions are physical in nature and are 3. Hold back flood water. termed hydrologic functions (Figure 2). The last two are the ecological functions. Human activities affect all the With continued drainage the focus has shifted from “having functions of a watershed. For example, when buildings too much water” to currently not having enough water in and other impervious areas such as parking lots cover the several watersheds of Florida. While drainage and flood ground, infiltration decreases and most of the water runs control are still issues in several watersheds, new problems off into collection ditches where stream channel erosion related to water have emerged in most watersheds. These may occur. Furthermore, reduced infiltration may result in include mainly water supply planning and surface and less recharge of the groundwater stored in aquifers which groundwater quality issues. supply more than 90% of Florida’s drinking needs. With both urban and agricultural land uses, chemicals such as While drainage and flood control are still issues in several fertilizers and pesticides can mix with rain entering the soil watersheds, these concerns have been overtaken by water and may reach groundwater, causing pollution of public supply planning and surface and groundwater quality and private wells. issues. For the purposes of water supply planning and water quality protection, Florida has been divided into five large basins: 1. Northwest; 2. Suwannee River; 3. St. Johns River; 4. Southwest; and 5. Kissimmee-Everglades (Figure 3). To manage these regions, five “Water Management Districts” were created with similar names, except that the Figure 2. Hydrologic cycle in a watershed. Kissimmee-Everglades District was called the South Florida Credits: Modified from SFWMD (2004) Water Management District (Figure 3). The soils, vegeta- tion, wild life, and climatic conditions for these basins vary considerably from Suwannee watershed in the north to the Everglades watershed in south (Figure 4). The Northwest region has the largest number of rivers and streams among the five basins. Several major rivers such as the Apalachicola cross the region on their way to the Gulf Watersheds—Functions and Management 2 Coast. More than 70% of the region is forested (including including the Upper St Johns River, has improved due forested wetlands). Barring some water supply and quality to adoption of agricultural and urban Best Management problems (e.g., the Choctawhatchee-St Andrews watershed) Practices (BMPs). (Figure 3), most of the region currently has sufficient water supply and the water is of good quality. Figure 3. Five major basins of Florida. Credits: SFWMD (2004) Figure 4. Major Florida watersheds. Watersheds in the Suwannee River basin cover 7640 square The Southwest Florida region contains 11 main watersheds miles in north central Florida. This region is the least-pop- that have been aggregated into larger ones such as the ulated in Florida so its natural resources are least impacted Peace-Myakka-Sarasota Bay watershed (Figure 4.) This by human activities. The headwaters of the Suwannee River region is home to several estuaries of national importance are located in the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. The such as the Tampa Bay estuary. Major land uses in South- river flows south across the Northern Highlands and into west Florida watersheds include agriculture (31%), urban the Gulf Coast lowlands, eventually discharging into the Su- (21.5%), and forest and wetlands (37.4%). The region has wannee River Estuary and Gulf of Mexico. The water supply experienced a dramatic growth in urban areas that has im- in the watersheds is sufficient to meet current and projected pacted the water supply as well as water quality. The region’s demand, although demand is increasing due to the needs western coastline includes 13 rivers and several streams of a growing population, industry, and agriculture. Surface and waterways. Point and nonpoint pollution sources, such water quality in the basin has been minimally impacted in as urban and agricultural stormwater runoff, septic tanks, most watersheds, but it is fair to poor in a few watersheds and heavy industries, have adversely impacted river water such as the Fenholloway River drainage basin where it has quality, while water withdrawals from the watershed have been affected by industrial discharges. Ground water is reduced river flow. Comprehensive water conservation of good quality in most of the watersheds except for the efforts are underway to help meet the projected 30% water Middle Suwannee River (Figure 4), which has an elevated demand increase by 2020 (compared with 1990). nitrate-nitrogen concentration. The Kissimmee-Everglades region (also known as the Watersheds within the St Johns River region include the South Florida Water Management District) is home entire St Johns River, Nassau River, Indian River Lagoon to water bodies of national importance such as Lake and northern coastal basins, and part of the St. Marys Okeechobee and the Everglades which is also known as watershed. The St. Johns River is the longest river located the “river of grass.” There are two main watersheds in this completely in Florida. Most of the population within these region: the Big Cypress watershed (also known as the watersheds is found in Duval (Jacksonville) and Orange Everglades West Coast Basin) and the larger Okeechobee (Orlando) counties, each of which is growing at a fast pace. watershed that spans from the Kissimmee River in the Surface and ground water quality varies from good to poor north to Florida Bay in the south. For planning purposes, within the region. Water quality in several watersheds, Watersheds—Functions and Management 3 several Kissimmee-Everglades watersheds (Figures 2 and 3) Watershed Management, have been combined to form: Education, and Stewardship 1.
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