John Pennington, County Extension Agent – Agriculture
[Music - U of A Division of Agriculture Research and Extension, University of Arkansas System]
[John Pennington] Hello, this is John Pennington, county extension agent for agriculture and water quality in Washington County and today I'm going to be talking about watersheds. The places where water from rainfall, snowmelt, or overwatering, drains across land surfaces and into a common body of water such as: a pond, stream, lake, river, or even an ocean. [Video shows rain water going into a drain, snow melting from a roof, water draining down a driveway, a street drain, a pond, a stream, lake and a river]
In this diagram, the blue circled area represents the watershed area for a pond, and the blue line itself represents the watershed boundary for the land area that drains to the pond. The watershed boundary is the place that divides one watershed from another. [Diagram showing the location of a watershed for a pond with the watershed boundary drawn.]
As water drains into the pond, and fills it up, the water then overflows the pond, and is now part of a larger watershed area as it flows across the lands surface beyond the pond outlet and toward the next body of water, such as this stream. Since the water from the pond is contributing water to a larger watershed area, the pond is actually a sub-watershed, or contributing watershed, for a larger drainage area. [Video shows a pond, a stream, and a diagram showing surrounding watersheds.]
As the pond contributes to the stream, the stream also contributes, or flows into another body of water that happens to be a lake in this case. The pond and the stream are both different sub-watersheds that contribute drainage water into the lake. [Video shows a stream, a tributary that flows into a lake, and a diagram showing surrounding watersheds.]
This lake is called Lake Fayetteville, and its watershed boundary is being drawn on the screen right now. All of the water that falls within its boundaries, and contributing sub-watersheds, such as the pond, drain into Lake Fayetteville. [Video shows a diagram of the location of Lake Fayetteville and surrounding areas.]
In this picture you can clearly see that there is a city with homes, businesses, roads, and you can also see forests and farms. All of these things are commonly found in watersheds – although no two watersheds are ever exactly the same.
Once the water, whose, journey we are following, moves through the lake it flows over the spillway and into a larger watershed drainage area, and the lake is, you guessed it, now a sub-watershed that contributes water to a larger watershed drainage area that is called the Clear Creek Watershed. The clear creek watershed boundary is being drawn on the screen right now and you can see the pond and Lake Fayetteville sub-watersheds within its boundaries, as well as many other areas in the Clear Creek Watershed where water can drain into Clear Creek. [Video shows water flowing over a spillway, water flowing into a stream, and a diagram showing the location of the Clear Creek Watershed.]
Clear Creek, though, is a sub-watershed of a larger watershed area called the Illinois River Watershed. So, the Illinois River Watershed contains all of the watersheds we have seen today sor far as well as many, many, many, more. As you have probably noticed by now, watersheds are filled with many sub-watersheds, and yep you guessed it again, the Illinois River Watershed is actually a sub-watershed of the Arkansas River. [Video showing Clear Creek, a diagram of the location of the Illinois River Watershed, and the Arkansas River.]
The Arkansas River Watershed is bigger than any we've seen yet today and it spans all the way from the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River, of which the Arkansas River is a sub-watershed. [Video showing a diagram of the location of the Arkansas River Watershed in the United States.]
The Mississippi River Watershed is the largest watershed in the United States, and spans from the Rocky Mountains in the Western United States to the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern US. Within its watershed boundary are all of the watersheds we've seen today plus hundreds of thousands if not millions more. [Video showing a diagram of the location of the Mississippi River Watershed in the United States, streams, water draining from a roof, and a creek.]
Of course, all of the water that drains into the Mississippi River Watershed, and does not get evaporated or used along its journey eventually makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico. [Video showing a stream, rain draining onto a parking lot, trash and leaves in front of a street drain, a flooded street, diagram of the location of the Mississippi River Watershed on a map the United States showing the Gulf of Mexico.]
So hopefully, now, you know what a watershed is and that each watershed is made up of many sub-watersheds. To find out more about watersheds, or how your actions can positively impact water quality within your watersheds, contact your local county extension office or watershed organization. [Video shows a group picking up trash from a park, and a spillway.]
[Announcer] This podcast was funded by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and Environmental Protection Agency. [Logos of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, United States Environmental Protection Agency]
