| |
How to care for and feed your local watershed
June 17, 2010 1:02pm CST
By Mary Aileen
 What exactly is a watershed? And how can you take care of it? A
watershed is an area of land where all of the water--from rain, streams,
creeks--passes through before winding up in our rivers, lakes, and later, oceans. Think of it like your newest pet--or newest pet project.
Why is it like a pet? John Wesley Powell, scientist geographer, says
that a watershed is:
"...that area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living
things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where,
as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a
community."
OK, it might not be exactly like a pet. But it is an area of land that
impacts rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans. And given that it links us
all, we have a responsibility to maintain its health. So how can we
ensure it remains clean so that our waterways can thrive? Check out
these tips below.
About Your Watershed
A watershed is a drainage basin area. Referring to land as a "watershed" is merely a way of saying, "There is a single outlet where all the water passing through this land--whether from streams, creeks, or rain--winds up." (In Minneapolis, it's the Mississippi.)
One watershed area might be spread out among several cities, towns, and counties, because water drainage doesn't conform to political boundaries. In order to better protect and manage watershed areas, the state of Minnesota created 45 watershed districts, and 14 of them are here in the Twin Cities metro area. (The newest one, the Capital Region Watershed District, was just created in 1998 after citizens mobilized to protect Como Lake!)
To find out which watershed district you live in, check out this map from the Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts, Inc.
What Your Watershed Needs
Clean lakes and rivers mean a summer spent swimming, fishing, and enjoying Minnesota's 198 zillion kilo-zorks of waterfront property. But the lakes and rivers, the endpoint of drainage from watershed areas, can be altered for the worse by too much water or polluted water. Algae blooms caused by excessive nutrients in the water turn lakes into smelly green messes. Fish can't survive in these environments. To keep our water resources safe for swimming, suitable for fishing, and attractive as backgrounds for barbecuing, we must avoid adding flow or pollutants to the watershed.
So what should you keep out of the watershed?
Pet Waste: Dispose of it in the garbage rather than leaving it to be carried away by the next rainfall.
Pesticides and herbicides: If these chemical go into your lawn, they will end up in the watershed. Instead of using them, try an alternative way--Integrated Pest Management strategy
Fertilizer: Phosphorus in the watershed means green, smelly lakes that are unkind habits for fish. If you must fertilizer your lawn, turn to a zero-phosphorus brand. Or, swap out your lawn for native plants which don't require coddling with chemicals.
Lawn Clippings: If you sweep this organic matter into the street, it ends up flowing through the storm drains and into lakes and rivers. Leave clippings on the lawn, compost them, or throw them in the garbage.
Garbage Disposal Matter: 4.2 percent of phosphorus comes from garbage disposals. Instead of throwing food scraps down the drain, compost them.
Leaves: Like lawn clippings, these are best composted and should never be swept into the street. If you don't compost, bag 'em for city collection in the fall.
Salt: If you salt your driveway and sidewalk in the winter, choose brands that mix in calcium magnesium acetate or potassium acetate.
Reducing the Flow of Storm Water
Rain barrels: Collect the water that runs off your roof so it doesn't end up in the storm sewers. Instead, save it to irrigate your yard during dry times.
Rain gardens: Use native plants to landscape a shallow basin in your yard where rainwater absorbs into the ground. Rain gardens get extra points for allowing you to avoid excess irrigation.
Pervious pavements: Hard surfaces like traditional concrete form a barrier that rainwater cannot penetrate--but pervious pavements allow rainfall to be absorbed by the earth underneath. Check out bricks, decking, porous asphalt, and special pervious concrete for paving solutions that don't add to the storm water runoff problem.
Celebrate and Clean-up Your Watershed
The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District hosts the Minnehaha Creek Clean Up on Sunday, July 11, from 9 am to noon. Leinenkugel's is co-sponsoring the event, which will begin with a complimentary pancake breakfast and end with a BBQ (with beer for those over 21!). Sign in takes place near Lake Hiawatha, at East 46th Street and 28th Avenue, where there is plenty of street-side parking. Please RSVP on the Leinenkugel's page here so there are enough supplies for everyone. The team that collects the most trash will win a canoe!
| | | | |