The Volunteer Monitor, Vol. 6, No. 2, Fall 1994 Land-Use Surveys by Eleanor Ely Land uses in a watershed profoundly affect both water quality and water quantity. It reflects everything we do. All acts of pollution end up in water.
Paved surfaces constitute one of the more extreme examples.
Water flows much more rapidly over paved surfaces than over a naturally forested area, and little is able to soak into the ground. Thus, in built-up areas a large volume of water, heavily charged with pollutants that did not have a chance to be filtered through soil, quickly reaches nearby water bodies. In fact, from sewage disposal to logging to car driving to gardening, actions on land sooner or later impact the water. That's why more and more volunteer monitoring groups are going out into their watersheds to track down land-based sources of water pollution. The packet reflects MD SOS's commitment to encouraging volunteer leadership.