Every inch of land is a part of a watershed. Just as people identify themselves as living in a particular city or county, communities can identify themselves as living in a particular watershed. A watershed is an area of land that catches and drains rainfall and snowmelt into a specific stream or water body, such as a lake. The boundary of a watershed is determined by the local topography and consists of a line connecting all the high points in the area. Figure 1 shows the watershed boundary and how water flows within the watershed.
Watershed management involves using the watershed as a planning and management unit.
During rainfall events, water flows across the watershed and comes into contact with various natural and man-made land surfaces before it empties into a body of water. Sediment, and other pollutants carried by surface water runoff, along with the ability of the water to flow through the soil affects the water quality and hydrology of the receiving stream, or water body. As a result, water quality of the stream or lake is directly connected with land use management and planning of the related watershed. What we do in our watershed directly affects water quality and natural systems that surround us. The county has a special role in watershed management with authority to manage land use, protect water supplies, and manage wastewater facilities.