It is the land across and under which water flows on its way to a stream, river, lake, or other waterbody. So, we all live in a watershed. Water is vital to the life and growth of our communities. Your watershed is not only the source of your community's drinking water, but is essential to the local economy through use in industry and agriculture.
Water provides scenic beauty and areas for recreational activity.
If a watershed is not managed properly, these uses of water can be threatened by pollution, drought, or flooding, which cost money and can cost lives. In an effort to coordinate resource management activities among many agencies and organizations, the state has adopted a Watershed Management Framework. Its mission is to serve as a means for integrating the programs, tools, and resources of multiple stakeholder groups to better protect, maintain, and restore the ecology of watersheds and support sustainable uses of watersheds. There are no new laws or requirements under the Watershed Framework. The Agricultural Water Quality Act set up a way to deal with most agricultural water quality problems.