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Most of us can recite our address and phone number pretty quickly. We know what state we live in, our county
and many of us even know our home township. But if someone were to ask you what watershed you live in, would
you be able to answer correctly? That one might be a bit tougher for most of us. Nevertheless, the watershed you
live in might be every bit as important as the county you live in.
Even before homesteaders settled in Kansas, the government surveyed the land and partitioned it into neat parcels.
Section lines that were laid out have since shaped our local governments, our roads and the location of our homes
and farms. City, township, county and state boundaries were drawn using these artificial lines for the sake of
convenience and claims of ownership or jurisdiction. So living in Kansas, we’re used to things being in nice, neat,
square-shaped parcels. When looking at watershed boundaries, on the other hand, things don’t shape up quite so
neatly. Watershed boundaries are determined purely on the basis of topography and the flow of water.
So what exactly is a “watershed”? A watershed is the land area that drains to a given point in a river, stream or
lake (the land that “sheds” water to a given point). So the exact size and location of the watershed is dependent
on the end point you’ve picked. Let’s look at an example. If your end point for a watershed is the mouth of the
Mississippi River where it drains into the Gulf of Mexico, the watershed is enormous. In fact, the Mississippi
River Watershed is the largest in North America, encompassing 41% of the land area of the lower 48 states. That’s
an area of about 1.2 million square miles. Water from the Missouri, Ohio and Arkansas Rivers flow into the
Mississippi, so all of the land surrounding these rivers and their many tributaries are a part of this large watershed.
The state of Kansas is part of the Mississippi River Watershed, but we can break this large watershed down into
smaller watersheds. Because most of the water in the northern half of Kansas flows into the Missouri River on
its way to the Mississippi, people who live in northern Kansas also live in the Missouri River Watershed. If you
look strictly at northeast Kansas, most of the water flows to the Kansas River before it runs into the Missouri. And
before water reaches the Kansas River, even smaller rivers like the Big Blue, Republican and Delaware Rivers
have their own smaller watersheds within the larger Kansas River Watershed . So to figure out what watershed
you live in, you need to know what the end point is that is defining your watershed, and a little about the local
rivers and streams.
The reason why a watershed designation is significant may not be evident to everyone, but it is becoming more
and more important every day. You see, the water that runs off each parcel of land within a watershed contributes
not only water to the streams and lakes in the watershed. A wide variety of other constituents are carried with that
water too including soil, human and animal wastes, nutrients and other pollutants. These all contribute to the
health of the stream and lake ecosystems in the watershed, and they affect the quality of the water used for public
water supplies, recreation, and other uses. So what you and your neighbors do in your watershed has a direct
impact on the water you use every day, whether it be for drinking, cooking, or other household uses, or for the
water you will be fishing or swimming in this summer.
So take a little time to sit down and figure out what watershed you live in. Becoming more aware of your place
in the watershed is not only interesting, but might also make you think a little bit. You never know what that
raindrop falling out in your yard might be carrying with it to your favorite fishing hole.
For more information about watersheds, water quality concerns and programs for improving water quality in the Delaware River Watershed, contact WRAPS (Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy) at 785-284-0080.
