What's the Word on Watersheds?
By Lisa Flinn, Crawford County Conservation District Intern
"Watershed" has recently been an environmental buzzword used in newspapers and on TV. But what is the big deal with a watershed? What is it, even? Can people affect it? Is this something we should be concerned about? Well, the "big deal" with a watershed is that we all live in one and our actions, whether they are responsible or not, can affect the health of our watershed.
A watershed can be thought of as a big kitchen sink, with a drain at the bottom. All drops of water are eventually going to make their way to the drain no matter where they're dropped in the sink. Such is the case in a watershed, except our boundaries are not stainless steel, but high elevations, like mountains or hills. Environmental scientists use topographic maps to delineate a watershed, by looking for the highest points of elevation around a city or a major creek and then connecting those areas of highest elevation. This results in an area where any input of water, like rain, groundwater, or melting snow, will flow to one point, or one drain. Meadville falls within the French Creek watershed, with Mill Run, Cussewago Creek, and Woodcock Creek, as well as others, all flowing into French Creek.
Why is this important at all? Recall the old cliché, "one bad egg affects the whole carton." Our carton is the watershed, and there are many "bad eggs" or risks threatening the health of the watershed. Because a watershed works as a unit, addressing a problem can often be difficult due to the cumulating effects. Other water quality risks are urban run-off, industrial pollution, urban sprawl, commercial use, soil erosion, and deforestation. The French Creek Watershed, unlike most areas, can boast about its high water quality, providing us with recreation, such as boating, fishing, hiking, or simply an afternoon picnic by a lake. These activities can be enjoyed by all and deserve protecting.