|
Students learn where their drinking water comes from and follow the community’s wastewater to the sea.
Academic Areas: | Geography, Math, Science |
|---|
Grade Levels: | Grades 4–8 |
|---|
Learning Objectives: |
After participating in the activity that follows, students will be able to do the following:
- Identify and map their watershed and follow its course to the ocean.
- Know the source of their drinking water.
- Analyze data and make decisions using it.
- Name sources of pollution in the watershed.
- List concrete ways to prevent pollution and to protect the watershed.
|
|---|
Standards Met: |
Geography
Understands the characteristics and uses of maps, globes, and other geographic tools and technologies
Knows the location of places, geographic features, and patterns of the environment
Understands how human actions modify the physical environment
Math
- Uses a variety of strategies in the problem-solving process
- Understands and applies basic and advanced properties of the concepts of numbers
- Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis
Science
- Gains abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Learns about populations, resources, and environments
- Understands science and technology in society
|
|---|
Materials: |
Internet access (optional); local, regional, and national maps; paper and markers
|
|---|
Background:
Even if you live hundreds of miles from the ocean, the things you do still affect the sea. Remember that all of the world’s lakes, rivers, and streams ultimately feed into the ocean. What goes into them may well go into the sea. It’s important to realize that no community is isolated from other communities or from the global ecosystem. What enters the river upstream from your town will most likely end up in your drinking water. What your town dumps into storm drains may flow into the next town. Awareness of your community’s water source and possible threats to its purity may mean the difference between clean, safe water or polluted water in the future.
A watershed is the land surrounding or resting above a body of water. It’s the land next to a stream, lake, river, or the ocean or above an underground water source or aquifer. That water serves as a catch basin for whatever drains off the land. Rainwater and other precipitation carry soil, sediment, and other materials with it, dumping them into the catch basin—into the water source. Healthy watersheds are important to everyone. They provide water for drinking, for home use, and for farming and industry. Watersheds are home to many species of wildlife and are beautiful places to enjoy.
Unfortunately, pollutants can enter the watershed. It’s easy to see how a factory drainage pipe dumps contaminants into a stream. That’s called point-source pollution. It’s harder to see nonpoint-source pollution: contaminants that run off fields, leak from damaged septic systems, or even fall to the ground from the air, as some pollutants in car exhaust do. Many people think that factories are the biggest polluters. The truth is that as much as 80 percent of water pollution comes from activities that homeowners and farmers do every day. Any substance that’s dumped onto the ground or down the drain can contaminate water. Tracing the source of pollutants in a watershed is the first step in protecting the water.
The activity that follows can guide your students in locating their watershed, assessing its health, and working to keep it clean. It’s a great chance to partner with conservation and community groups in an effort that benefits everyone.
What to Do: |
Note: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers an excellent Internet resource, Adopt Your Watershed, that can steer you and your students as you locate, map, and protect your watershed. In an effort not to repeat this information, the following steps are given as general guidelines that feature links to more specific information on the EPA site. If your students don’t have Internet access, you can print and distribute the information they will need.
- Ask students what a watershed is; then use the background information to help define it. Do your students know what watershed they are in? Do they know where their water comes from and where it goes when it goes down the drain?
- Locate your watershed with the help of the EPA. Use maps to trace an outline of the watershed onto paper, or use EnviroMapper to generate a map. The map should show the water sources such as streams, rivers, and aquifers; the towns or cities in the watershed; and the perimeter of the watershed. You may wish to enlarge the map and make copies for everyone in the class. Once you’ve produced a basic map, use it to discover more about the watershed. Use map mileage scales to determine how much area your watershed covers. Use topographic maps to find out the type of terrain in your watershed.
- Land-use maps can help discover what percentage is agricultural or forested, or what percentage is developed for homes and businesses. Ask students how different types of land use might affect the health of the watershed. (Answers might include factories may dump contaminants in the water, residential areas will generate wastewater, farms and homeowners may use herbicides and pesticides on fields and lawns, or wetlands help clean water.)
- Then, trace the path of the water after it goes down the drain. Does it go to a treatment plant? Your local water authority or similar agency can help you answer this question. What path does the water in your watershed take to reach the ocean? What major cities does it pass? How many miles must it travel?
- Next, check the information that comes up under “Environmental Profile” after locating your watershed on the EPA site. Links there can lead you to possible sources of pollution in the watershed. You can also use links to locate the source of your drinking water and to find out about local groups working to protect your watershed. Remember that people, not businesses, are usually the biggest polluters. What things do homeowners do that can pollute the water? Go to the Natural Resources Defense Council's Web site to learn about everyday activities that contribute to water pollution and ways to protect waterways.
- Do some research into the history of your watershed. Have there been any instances of oil spills, fish die-offs, or water quality concerns? Are there any endangered or threatened species that call your watershed home? If so, why are they in decline? What are people’s attitudes toward water quality? Your class may wish to do a survey of community members to find out. Compile the results into a report using graphs and charts that explain the results. How can the survey results help develop plans to protect the watershed?
- Develop a watershed protection plan. One way is to volunteer to monitor water quality in your area. The EPA's Office of Water provides information about how your class can get involved. Storm drain stenciling is another way to help. This approach involves painting warnings near storm drains alerting people to the hazards of dumping harmful substances. Find out more about stenciling at Earthwater Stencils.
- Another idea is to join forces with a local group. Under the heading “People” on the EPA page that you generate about your watershed, you’ll find a listing of groups you may be able to work with.
- Finally, educating others about the importance of maintaining a healthy watershed may be the most important contribution you can make. Students in your class can staff an informational booth at a local fair, carnival, or community festival. They can create a display for your school and public libraries. They can publish a newspaper or create a video to educate others about the watershed and what people can do to protect it. There are many other possibilities.
- Assess your efforts. After students have conducted their research and implemented a plan, take some time to evaluate how well it worked. What might they have done differently? What information do they need to know to do a better job? What goals did they accomplish? What were the benefits of their efforts?
|
|---|
|
Resources
Follow the links below for more information on watersheds.
Terrene Institute offers the publication Clean Water in Your Watershed: A Citizen’s Guide to Watershed Protection.
Environmental Defense Fund hosts a scorecard where you can input your zip code and find a wealth of environmental data, including watershed information.
Earth Force sponsors a program called GREEN, which stands for Global Rivers Environmental Education Network. The program offers resources, information, and activities focused on watershed monitoring.
EnviroScapes Nonpoint Source Model gives you all the supplies to make a painted plaster watershed model and experiments to learn how it “works.”
The EPA lists numerous resources at its Adopt-Your-Watershed Web site. Particularly helpful are listings under “educational resources for students/youth.”
Water Matters is a three-volume set produced by the National Science Teachers Association including posters with teacher guide and activities. The three volumes are “Wetlands, Water Use, and Wastewater Treatment”; “Navigation, Groundwater, and Water Quality”; and “Oceans, Watersheds, and Hazardous Waste.” This set can be purchased at the NSTA Science Store.
|
Listen to More?
Click on these links to hear more about watersheds and their protection.
|
|
![Lawn Care 1 [5/1/97]](images/audio.gif){kind=small}