What's a Watershed?

Each and every one of us lives in a watershed. Many of us may not realize this, or may not even know what this means. Watersheds impact people’s lives and people have significant impacts on watersheds. In order to understand these impacts, it is vital to understand what a watershed is. A watershed is also known as a drainage basin or a catchment. Watersheds include an area of land in which precipitation drains into a body of water. The rain that falls and the snow that melts in that area including the parks, streets, yards, and farms will flow into that body of water. In many cities and communities across Alberta and Saskatchewan, that body of water is the North Saskatchewan River. Therefore those communities all live within the North Saskatchewan Watershed. The North Saskatchewan Watershed is one of the 7 major watersheds in Alberta.  All precipitation in the North Saskatchewan watershed area drains into the river. This includes any trash, household chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, animal waste, etc. that is outside. In great quantities these pollutants can threaten the swimmability, drinkability, and fishability of the river. The biggest threats to the North Saskatchewan River according to the WWF are pollution (mainly agricultural runoff), habitat fragmentation, and habitat loss. In many communities, including Edmonton, this river is our source of drinking water and where we dispose of our waste water. Therefore keeping the watershed clean is important for everyone living in the watershed. The communities upstream impact the river for those downstream, therefore it’s important that all of the communities living in the North Saskatchewan Watershed work together to protect it. There are Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils such as the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, which work to protect the watershed along with governments, companies, and other water organizations. But everyone living in the watershed can participate in protecting it! We can plant native species in our gardens to soak up stormwater that would otherwise flow towards the river. We can reduce our use of fertilizers and pesticides which wash away into the river and negatively impact biodiversity. An easy activity to engage in is washing your car at a carwash instead of in your driveway. At the carwash they have filtration to remove chemicals like oils, antifreeze, and transmission fluid that would go down the storm drains and to the river when washing at home. Another great way to take care of the watershed is to clean it up! It’s very easy to join or organize a river valley cleanup by visiting https://www.shorelinecleanup.ca/cleanups. You can also Contact Us and we will help you plan a cleanup. Let’s learn about our watershed and help to keep it clean!  Sources: “Canadian Watershed Reports.” WWF-Canada Watershed Reports, www.watershedreports.wwf.ca/#ws-10/by/threat-overall/threat.Glave, James. “10 Ways to Help Your Watershed.” Houselogic, HouseLogic, 27 Sept. 2016, www.houselogic.com/save-money-add-value/save-on-utilities/how-to-improve-watershed/.“What Is a Watershed?” North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance, www.nswa.ab.ca/our-watershed/#section-whats-a-watershed.