“Water runs downhill” is a phrase you’ve probably heard, and that phase, for the most part, explains a watershed. As water falls on the land through precipitation, it makes its way downhill into creeks that flow into streams that flow into rivers that flow into large bodies of water like the Chesapeake Bay and ultimately winds up in an ocean.
In the case of the Shenandoah Valley, water also bubbles up from underground springs and caves where it has often collected for years. It, too, flows across the land into small streams that become larger and larger as they collect more water.
So watersheds are anywhere and everywhere, and everything affects a watershed. A watershed can be as small as a lake or encompass thousands of square miles and contain streams, rivers, lakes and underlying groundwater located hundreds of miles inland.
As water flows downhill and across the landscape, it picks up and carries anything that flows into it including agricultural runoff of excess nutrients, chemicals and manure as well as urban runoff from paved roadways, parking lots and lawns. As these pollutants flow into the next body of water, they can have a negative effect on the ecology of the entire watershed and ultimately the bay or ocean where everything ends up. Being mindful of our actions along streams and rivers, on their banks and on the land can prevent this pollution and/or reduce existing pollution.
This is why the Alliance’s work, whether influencing land-use decisions, tracking water policy, supporting good wastewater treatment practices, or working with farmers to implement clean water practices, all leads to better water quality. Each thing we do here in the Valley that is crisscrossed with small creeks and streams has an impact locally and beyond.
Do we share a watershed?
Use the button below to find your watershed based on your address. Water from our Alliance office in New Market ends up in the North Fork of the Shenandoah River.
