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IN THIS ISSUE:
- What is a Watershed?
- Learning About Lincoln’s Watersheds
- How We Manage and Protect Our Watersheds
- What You Can Do!
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What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land where all water that collects on that land drains to a particular waterbody. That waterbody can be a creek, river, lake, or even the ocean. Watersheds can be small and contained within a single county or they can be large and encompass hundreds or thousands of square miles. Every single person in the world lives in a watershed!
During periods of heavy rain, water may run onto and off of impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roads, buildings, and other structures because it has nowhere else to go. These surfaces act as "fast lanes" that transport water directly into storm drains. The excess water volume can quickly overwhelm streams and creeks, causing them to overflow and possibly result in floods.
Watershed Fact: The largest watershed in the United States is the Mississippi River Watershed, which drains 1.15 million square miles and drains parts of 31 US states and 2 Canadian provinces.
Which watershed do you live in?
Keep reading to learn more about Lincoln’s watersheds.
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Learning About Lincoln’s Watersheds
Placer County has 14 major watersheds, three of which encompass the City of Lincoln: Markham Ravine, Auburn Ravine, and Racoon Creek. The southern half of the city flows into the Auburn Ravine, while the majority of the northern half of the city flows into Markham Ravine. Racoon Creek touches just a small area at the northernmost area of the city’s boundary between Nicolaus and W. Wise Roads.
These watersheds and the waterbodies they drain into provide a wide range of benefits to the residents of Lincoln including erosion and sediment control, increased biodiversity, wildlife corridors, water infiltration, flood control, and improved water quality. On top of this, they provide our residents with many opportunities for recreation such as swimming or fishing. Since the watersheds provide multiple benefits and drain to the local creeks and streams, it is critical that these areas are protected.
Continue reading to see what we can do to protect these extremely important natural resources.
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How We Manage and Protect Our Watersheds
Watershed Management is a holistic approach to managing water resources for quantity and quality within a watershed. The approach uses data collection and analysis to identify pollutants of concern.
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This data in turn informs the strategy development to help maintain or achieve water quality standards through implementation.
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A key aspect in watershed management and protection is engaging with those who live and work within the watershed. This can include landowners, homeowners, local businesses, industry— AND YOU!
Keep reading to find out what you can do to help protect our watersheds.
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What You Can Do!
There are lots of things that you can do to help protect our local watersheds and waterways. Some of these actions include:
- Keep up with regular car maintenance to prevent leakage of oil, antifreeze, and other fluids.
- If you see trash in your neighborhood, pick it up and properly dispose of it in a trash receptacle.
- Always bring plastic bags to pick up after your dog.
- Limiting the use of pesticides or selecting the least toxic option for getting rid of pests
- Dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW) such as paints, cleaning solutions, oil, batteries, and pesticides at a local HHW facility
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Remember—Clean Water Starts With You!
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You can help protect and improve our watersheds’ health and the quality of water that is making its way into Auburn Ravine, Raccoon Creek, or Markham Ravine.
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