Alabama Water WatchCitizen Monitoring Program

Today’s Outline:

1. Review: what is a watershed?

2. Alabama Biodiversity 3. The Water Cycle4. River Continuum Concept5. Stormwater Runoff6. Water Chemistry

Certification for Alabama Water Watch

Review: What are

Watersheds?

1. Watersheds

• Major Alabama Watersheds

• Watersheds = an area within which all surface water drains to a common waterway

2. Watersheds

• Watersheds can be nested: smaller ones within larger ones

3. Watersheds

• Basin: A collection of watersheds draining to the coast at a single point.

• E.g., Mobile Basin

4. Watersheds

• Birmingham straddles 2 major watersheds:– Cahaba and Black Warrior

• Watersheds and Basins: great concept for teaching– Social sciences/studies– Natural sciences

Themes: Everybody Lives in a Watershed.We are all connected through our watershed.

5. Biodiversity

• The more diversity of watersheds, the more species an area will have.

Extensive Watershed diversity in Alabama:

• 2 major river basins• 13 major watersheds • Vast network of rivers

The Big Picture: The Water Cycle

6. The Water Cycle

Our’ Blue Planet

Water Distribution on Earth

• 97.2% in oceans• 2.8% on land

– 2.2 % is ice– 0.6 % is

groundwater – <0.01 % is lakes– <0.001 % is

rivers

The Water Cycle

(Aka: The Water cycle)

Linking the Water Cycle to Watersheds, to Biodiversity:

The River Continuum Concept

7. River Continuum Concept

• Rivers change as the progress from the headwaters to the coast– Size– Speed– Habitat types– Biodiversity

8. River Continuum Concept

• Headwaters:• Small creeks and

streams• Rocky substrate

(bottom material)• Narrow streams,

often steep hillsides• Forested margins,

well-shaded

9. River Continuum Concept

Midreaches• Wider channel• Much direct

sunlight• More nutrients than

headwaters • More plants than

headwaters• Substrate: smaller

materials: smaller rocks and sand

10. River Continuum Concept

Lower Reaches• Slower current• deeper channel• “Muddy water”• High nutrient levels• Substrate: shifting

sands and silts• Few plants• Swamps

11. River Continuum Concept

• Estuary: interface of freshwater rivers and oceanic waters.

12. River Continuum Concept

• The different zones of a river (headwaters to lower reaches) provides different habitats for different species.

• But even within a small area, different habitats support different species.

The more diversity of natural habitats and conditions, the more species will be supported.

Threats to Rivers:Focus on urban

runoff

13. Threats: Urban Runoff

The Major Threats to Rivers:

• Dams• Sedimentation• Pollution• Over-extraction of

water• Invasive species• Stream channelization• Urban Runoff – a place

to start teaching about watersheds

14. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Runoff: Water from precipitation that flows across the surface to the nearest drainage

• Stormwater: runoff from developed areas

15. Threats: Urban Runoff

• What causes runoff?

• Impervious surfaces block the absorption of rainwater into the ground.

• Impervious surfaces: pavement, streets, roofs, sidewalks

Effect of Impervious Surfaces

16. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Effects of increased Runoff– More and higher floods– Low flows during dry

season– Sometimes: discharge

of raw sewage into rivers

– Increased pollutants • Fine sediments• Hazardous

chemicals• Nasty bacteria• Nutrients

17. Threats: Urban Runoff

Flooding:– Because rainwater doesn’t percolate into the

soil, stormwater gets rapidly ‘dumped’ into creeks, streams and rivers.

Trussville, May 2003

18. Threats: Urban Runoff

• With floods, stream habitats altered and destroyed

• High volumes scour stream substrates

• Secondary bank erosion

• Loss of habitat

19. Threats: Urban Runoff

Low flows• Because groundwater

isn’t recharged, there is little in reserve to keep streams flowing when rains are infrequent.

20. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Sewage Discharge– Stormwater

system– Collects rainwater

and directs it away from developed areas.

– In some cities, including B’ham, stormwater was linked to sewage system.

– When it rains…

21. Threats: Urban Runoff

…Sewage treatment plants can’t handle the large volume of water.

• Stormwater and sewage dumped into streams and rivers

• Yuck.

22. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Runoff and Pollution

• Runoff contains toxins: Runoff contains contaminants: oil, gas, other car drippings, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, detergents, etc.

23. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Runoff contains sediments: sand and silt

• From construction• From developed areas

Threats: Urban Runoff

• Sediments fill and cover habitats in river. • Esp Sand and silt • Crevices between rocks needed for fish, insects,

mussels, etc.

Threats: Urban Runoff

• All this impacts our drinking water

24. Threats: Urban Runoff

• Why use Urban Runoff as a starting point for teaching about watersheds? – It is an urban problem– Urban students will be familiar with stormwater

systems and problems– It is wherever you are– Easily observed in or near your school– Impacts are far-reaching, involving social and

environmental issues

25. Threats: Urban Runoff

Community–building themes• Everyone lives in a watershed• Anywhere you stand, you are in the watershed• We share the watershed with each other, and with the ecosystem

Questions to stimulate thought– Where does the water go from any location?– What is the nearest creek or stream, and where does it go? – Where does stormwater from our school and our homes flow?– Who lives downstream from us, and how are we affecting

them?– Who lives upstream from us, and how are they affecting us?– What can we do to be better watershed citizens?!