Watersheds - a definition
A watershed is an area from which a community/region receives its water supply. Often called a drainage basin, it is a section of land where rain or snow water drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, dam, estuary, sea or ocean. More specifically, it is a summit of land that divides two areas that are drained by different river systems. These rivers flow away from the watershed in opposite directions. Clearly, it is of the utmost importance to keep watersheds as clean and unpolluted as possible.
Watershed pollution is a major concern because not only is it hazardous to our health, it is costly as well. Fish kills, degraded drinking water, losses to commercial fishing and aquaculture industries and food harvesting areas are just a few of the problems created from watershed pollution.
