What is a Healthy Watershed?

Ask a dozen people this seemingly straightforward question and you’ll get a dozen different answers plus more than a few puzzled looks. Even experts in the field struggle to come up with a meaningful way to answer this fundamental question.

At the same time, most people have an intuitive understanding of watersheds and the issues surrounding them. They want clean water to drink, an ecosystem that supports fish and other wildlife, and healthy forests.

What is a watershed?

For the sake of discussion, we need to agree on a meaning. A very simplistic one is the basic definition: a watershed is a geographical area (some think of it as a basin or bowl) that is drained by a distinct river or stream and separated by ridgetop boundaries.

But there’s more to it than the simple definition implies. When speaking of watersheds, some people are talking primarily about the water component, while others mean the basin—everything within the area including the soil, vegetation, air, land and water—even the people and cities. Talk to a scientist and you’ll hear about a biophysical area, often seen through the eyes of a particular discipline—hydrology, geology, biology, etc. A big city dweller may have a vastly different perspective from someone who lives on forestland.

In addition, there can be watersheds within watersheds; it’s all a matter of scale. You can talk about a watershed for a small creek (where the watershed might be tens or hundreds of acres), or for a large river (where the watershed is thousands of acres). For example, the Rattlesnake Creek watershed is different from the Ten Mile Creek watershed, but they are both in the South Fork of the Eel River watershed.

What are the functions?

Perhaps we should ask the question differently: How does a watershed function—either in its healthy condition or when impaired?

Most people would agree that a healthy watershed performs a number of “jobs” that keep the ecosystem in balance: it captures, stores, and releases water; cycles nutrients; filters sediment and pollutants; and supports the many living organisms dependent on the ecosystem.

These functions are dependent on a few basic factors. Climate and physical features of the land (topography, shape, slope, aspect) determine how water moves through the system. Soil is a vital, practically non-renewable resource that contains the minerals and organic material necessary for vegetation. The soil in an area often determines which plants can grow there.

Plants, in turn, play a major role in watershed health. They protect the soil surface from erosion in a number of ways. Roots help bind the soil, tree canopies provide shade and reduce the force of rain and wind, and leaf litter protects the soil surface, filtering and slowing runoff. Plants recycle nutrients from the soil through their roots. In addition, plants provide the habitat and food that support wildlife of all types.

When any of the watershed functions are disrupted, it can have far-reaching effects throughout the ecosystem.

Where do people fit in?

Any discussion of watershed health is incomplete without the human component. Human needs define many of the activities that go on in our watersheds. Socioeconomic concerns (e.g., land use, management techniques) must be included in any realistic watershed equation.

The goal of watershed management is to protect or restore soil and vegetation so they can function to maintain the productivity of the land and its other resources. Development and resource utilization must be achieved in ways that protect the integrity of the watershed.

A watershed approach

Planning at a watershed level is a relatively new approach. It becomes complicated because most watersheds involve multiple ownerships—often a mixture of private and public entities—each with its own values and goals.

However, those living in a particular watershed are connected to one another in a special kind of community where the actions of each can affect the quality of life for the others. Each member of a watershed community has a stake in maintaining its health—for clean water, aesthetics, natural resources, and other amenities. For these reasons, the local watershed is a logical level for decision-making and problem-solving.

Solutions

What can you do to protect or restore your watershed? The first step is education. There are ways to minimize erosion, make waterways more “fish-friendly,” improve forest health, and decrease the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Knowing about watershed functions and good management techniques are vital to understanding how to maintain the health of these systems.

What does the future look like?

Most people will agree that a healthy watershed is an important goal to strive for. To this end, people throughout California are joining together in CRMPs or watershed groups. These may center around a single issue—diminishing fish populations, fuel hazard, water quality—or encompass multiple concerns. Despite a variety of goals, individuals are learning to work together, prioritize needs, and find funding to accomplish on-the-ground projects to improve watershed health.

There are a number of organizations and agencies eager to assist these volunteer efforts. Start with the Forest Stewardship Helpline at 1-800-738-TREE or your local RCD office. The Forest Stewardship Website at http://ceres.ca.gov/foreststeward has lots of watershed information and links to other resources.