What Is a Watershed?

What is a watershed? It’s basically what it sounds like. It’s when water runs off an impervious surface.

An impervious surface is a surface that doesn’t allow water to be absorbed in it. Like your roof, metal, concrete, and plastic are all impervious surfaces. All the dirt, food, and trash on these surfaces will get washed away with the rain and will end up in our rivers and streams. This might not seem like a big deal to most people. But most of us in Montgomery county don’t know that we are all being affected by the choices we make.

Where do we get our drinking water from? The Potomac River. Where does all of our trash on roads go when it rains? Also The Potomac River. It comes around in a perfect circle. Each time it rains the water quality in the Potomac River only gets worse. That’s the same water we drink every day and it’s also where we get our local seafood from. Does the problem seem a little clearer now?

Montgomery County has been doing a great job with watershed restoration and management. Each one of the environmentalists in the Department of Environmental Protection has strived to do their best to keep our waters clean. But you don’t have to be a certified environmentalist to make a difference. The best way to think of ways to help is to start by making sure you aren’t doing anything to damage our environment. One of the biggest problems in our society today, is littering. That’s one of the reasons this problem started in the first place.

5 Ways You Can Help

1). Install a Rain Barrel  (All residents of Montgomery County are eligible for a RainScapes reward and discount).

2). Clean up trash you find on the roads or in your community

3). Make sure you use reusable bags and water bottles and not plastic ones.

4). Be sure to call 3-1-1 if you see any serious environmental problems

5). Make sure you conserve energy and do your best to make our earth a better place to live in every step of the way!