"Watershed" is not a word common to our everyday use. Sometimes we hear of a "watershed event," but that refers to current events and not to water management. When talking about water, "watershed" refers to an area of land that drains towards a given river, lake or wetland.
A watershed is an area of land that drains towards a given river, lake or wetland.
Source: Northeast Illinois Planning Commission
Land in a watershed slopes downhill to the body of water it supplies and from which the watershed is given its name. For example, the Rum River Watershed is the land that drains towards the Rum River. High spots in the landscape, such as hilltops and mountain ridges, often mark watershed boundaries where rain or snow falling on one side goes to one river, lake or wetland, and rain or snow that falls on the other side goes to another.
Watersheds can be small, like an area of a field that creates a pond every spring, or huge, like watersheds for great rivers such as the Mississippi and Amazon, draining whole states and, sometimes, whole countries.A great visual description of watersheds is given in the "What is a Watershed" video — the link is at the bottom of the page
Just as a person’s character is shaped by their surroundings, the character of a river, lake or wetland is shaped by its watershed. Its water quantity (how much) and quality (how clean) depend on what is taking place in its watershed. This is why water-quality experts want people to be "watershed aware" and to "know their watershed." Usually, the fewer human activities that are going on in a watershed the healthier the body of water it supplies will be. Think about it. Where are the cleanest rivers and lakes and healthiest wetlands in Minnesota? Up north where there is the least human activity. As human activity increases in a watershed, either through farming, forestry, mining, industry, or urban development, the condition of the body of water it supplies declines.
When a river, lake, or wetland is in trouble, one of the first things water quality specialists do is look at what is going on in its watershed. They make a list of watershed activities that are harming water quality and prioritize the list from the most harmful to the least. If it is decided to improve the body of water, an action plan is developed to assist people in changing from harmful watershed activities to ones that are more water friendly.
Do you know what watershed you live in? Do you know what river, lake or wetland your watershed activities have an impact on? To find out, go to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources watershed website. If more detailed information is needed than provided there, contact your local Soil and Water Conservation Disrict.