PollutedRunoffandWatersheds.pptVIP

Polluted Runoffand Watersheds What is Polluted Runoff? Polluted Runoff is a cause of water pollution It’s what happens when rain flows over the ground and picks up lots of dirt This dirty water then runs into our lakes and streams and even our drinking water Watersheds A watershed is the area of land that collects rain water which will drain into our lakes, rivers, and ground water. A watershed could include combinations of land as different as forests, glaciers, deserts and/or grasslands. Wherever you stand on the ground, you are in a watershed Your Watershed What are some of the causes of polluted runoff? Driving a car Pouring ANYTHING down the storm sewer Washing a car with lots of soap in your driveway Not cleaning up after your pet Throwing trash on the ground Who does it affect? YOU!! How does it affect you? Polluted Runoff is the main reason that many of our rivers, lakes, and streams are not clean enough to fish or swim in! We all need to be able to use clean water for so many things that we do everyday; like drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, and even playing. What can you do? Don’t waste water Encourage your parents to be responsible with fertilizers- Don’t pour ANYTHING down your storm sewers What can you do? Don’t throw trash on the ground Recycle Pick up trash that you see on the ground Learn more about your watershed! Because we do not want this to be our future. This presentation was created by AmeriCorps VISTAs Marissa Pappas and Eva Murphy * We insert a GIS map of all of the surrounding watersheds of the school being presented to, and have a flag inserted at the schools location. *