Facebook

Everyone Lives in a Watershed

You don’t have to live on a lake or a river to have an impact on water quality. We all live in a watershed and our collective actions on the land will determine the future quality of our waters. How we use the land within a watershed affects the type of sediments, nutrients and other pollutants that can be washed into a river or lake. Runoff from parking lots, highways, lawns and forests all impact water quality.

What is a Watershed?

A watershed is the area of land that drains to a river, lake or wetland.Watersheds are also called drainage basins. A watershed can be small (draining only a few acres), or very large (draining thousands of square miles).

Watersheds collect rain, snow melt, spring water, and ground water in the form of
streams, and rivers which eventually join up in a single large river or lake. Because
everything in a watershed is interconnected, small acts in one area of a watershed can have a profound impact on the entire area the watershed covers. Here again is our connectedness – everyone lives in a watershed. We are all interconnected by
water, and our actions on the land impact nearby lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands.

To ensure that the waters of the Leech Lake Reservation meet the needs of future generations, everyone must manage land responsibly to reduce the impact on our water resources. We must practice wise land use so together we can meet the needs of future generations.

Contact Us

(218) 335-7400 DRM

Name Title Phone
Brown, Levi Environmental Director 335-7417
Harper, Jeff Water Resources Program Manager 335-7415