HOW DO LAND USE CHANGES AFFECT A WATERSHED?
The type of land use (e.g., forest, agriculture, suburban, urban) and its associated activities can have a direct impact on the water quality of the watershed. When it rains, stormwater carries with it the effects of human activities as it drains off the land into the local waterway. Forested areas are generally able to absorb more precipitation with less runoff than any other type of land use. Likewise, cultivated farm fields can absorb more precipitation than suburban lawns. The development of such open lands has a great effect on local water resources. It changes how both surface and ground water flows in the watershed and what flows in the water. The porous and varied terrain of natural landscapes like forests, wetlands and grasslands trap rain water and snow melt and allow it to slowly filter into the ground. Runoff tends to reach receiving waters gradually. When farmers cultivate their fields, they create lots of pore spaces in the soil and small irregularities on the soil surfac
Related Questions
- I don own land with wetlands, and there are none adjacent to my property.Would these proposed rule changes affect me?
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