When you turn on the tap every day and fill your glass with water, do you ever wonder where that water comes from? It's not magic, unlike the Internet and unicorns, but it’s really important. It’s called a watershed. So what the heck is a watershed?
A watershed is a land area where all surface and groundwater from rain and melting snow or ice flows to the same place, such as a river or a lake. In some watersheds, the water is then diverted into pipes or canals, treated and delivered to your tap.
True or False: Californians get their drinking water from four states and 50 million acres of land.
False. Californians get their drinking water from eight states and almost 160 million acres of land! One raindrop can travel more than 1,500 miles from the Rocky Mountains through rivers, aqueducts and pipelines to reach homes in southern California.
Now that you know what a watershed is and how far water travels, can you guess what percentage of the land in the watersheds that supply California’s water is protected from development and potential degradation?
Only 16 percent is formally protected from development and potential degradation in natural reserves and wilderness areas. Another 51 percent is under public management but designated for multiple uses including significant landscape‐disturbing activities like logging, road building and mining. The remaining 33 percent has fewer controls on land uses, and some of it is already used for roads, buildings and crops.
Whew, that was tough! But one more question before we're done. Let's play Water Sommelier and test your water palate. My water tastes...
Explore Your Watershed
