photo credit David Blevin
What is a watershed?
It doesn’t matter how far you live from a stream, river or lake – you live in a watershed! Everyone resides in a watershed. A watershed is an area of land from which all water drains, running downhill, to a shared destination – a river, pond, stream, lake or esturary. A watershed is a catchment basin that is bound by topographic features, such as ridge tops.
Where does all the water go?
In the Alouette Watershed, water runs from the mountains and ridge tops into the local ponds, streams and lakes. The water eventually flows into the Alouette River, then into the Pitt River and Fraser River before finally reaching the Pacific Ocean.
Why is the Alouette River watershed so special?
photo credit David Blevin
Photo Credit – David Blevin
The Alouette River was awarded Heritage status in 1998 under the BC Heritage Rivers System (BCHRS). The BCHRS is the first provincial system of its kind in Canada and helps to promote stewardship of this natural legacy for all British Columbians.
How can we keep our watershed healthy?
Photo Credit – David Blevin
Each small piece of the landscape has an important role in the overall health of our watershed. Paying attention only to the riparian zone, an area critical to a watershed’s release and filter function, will not make up for a lack of attention to the watershed’s uplands. Uplands play an equally important role in the watershed, the capture, filtration and storage of moisture. So, it is seamless management of the entire watershed and the environmentally responsible actions of each and everyone of us that ensures complete watershed health.
