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All activities that occur within a watershed ultimately affect water quality. Enhancing watershed health requires understanding your watershed and taking appriate action as needed to eliminate or control polluting activities. This is a Watershed. Things you can do to protect your watershed. Plant trees wherever possible. Try and keep as many existing trees and shrubs as possible. Avoid planting lawn all the way to a stream. Leave trees or vegetation along the banks as a buffer. Keep use of pesticides away from rivers and streams. Try planting pest and disease resis- tant plants. Place “Dump No Waste, Drains to Stream” markers by storm drains to serve as a constant reminder. When camping, use biodegradable soap and rinse dishes away from streams and lakes. Sweep driveways and patios clean instead of hosing them down. Fence livestock away from streams and wetlands. Make sure wastes can be dropped away from water bodies. Place salt licks away from stream banks. Tether riding stock away from surface water bodies like lakes and streams. Oregon is divided into 19 major watersheds. Use this map to locate your watershed. Each watershed has varying characteristics depending on terrain and the activities that occur in the watershed. Respect the importance of your watershed. It is the combined effect of a variety of activities that diminishes watershed health. North Coast Willamette Mid Coast South Umpqua Klamath Rogue Goose and Summer Lakes Malheur Lake Sandy Hood Deschutes Umatilla Grande Ronde Powder Malheur Owyhee John Day Coast Walla Walla ---PAGE BREAK--- Everyone lives in a watershed. It is the place where everything is connected—forests, fields, industries, businesses, houses, and all creatures. Look inside to see how you can take care of your watershed. Protecting Your Watershed ACWA Association of Clean Water Agencies What is a Watershed? A watershed is the area—land and water defined by the hilltops and ridges where rain falls and runs to a common water body. Water, sediments, and other dissolved material in a watershed drain to a common body of water such as a lake, river or a stream. Everything that happens in a watershed affects water quality: • Motor oil dumped down a storm drain • Pesticides and fertilizers from farmlands • Withdrawals of water for municipal and farm uses • Sediments from construction projects • Timber harvest on steep slopes • Chemically treated lawns • Sewage discharge, even pet waste can affect the health of rivers and streams Understanding how our activities affect our watershed is an important start to protecting water quality. The Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA) is comprised of over 90 community agencies and associate members providing wastewater, stormwater and water quality services to Oregon’s urban areas. The goals of ACWA’s members are to: • Provide sewerage collction and treatment • Regulate industries that discharge to the sewer system to prevent the discharge of toxic substances into waterways • Provide beneficial uses for reclaimed water, biosolids and compost • Collect and manage stormwater runoff • Educate the public about water quality • Adopt and collect fees for municipal water quality services ACWA believes that supporting water quality management on a watershed basis is the most important mechanism available to achieve measurable water quality improvement. Working together with a shared vision, we can keep our watersheds healthy and productive. For more information or additional copies of this brochure, contact: 537 SE Ash Street, Suite 12 Portland, Oregon 97214 (503) 236-6722 www.oracwa.org ACWA’s Commitment to Watershed Planning. ACWA People affect watersheds and watersheds affect the health of our rivers and streams. Excessive use of pesticides can create serious problems if materials wash away into water bodies. Contaminants, including grease, can be washed into rivers and streams with the rain. Fertilizers contain nitrogen and phosphorus and can cause problems if washed into storm sewers or waterways. Debris, such as grass clippings dumped into stream channels, robs water of oxygen and slows the flow. Some recreational activities can erode stream banks and harm the waterway. Washing camp cooking gear in rivers and lakes degrades water quality. Timber harvesting on unstable slopes can cause erosion that washes into rivers and streams. Unprotected dirt during construc- tion can wash off lots and fill catch basins and streams with sediments. Diminishing plant cover can cause erosion that harms water quality and destroys fish spawning beds. agencies CLEAN WATER oregon association of Printed on recycled paper using soy-based inks. 9/2010