Environment
Water Cycle and Watersheds
A watershed is the area of land that drains both surface water and groundwater into a particular river or stream. We all live in a watershed. Since the water resources within each watershed are interconnected, we all have a stake in what happens within our watershed.Watershed boundaries are based on topographical or physical boundaries rather than community or political boundaries. Watersheds include not only watercourses, but the entire land base draining into the watercourse. Watersheds are separated by points of land (hills or slopes) at higher elevations than the surrounding lands. From these high points, water (both groundwater and surface water) drains in different directions into distinct watersheds. Every watershed can be further broken down into subwatersheds - each tributary or small stream has its own watershed. In PEI our watersheds are relatively small when compared to many other areas; complete river systems can be considered as one watershed for our purposes.
It is important to understand that water is constantly being reused and recycled - it moves from the earths surface (and below) to the earths atmosphere (and back) in a cyclic fashion. Water that falls to the earth as precipitation is both absorbed by the ground and plants and carried to the oceans as runoff. A portion of this water is then returned to the atmosphere - it evaporates from land and water bodies and is released from plants (through transpiration from leaves) - to begin the cycle again. Our planet's water supply and quality is linked through the water cycle.
Details on Watershed Management Fund
Details on Watershed Planning and Management
