-return to Clean Lakes -

Watersheds and their Lakes

A watershed is the area of land that drains to a lake or other water body. Watersheds vary in size from just a couple of acres to thousands of square miles. We all live in a watershed. The Omaha metro lakes watersheds range in size from 2,112 to 11, 076 acres.

The characteristics of a watershed and the land use activities within it have profound effects on lakes. If a hillside is clear cut or a wetland drained, a lake may receive significant pollution loads or its water cycle may be altered. Changing from undeveloped to residential land uses may result in a 700 percent increase in phosphorus loading to a lake. Much of this increase can be traced to the removal of plant material, which naturally binds phosphorus, keeping it out of lakes and other water bodies. Other sources of phosphorus in lakes include failing septic systems, pets and wild animals, and activities such as car washing and landscaping.

Get to know your watershed. Take a leisurely drive and discover what is happening in your watershed. The importance of the relationship between a lake and its watershed cannot be over emphasized when protecting, managing or restoring a lake.

-return to Clean Lakes -