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If you have a question related to the Blanchard River watershed
or any question related to watersheds, water quality, monitoring,
etc., contact us and we may include it here on our FAQ page.
What is a watershed?
A watershed is any area of land where surface water drains into a
common body of water. If water from a neighborhood drains into
a particular ditch, then that neighborhood shares a common
watershed. Where ditches from several neighborhoods drain into
a creek or brook, then all of those neighborhoods share a common
watershed. Likewise, a watershed would include the
geographical area of all creeks and brooks that drain into a river.
In our area of northwest Ohio, you
might live within a watershed that is drained by Eagle creek or
Riley creek or any number of other creeks. As those creeks
empty into the Blanchard River, then you can say that you also live
in the Blanchard River Watershed.
On a larger scale, you can claim that
you live in the Maumee River watershed as the Blanchard flows into
the Auglaize River, which then flows into the Maumee. Of
course, the Maumee River flows into western Lake Erie, which means
that you are a part of that watershed, too!
Interestingly, just a few hundred
yards south of the headwaters of the Blanchard River in Kenton,
Ohio, water flows to the Scioto River, which flows to the Ohio River
and on to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
Ironically, folks who live in the north end of Kenton have something
in common with folks in Montreal, Canada, where water from the Great
Lakes flows past on its way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while
residents in the south part of Kenton have something in common with
folks of New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Essentially, the quality of water in any watershed affects all
living things within that watershed, no matter how large or small
that watershed may be.
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