overview of the wappinger creek & watershed basics
TRANSCRIPT
Watershed and Water Regulation Basics for Municipal Officials
Photo: Sean Carroll
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Overview of the Wappinger Creek & Watershed Basics
Sean Carroll-
GIS/Environmental Community EducatorCornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
Photo: Sean Carroll
1. What are “watersheds” and why are they important?
2. Brief overview of the Wappinger Creek and its watershed
3. Impacts of land use in the watershed
4. Why a watershed-scale approach to planning & management?
Photo: Lela Butts
What is a Watershed?
“The area of land where all the water that falls onto it drains into the same place.”
• Everyone lives in a watershed
• Edges found at the highest elevation
• Flows downhill as streams and rivers into waterbodies or into the ground
“No matter where you live in a watershed you can have a direct impact on your neighbor’s
water resources and they on yours”
Surface Water
Surface Water: water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, or wetland.
Riparian Zone: the area between land and flowing surface water.
Floodplain: land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences periodic flooding. Allows water to spread out and slow down during a flood.
Groundwater
Ground-water: water that percolates into the soil or through porous rock layers in the earth and into aquifers
Aquifer: subsurface deposit that transmits and stores water
Ground-water Recharge: precipitation that passes through the land surface
Source: USGS
Why are watersheds important?
Dutchess County Watersheds
Wappinger Creek WatershedWatershed:
• 211 square miles/134,871 acres• 11 towns & 2 villages• 9 subwatersheds• 1,694 acres of ponds and lakes• 8,362 acres of wetlands
Wappinger Creek:
• 38 miles long• Source: Thompson Pond, Pine Plains• Mouth: Hudson River, Poughkeepsie/Wappinger• 320 miles of tributaries:
• Cold Spring Creek, East Branch Wappinger Creek, Great Spring Creek, Grist Mill Creek, Hunns Lake Creek, Little Wappinger Creek, Tamarack Creek, Upton Lake Creek, Willow Brook
Wappinger Creek WatershedMunicipalities in the Watershed:
• Town of Pine Plains• Town of Milan• Town of Stanford• Town of Clinton• Village of Millbrook• Town of Washington• Town of Hyde Park• Town of Pleasant Valley• Town of LaGrange• Town of Poughkeepsie• Town of Wappinger• Town of Fishkill• Village of Wappingers Falls
13
Wappinger Creek Watershed
Rural
Suburban
Land Use/Land Cover• Still largely forested (~ 50%)
• Nearly a quarter of watershed is agricultural land
• ~ 21% of watershed developed
Development in the Watershed
• As development moves along, more and more impervious surfaces are formed…
• Since rainwater and other precipitation cannot pass through impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, streets, highways, and parking lots, the water simply runs off…
• This runoff picks up pollutants and litter on its way, which ends up in our streams and waterbodies…
• Finally, since the water that would normally seep back into the ground runs off instead, there is less groundwater recharge.
Development in the Watershed
Agriculture in the Watershed4.5% increase in agriculture in DC between 2015 and 2016*
Agriculture equals ~ 22% of land cover in the Wappinger Creek Watershed
• ~ 1,400 farm parcels• ~ 60,800 acres
Improper agricultural practices can have a negative impact on water quality:
• Loss of riparian buffers• Increased nutrient & bacteria inputs• Increased erosion & sedimentation
Photo: Sean Carroll
* Source: 2016 Dutchess County 8-year Agricultural Review
Importance of Riparian Buffers
The buffer between streams and uplands
Riparian buffers help to:
1. stream temperature & light penetration
2. bank stability
3. retention of nutrients & contaminantsPhoto: Sean Carroll
Why a Watershed Approach?• Water flows from high to low – It doesn’t care about municipal
boundaries!• issues in the watershed often affect several (if not all)
municipalities and communities within its boundaries
• Involves all stakeholders in watershed• local, state, federal government• NGOs such as conservation organizations and land trusts• residents & landowners• allows for strong community involvement & engagement
• Strategically addresses priority water resource goals • integrates multiple programs (regulatory and voluntary) • based on sound science • uses adaptive management• aided by strategic watershed & open space plans
Photo: Allison Chatrchyan
Going Forward…
Photo: Allison Chatrchyan
“No matter where you live in a watershed you can have a direct impact on your neighbor’s water
resources and they on yours”
