If you want to learn more about water and what you can do to help keep it clean, or how you can connect with your local watershed group, please contact the following organizations:
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water www.epa.gov/ow/
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Website www.epa.gov/watershed/
U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service www.fws.gov/
Let's Learn About Water! Learn About
Bathe your brain with the facts! Quench your thirst for knowledge!
Wise Water Use is Important!
Hey Kids!
You List Other
We Use Water?
The Natural Water Cycle
PRECI PITATION PRECIPITATION
Water vapor in clouds cools and forms water particles, which fall to the ground as snow or rain. vapor in clouds cools
Is ConstantlyRECYCLED
SURFACE RUNOFF RUNOFF
Some rainfall flows over the ground and into streams and rivers.
Journey of Stormwater
Help me to find my way through an A-MAZE-ING journey that follows the path of stormwater...
TRAN SPI RATION
PERCOL ATION
PERCOLATION
Some rainfall sinks into the ground and eventually "percolates" down to the groundwater table.
Plants and trees absorb water from the soil through their roots and "breathe" it back into the air as water vapor. TRANSPIRATION
EVAPORATION
Water on the surface of the ground or in lakes and rivers is warmed by the sun, which creates water vapor, which rises into the air and forms clouds.
Storm clouds gather water and produce rain, which is called stormwater once it reaches the ground. Rain runs off roofs and into gutters, which channel the water to the ground
Once on the ground, stormwater is either absorbed into the grass to feed plants, or it will run off the sidewalks an driveways and into the street.
GROUNDWATER TABLE
GROUNDWATER TABLE
Water is stored in the gaps of porous rock, gravel, or sand and slowly flows into streams and rivers.
The SAME water that the Dinosaurs drank...is the SAME water that we drink today. Water is constantly recycled and reused over and over again !
Doesn't that make your head SWIM ?
discharge pipes empty into our local creeks and rivers, which lead to the Atlantic Ocean.
waterways provide important habitats for fish and wildlife.
whatever you do... DON’T POLLUTE OUR STORM DRAINS!
N S C R E E
R S H E D T h i s c r e e k i s m o s t l y u n d e r g r o u n d j u s t l i k e t h e S h e l l p o t C r e e k I f y o u l i v e i n t h e p u r p l e a r e a y o u l i v e i n t h e S H E L L P O T C R E E K W A T E R S H E D I f y o u l i v e i n N e w a r k
i n t h
W A T
DELAWAREBAY
H l l t t C o r n e r s A e y C o r n e r s B l a c k i s t o n B r e n f o r d B i g O a k C o r n e r s W d l a d B e a c h P t M a h o n P i k i g B e a c h S o u t h B o w e r s L i t t l e H e a v e n L e b a n o n R s n g S u n S t a r H i l l A l m s H o u s e H a z l e t t v e C h a p e l t o w n H o u r g l a s s B a t h e s d a W r i g h t s C r o s s r o a d s D a v i s C o r n e r P C o r n e r D i n a h s C o e F o d s C o r n e r
W a t e r s h e d
C h o p t a n k R i v e r W a t e r s h e d M u r d e r k i l l R i v e r W a t e r s h e d M i s p i l l i o n R i v e r W a t e r s h e d
s C o r n e r M a r v e l s C o s s o d C h h H l V l a g e W i l l i a m s v i l l e S t a y t o n v i l e O a k l e y N e w M a r k e t R e y n o l d s M i l l R o b b i n s S h a w n e e L i n c o l n L y n c h H e i g h t s T h o m p s o n v i l l e S c o t t s C o r n e r s H e r r n g C o r n e r s A r g o s C o r n e r A n d e r s o n C r o s s r o a d s F o w e r B e a c h P i e h o o k B e a c h B r o a d k i B e a c h J e f f e r s o n C r o s s r o a d s R e e v e s C o s s i n g
C e d a r C r e e k W a t e r s h e d M a r s h y h o p e C r e e k W a t e r s h e d
G u m B r a n c h W a t e r s h e d G r a v e l l y B r a n c h W a t e r s h e d B r o a d k i l l R i v e r W a t e r s h e d N a n t i c o k e R i v e r W a t e r s h e d L e w e sR e h o b o t h C a n a l W a t e r s h e d D e e p C r e e k W a
D o w s C h a p e l P e a r s o n s G r o v e E v e r e t t s C o r n e r S e v e n H c k o r i e s M o o r e s C o r n e r B i s h o p s C o r n e r D u P o n t M a n o r C o o p e r s C o r n e r C h o p t k M i s W i o w G r o v e P e t e r s b u r g S a n d t o w n L o r d s C o r n e r S h l t i C r o s s r o a d E d w a r d s v i l l e H u g h e s C r o s s r o a d s H o p k i n s C o r n e r s H o l l a n d s v i l l e M i n n e r s C o r n e r s M a s t e n s C o r n e r A d a m s C r o s s r o a d s W o o d e n h a w k S c o t t s C D u b n H S a i
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T h e s o u t h e r n p a r t o f t h e c i t y ( s h o w n i n l i g h t e r g r e e n ) i s i n t h e I R O N B R A N C H W A T E R S H E D I f y o u l i v e d o w n i n G e o r g e t o w n y o u l i v e i n o n e o f t w o w a t e r s h e d s T h e e a s t e r n p a r t o f t h e c i t y ( s h o w n i n l i g h t e r y e l l o w ) i s i n t h e I N D I A N R I V E R W A T E R S H E D T h e w e s t e r n p a r t o f t h e c i t y ( s h o w n i n l i g h t e r g r e e n ) i s i n t h e D E E P C R E E K W A T E R S H E D A . I n a R I V E R B A S I N ! Q . W h e r e d o f i s h w a s h ?
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How Can You and Your Family Protect Our Water?
Kids! Protecting our water supply isn't just an adult thing. Its up to each and every one of us! Storm drains in the street (also called sewer inlets) are for water only. Delaware's rain and melting snow pick up all kinds of pollutants as they wash over our sidewalks streets, parking lots and yards. All of this dirty water flows into storm drains, many of which empty into local creeks and the Delaware Estuary. You can help make our waterways safer for drinking, fishing and boating by keeping pollution and trash out of Delaware's storm drains.
You can help protect our drinking water by cleaning up after your dog. Place dog waste in the toilet or a trash can, not in the street or down the storm drain. Dog waste introduces diseasecausing bacteria into our water supply.
Arf ! Do you know what you get when you cross a Giraffe with a German Shepherd? A Watchdog for the fifth floor. 4
Keep litter off the street This includes candy wrappers, fast food containers and other wastes Put trash in trash cans and clean-up street litter so it doesn’t get washed or blown into the storm drains. A Trash Truck What has 4 wheels and flies?
Ask your parents to service the car regularly to prevent oils and other fluids from leaking onto the pavement and being washed down the storm drains. People should always recycle used motor oil and antifreeze. Cars should be moved for street sweepings to allow for the removal of debris before it washes down the storm drains. 2
Help your parents expand your garden, and cut down on the size of your lawn. Maintaining a garden without chemicals is easier than maintaining a lawn without chemicals. Use native plants, mulch, and plant densely to decrease the need for water, reduce erosion and discourage weeds.
What's worse than finding a worm in your tomato? Finding half a worm!
5
Let your grass grow! Taller grass chokes weeds, so ask your parents to set the mower height at 3 inches, water your lawn thoroughly but infrequently to encourage deep root systems, use natural organic fertilizer if you do fertilize (which will release nutrients more slowly than chemical fertilizers), and avoid applying fertilizer before heavy rain
Why did the guy run a lawnmower through his garden?
6
Help your parents compost leaves and grass clippings. Next year you will have rich compost that can be used to enhance your garden soil. If you don't compost, carefully bag your leaves and grass clippings. Leaves and grass clippings placed in the street unbagged will clog storm drains. Did you hear the joke about the compost pile? Yeah, but it stinks!
Because he wanted to make a tossed salad in a hurry.
This hook is giving me a Haddock!
See if you can find the highlighted words from these 6 tips, either forward, backwards, up, down, or diagonally.
Living Species in Delaware’s Coastal Bay
Find
Striped Bass Twins?
These two stiped bass may seem to be twins at a first glance, but if you look closer you will discover 10 differences. Can you find them all?
Fun Fact:
Every living organism needs clean water to survive.
At one time the Delaware Estuary was so polluted that the population of striped bass nearly dissappeared. Fortunately, the Estuary has been cleaned up in the past 25 years, and the population of striped bass has rebounded.
