Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

Where Does It Flow? - Modeling a

Watershed

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

Procedures:

1. In your group, collect a large aluminum baking pan. Tape together a pile of partially crumpled soda cans in the center of the pan. Then gently mold a continuous sheet of aluminum foil over the cans and the bottom areas of the pan. Careful not to tear or punch a hole in the aluminum foil! This is your watershed model

2. Use a spray bottle with colored water, and gently “rain” on your watershed model. Observe where the water flows and the resulting lakes and streams that form.

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

3. In the box below, draw a diagram of your watershed indicating all the lakes, rivers, and streams that form. Also add areas of major population centers that might be constructed in your watershed. This can include factories, schools, city centers, agricultural areas, etc.

4. Now cut three or four small strips of sponge and gently place these in various locations on the model. These will represent wetlands or groundwater areas that are often “recharged” by surface water. These areas then in turn contribute water to rivers, streams, and lakes. Again gently “rain” on your watershed model.

5. What were the effects of the wetlands and groundwater systems (sponge strips) on the watershed?

6. Ask your instructor to then place a drop of blue food coloring on a sponge near the top of the watershed model. This drop of food coloring represents a point source pollutant such as a leaking gasoline storage tank, oil spill, or raw sewage leak. Again, gently rain on your watershed.

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

7. On your original watershed diagram, indicate the source of the pollutant as well as the areas it affected. Use a specific color and create a key that shows that this color represents a point source pollutant.

8. Ask your instructor to sprinkle some cocoa powder on your watershed model. This represents a nonpoint source pollutant that can result from construction sites, agricultural practices, lawn care products, and hard surface runoff (e.g. automobile oil from surface streets). Again, gently rain on your watershed

9. On your watershed diagram, indicate locations of the nonpoint source pollutant, and where it collects. Be sure to use a different color for this and add it to your key.

10. Lastly, on your watershed diagram, indicate where you might build a home. Label this with a different color.

Follow-up Questions:1. How did the placement of wetlands and groundwater sites (sponges) affect the flow of

water on your watershed model?

2. Describe how pollution moved within your watershed model? How did the movement of pollution differ depending on the elevation of the source of the pollutant? What population areas of your map were most affected?

3. Give 3 examples of Point Source Pollution and 3 examples of Nonpoint Source Pollution.

4. In what ways could the water users downstream of the pollution source be impacted?

Name: ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ________

5. Explain why you chose the location for where you would build a home on your watershed diagram.

6. Describe 3 strategies that could be adopted to help protect watersheds?

Homework:

Do some research on our local watershed in the Santa Rosa area. Then type a 1 page paper detailing the characteristics of this watershed. Where is the source of the water? Which direction does it flow? Where does the water end up? Also, look for possible sources of pollution in the watershed such as factories, city centers, highways where runoff can occur, waste areas, etc. What areas would be most affected by this pollution?

Requirements:● AT LEAST 1 page (this does not mean half a page, or ¾ of a page… this is 1

whole page down to the bottom!)● 1 inch margins● 12 pt. Times New Roman font● Double-spaced● Please address all parts of the prompt above!