THE WATERSHED CONNECTIONOverview: Students use a poster of the Southern San Francisco BayWatershed and maps to locate watersheds, creeks, rivers, and the"watershed address" of their school. Students learn about watersheds,runoff, and how pollution travels within a watershed by making asimple watershed model.Content Standards Correlations: Science, p. 304, and History/Social Science, p. 310

Grades: 4-6

Key Concept: Each of us livesin a watershed that flows intothe San Francisco Bay. Whatwe do at home and school canhave an effect on the health ofthe Bay.

Objectives: Students will beable to:• define the term watershed.• name the watershed in whichtheir school is located.• describe the meaning ofrunoff and runoff pollution.• recognize that everyonecontributes to and is respon-sible for the Bay's waterquality.

Materials:• Southern San Francisco BayWatershed poster (Pleasecontact the Education Staff atthe Refuge to obtain a poster.)• local road maps• paper• class sets of water-solublemarkers: brown, blue, red,orange, black• class sets of permanentmarkers: black and green• spray bottles, one for everytwo students• sponges• paper towels• brightly colored Post-It dots

Time:• Part 1-45 minutes• Part II - 45 minutes

SUPPORTIHGlNfORMATIONfORTHISACTIYlTY• The entire land area that drains surface water (called runoff)

into water channels, such as rivers, creeks and streams, iscalled a watershed or drainage basin.

• The watersheds of creeks and rivers are separated from eachother by land forms of higher elevation called ridge lines ormountain divides. Water falling on each side of the dividedrains into different watersheds and collection sites.

• Near the ridge lines, when the slope of the land is steep andwater channels are narrow, water moves rapidly. As the slopeof the land decreases, the water moves more slowly. The widthof the channel increases as smaller channels merge together.Eventually water moves through a wide channel that emptiesinto a body of water such as a lake, bay, or ocean. From anaerial view, drainage patterns in watersheds resemble anetwork similar to the branching pattern of a tree.

• The body of water that the water flows into gives the name tothe watershed. For example, the Coyote Creek watershedwould be all the surrounding area from which water drains and

then flows into that creek.

R/dge

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collection site (e.g. a creek); therefore,school yards are part of a watershed. Even if aschool seems far away from the Bay, it is stillconnected to it by the nearby creeks, streamsand sloughs. The marshes at the refuge get

their water from the Bay. So, not only areschools connected to the Bay, they are alsoconnected to the refuge via the water systems(streams, sloughs, wetlands, etc.) within thewatershed.

• The San Francisco Bay basin drains 3,870square miles. The vast majority of the Bay'sinflow comes from Central Valley rivers. In theSouth Bay runoff from local rivers, creeks andstreams, combined with water from sewagetreatment plants, makes up only 10 percent ofthe water flowing into the Bay. Majorwaterways in the south Bay include AlamedaCreek, Coyote Creek, San Francisquito Creek,Stevens Creek, and the Guadalupe River.

• The quality of water in the Bay is, to a largeextent, a reflection of land uses and naturalfactors found in its watershed. Everyone bearsresponsibility for the health of a watershed andthe water systems within it. Individual actions,both negative and positive, add up. If thewatershed is polluted, in all probability, theBay will also be polluted. The reason for this isthat water picks up pollutants as it runs throughboth agricultural and urban areas.

• In cities and surrounding areas, pesticides,lawn clippings, soapy water, spilled chemicals,dripped oil and antifreeze will likely be washedthrough the storm drain system and into acreek, river, or the Bay. Unlike the sanitarysewer system, the storm drain system is notconnected to a sewage treatment plant. Waterthat goes into storm drains eventually ends upflowing, completely untreated, into the Bay.

TfACHIMG METHODPart I (45 minutes)IntroductionDoUse the Southern San Francisco Bay Watershedposter as a visual aid for the followingintroduction. (Contact the Education Staff at theRefuge to obtain the free poster.)

Read• " A watershed is the entire area of land that

drains surface water, called runoff, into aspecific river, creek, streams, or other body ofwater.

• "The watersheds of creeks and rivers areseparated from each other by land forms ofhigher elevation called ridge lines ormountain divides.

• "Water falling on each side of the divide drainsinto different watersheds and collection sites."

"The body of water that the water flows intogives the name to the watershed. Let's use theGuadalupe Watershed as an example."

DoLocate Guadalupe River on the poster and traceits path from the headwaters high in themountains to the Bay. Next, find the ridge lineson both sides of the Guadalupe.

Read"Guadalupe Watershed would be the entire landarea between these two divides from whichwater drains and then flows into the GuadalupeRiver.

"From a bird' s-eye view, a watershed resembles anetwork similar to the branching pattern of atree. Let's relate the branching pattern of thewaterways to a tree.

"Waterways, such as creeks, begin at higherelevations near the ridge lines. Here, where theslope of the land is steep and water channels aresmall and narrow, water moves rapidly."

Ask? Which part of the tree would this be?(Twigs)

Read"As the slope of the land decreases, the watermoves more slowly. The width of the channelincreases as the smaller channels mergetogether."

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Ask? Which part of the tree would this be?(Branches)

Read"Eventually these channels come together andwater moves through an even wider channel."

Ask? Which part of the tree would this be? (Limb)

Read"This wider channel then empties into a largerbody of water such as a lake, bay, or ocean."

Ask? Which part of the tree would this be? (Thetrunk)

Read"Now that we have an understanding about howwater moves through various waterways and abasic definition of a watershed, lets see if we canincrease our understanding of what a watershedactually is."

Making the Watershed ModelRead"You are going to work with a partner and do anactivity where each of you is going to transforma piece of plain paper into a three-dimensionalmodel of a mountain range containing severalwatersheds."

DoHave students select partners. Then, demonstratethe first step in making the model:• Crumple a piece of paper into a ball inside

your fist. Then gently open the paper so that itsits on the table. Do NOT flatten the paper.

• With some imagination, your paper shouldlook like a miniature range of mountains andvalleys.

Read"I'm now going to pass out the paper so that youmay create your own 'mountain range.'"

rumplea piece of

\tfoa tell

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DoHelp students with the first step. Remind themnot to flatten the paper after they open it.

Before passing out the markers, model the nextstep:• Use a brown water-soluble marker to trace the

'ridges' of your 'mountains'.• Start at the tallest 'peaks' and follow the high

point down until it connects with anotherridge, or ends in a low spot.

Read"I'm now going to pass out brown markers sothat you may trace the ridges on your 'mountainrange.' It is important that you do this accurately.Remember to start at the tallest 'peaks' andfollow the high point down until it connects withanother ridge, or ends in a low spot."

Read[When they are finished]"Please put down the markers and watch the nextstep."

DoDemonstrate the next step in making the model:Use a blue water-soluble marker to trace thelowest points between all ridges. This is wherecreeks and rivers flow.

Ask? What happens at the lowest points where

creeks and rivers meet? (Lakes form)

DoDraw in your creeks, rivers, and freshwaterlakes. I'm going to pass out blue markers for youto create your waterways."

DoGive students time to work on their models.Monitor their progress and give help as needed.

Read[When they are finished]"Please put down the markers and watch the nextstep."

DoDemonstrate the next step in making the model:As outlined above, use a green permanent

marker to add vegetation alongside the waterways.These are riparian zones where vegetation can bequite dense.

Again, give students time to work on theirmodels and help as required.

Ask

? Where do people like to put their homes?On a lakeside? Near a creek? In themountains?

Read"Use the black permanent marker I'm passingout to place a small circle where you might liketo have your home built.

"When everyone has finished, partners need tocompare their models."

Ask

? How are the models similar and different?

? Do they remind you of real mountainranges?

Read"Think about what would happen if it rained onyour 'mountain landscape'. Where would thewater go?"

DoReview the term watershed: the entire area ofland around a waterway that drains runoff intothat specific waterway (river, creek, streams, orother body of water).

Read"Watersheds of creeks and rivers are separatedfrom each other by ridges. If the waterways arecreeks, on one side of the ridge, runoff ends upin one creek, and on the other side of the ridge,runoff ends up in another creek."

DoHave students make predictions about where thewater would flow in their model. Have partnerstake turns: one will watch while the other onepoints to and marks (with an orange water-soluble marker) specific spots on their models.Have the students predict where the rainwaterwill flow to from that point.

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Read"You will each make a prediction about where thewater will flow in your model. Take turns andmark one specific spot on each of your models,using the orange marker I'm going to pass out.Tell your partner where you think the rainwaterwill flow to from that point when it rains."

DoPass out the orange water-soluble markers.

Read"The spots you all pointed to and marked are partof each stream's watershed. Now it's time to see ifyour predictions are correct.

"After I demonstrate this next step, I'm going topass out spray bottles so that you can make itrain. Your partner will check your prediction tosee if you were right. "

DoBefore passing out the spray bottles, model thisstep:• Hold the spray bottle up above the model so

the water is not sprayed on to it but, instead,falls from above.

• Pass out the spray bottles.

Read"Take turns making it rain. Watch closely to seewhat happens. The water that flows across thesurface of the land is called runoff. Be patient. Itwill take several spurts of water before the runoffgets to the low spots and the creeks start to flow.To check your predictions, make sure to payclose attention to the orange spot and where itflows to."

DoExamine and share results. Have students puttheir names on their models using the blackpermanent marker. Set models in a sunny spot to

*»'

Part II (45 minutes)Understanding WatershedsDoUse the Southern San Francisco Bay Watershedposter as a visual aid to review.

Ask? What is a watershed? (A watershed is theentire area of land that drains surface water, calledrunoff, into a specific river, creek, streams, orother body of water. The watersheds of creeksand rivers are separated from each other by landforms of higher elevation called ridges. Waterfalling on each side of the ridge drains intodifferent watersheds and collection sites.)

DoPlace a brightly colored Post-It dot on the posternear a creek or river. Have a student come upand find the name of the creek or river.

Read"That's right! That is theand the dot is in the

River/CreekWatershed."

DoPlace another brightly colored Post-It dot on theposter near a different creek or river. Have astudent come up and find the name of the creek orriver.

Ask? What watershed is this dot in? (It will be thesame as the river/creek)

DoRepeat the procedure until everyone understandsthe concept. You may want to move the dotsfurther from the waterways to make it morechallenging as time goes on.

Learning Your Watershed AddressDoExplain that everyone lives in a watershed forsome body of water.

Pass out local maps. Have students locate theirschool on the map, find the nearest waterway anddetermine its name.

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Ask? What watershed is our school in? (watershed — NOTE: to determine definitelywhich watershed you are in may be difficult andis not essential to the success of this activity.)

Read"That is our watershed address!"

(Optional)To verify your watershed address consult atopographic map, and by reading elevation lines,try to determine which direction and into whichbody of water runoff from your school would flow.

A topographic map shows the shape andelevation of the land, waterways, and culturalfeatures such as roads, buildings and bridges.Brown contour lines show the elevation of ridges,hills, and other bumps and dips in the land. Theelevation is written in contours as the number offeet above sea level.

Runoff and Runoff PollutionRead"Now we are going to learn more about runoffand runoff pollution. I'd like you to get yourwatershed models and return to your seats. Youwill be working with the same partner today."

Ask? What's missing from our models? (Buildingsand roads)

Read"First we will be adding buildings to our watershedmodels. I will pass out black markers for you to drawsquares or circles to represent buildings. Be verycareful not to flatten your model."

DoPass out black water-soluble markers. Givestudents time to work on their models. Monitor theirprogress and give help as needed.

Read"Next we will be adding roads to our watershedmodels. I will pass out red markers for you to drawlines to connect the buildings. Again, be very carefulnot to flatten your model."

DoPass out red water-soluble markers.

Read"Finally we will be adding tiny bits of litter to ourwatershed models. I will pass out orange markersfor you to draw tiny dots near roads and buildings."

DoPass out orange water-soluble markers.

Once they are finished, have students makepredictions about where the water will flow in theirmodel.

Read"You will each make a prediction about where thewater will flow in your model. Tell your partnerwhere you think the rainwater will flow to from thebuildings and roads when it rains."

DoPass out the spray bottles.

Read"Take turns making it rain. Watch closely to seewhat happens. The water that flows across thesurface of the land is called runoff. Check yourpredictions, make sure to pay close attention tothe where the black, red, and orange flow to."

DoExamine and share results.

Ask? Where did the runoff go?? How did it make your waterways look?

Read"The black, red, and orange flowing into thewaterways is called runoff pollution. Take yourmodels back to where they were this morning andthen return to your seats."

Ask? Where do you think the water from ourschool yard and parking lot goes? (Usually tothe waterway previously named.)? How would it get there? (Most likely throughthe storm drain system)

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DoUse the Southern San Francisco Bay Watershedposter as a visual aid. Locate your school on theposter and place a Post-It dot there. Ask a studentto come up to the poster.

Read"Most of the watersheds in the Bay area flow intoa larger watershed called the San Francisco Baybasin. Put your finger on the poster where theschool is located. Using your finger, trace thepath of the (above) creek/river from our schooluntil it meets the Bay.

"Our water starts here at school, then goes intothe creek/river."

Ask? Where does the water from our school yardend up? (San Francisco Bay)? Which activities occurring here at schoolaffect, positively or negatively, the watermoving across the ground? (positive: sweeping thegutter, picking up litter, etc.; negative: oil in theparking lot, pet waste left in the school yard, etc.)

? Can these activities have an impact on thewaterways in our watershed? (Yes)? Will these activities effect the plants andanimals we saw on our field trip to theRefuge? (Yes, marshes at the Refuge get theirwater from the Bay.)

DoIf students believe their school groundsnegatively affect the water quality of theirwatershed and the Bay, they may want todevelop a plan to improve the area.

ExtensionsIdea for writing and speaking topics forLanguage Arts, p. 311.Students can explore:• ways their home is connected to the

watershed.• how many different actions they do in a

day that connects them to the watershed.Categorize these ideas into harmful orbeneficial.

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