Published on May 20, 2025 by Coralie Pinhal, Bilingual Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
In cities, we often feel far from rivers, streams or lakes. But no matter where you live, city, suburb or countryside, you are in a watershed!
Watersheds are an area of land within which all the water flows or drains to a single point, running downhill, to a shared destination like a creek, a river, a lake or wetland. Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes and can vary from millions of acres to a few acres that drain into a pond.
A healthy watershed provides drinking water, supplies water for agriculture and habitat for wildlife and plants. Our watersheds can even help us to adapt to a changing climate by cooling the air, mitigating water pollution and reducing stormwater runoff and flood damage. Let’s not forget that they also offer recreational opportunities. Anyone feel like canoeing or fishing?
Unfortunately, our waters are under threat from rising levels of pollution, from cigarette butts and pesticides to common household chemicals. At the same time, our growing population challenges the demand for freshwater resources. But the good news? We can take action!
Supporting a healthy watershed starts with small actions. Here are our 10 easy ways to protect your local watershed.
Reducing the amount of water you use every day will not only save you money, but it will also divert less water from our watersheds, keeping more in the natural systems. This could be as simple as turning off the water while you brush your teeth, taking showers over baths and fixing any leaks you may have in your house.
This might sound weird, but yes, pet waste does end up in our water streams. Stormwater runoffs may wash off animal waste into the nearest body of water. Waste from our beloved pets isn’t the same as waste from our wildlife friends — since they don’t eat natural diets, it consists of nutrients and harmful bacteria that can pollute our water.
Let’s not put the blame on our four-legged friends too fast; most of your average household waste also harms our watersheds, such as oil, detergents, disposable bags and cleaners. Be careful what you put down your drain and check your municipality’s waste management service to properly dispose of household items.
Leaves are natural and full of nutrients, so there can’t be anything bad about them, right? Well, when they get into the streets, they can clog and overflow storm drains. When leaves get into waterways, they release nutrients that can lead to algae blooms, which deplete oxygen and harm aquatic life. You can use fallen leaves as mulch in your garden or in your compost bin — if that is not an option for you, make sure to collect them so they don’t get into the streets or storm drains.
In winter, salt is used to improve safety on icy roads and sidewalks. But an excess amount of salt won’t melt the ice — instead it will likely end up in our water streams. Salt can harm aquatic species and negatively impact our drinking water, which can even lead to health issues. If an alternative to salt (such as sand) doesn’t work for you, be sure to leave a few inches of space between salt granules.
Time to give your car a bath? Skip your driveway and head to a car wash instead. It might seem like the more eco-friendly option, but soapy water from washing your car often flows right into our sewage system and eventually into our waterways. Commercial car washes use less water per vehicle, plus they treat their own wastewater before it reaches our streams. Get your vehicle squeaky clean the better way!
Why pay for water when it falls from the sky for free? With a rain barrel, you can collect the water falling from your roof instead of letting it run into the sewer, which means fewer pollutants flowing into storm drains and local waterways. Rain barrels work by connecting to the downspout. When it rains, it collects the water and stores it for later. You can use this water to keep your lawn and garden looking lush and green and reduce your water bills.
Not only beautiful to look at, a rain garden is also a landscape feature that collects stormwater and allows plants to absorb it through their root systems. Rain gardens help filter water before it flows into our fresh water sources. Native plants are always recommended for rain gardens — they are well adapted to the local environment, require less care, and are remarkably resilient and valuable to local ecosystems. For more information, check out this rain gardens guide.
Photo credit: Al Yoshiki
Growing cities increase the use of impermeable surfaces, such as asphalt or concrete, which prevent water from soaking into the ground and cause runoff, carrying any contaminants to the closest body of water. No, you don’t have to tear up your city street! Using permeable surfaces such as gravel, wood or grass for your driveways and deck helps rain soak into the ground and get filtered before reaching the water sources.
Features like green roofs help collect rainwater before it reaches the storm system and mitigate runoff, overflowing and flooding. A green roof also filters the water to reduce contaminants and provides insulation while reducing energy costs.
Photo credit: Fatima Ali
Learn more
We can all take action to protect our watersheds for a healthy future for us and for future generations. Get involved in your local watersheds and share these good practices with your community.
At Evergreen Brick Works, children and youth are exploring the magic of our urban watershed as part of our School Visit program. Students even get creative and experiment with different ways to protect our watershed through games and activities. Visit our website to learn more about the unique ways to connect students to local nature and inspire climate champions of the future.
