Imagined What it could do
Imagine a spring marked by a ring of tall stones, where no one may cut trees or dump waste in the hills above, because everyone knows the city's water begins here.
Real world What is a watershed?
A watershed is all the land that drains into a particular river, lake or spring. Rain falling anywhere in a watershed eventually flows to the same place. What happens on that land, such as forests, farms, roads or factories, affects the quality of the water downstream.
Bible Springs in the valleys
A psalm thanks God for the water that gives life to every creature: "He sends forth springs in the valleys; they flow between the mountains. They give drink to every beast of the field… The birds of the air nest beside the springs" (Psalm 104:10–12).
Real world Paying to protect nature
New York City gets most of its drinking water from reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains and Delaware River area, far upstate. Instead of building an enormous filtration plant, the city chose to protect the watershed: buying land, helping farmers prevent pollution, and upgrading local sewage systems. This has let it avoid building a filtration plant that would have cost billions of dollars. Forests and wetlands do much of the cleaning for free.
Art In this artwork
This illustration shows a ring of tall carved stones around a spring, with blue glass lamps, banners, trees and flowers.
Look closer
- Look at the tall stones around the water.
- What grows around the spring?
Think about it
- How might a city protect the source of its water?
- Where does your drinking water come from?
- Is it cheaper to protect nature or to fix problems later?
Key words
- Watershed
- All the land that drains into one river or lake.
- Reservoir
- A lake used to store water.
- Source water
- Water before it is treated.
Use it in class
- Build a model Roman aqueduct: a hands-on STEM activity (Project, grades 4-8)
- How to design a fantasy city: a worldbuilding guide (Guide, grades 6-12)
Sources
The real-world facts on this page are based on these sources:
- New York City Department of Environmental Protection, watershed protection program
- US Environmental Protection Agency, "Green Infrastructure": rain gardens and green roofs
- The Bible, Psalms
