Yes! We all live in a watershed. The
USGS defines a watershed as an "area of land where all the water that falls in it and drains off of it goes into the same place."
All the water in the city basically ends up in Lake Superior, but do you know where it goes before then? Do you know the name of the stream nearest you? The rain that falls here at the wastewater treatment plant drain directly to Superior Bay of Lake Superior. If you live more inland, chances are your rain water flows into a storm drain connected to a stream before reaching the lake. Here are a couple of resources to determine the stream nearest you:
Streams of Superior (city website)
Lake Superior Streams (Info on streams from Duluth-Superior area)
We are constantly promoting "only rain down the drain" because storm sewers do NOT go through a treatment process. Do you have a storm drain by your home? Think about all the stuff that snowmelt and rain water flushes from your yard into the drain:
- Road salt
- Dog poop that never got picked up
- Lawn fertilizers and other chemicals
- Grass clippings and fallen leaves
- Dirty washwater from washing your car at home
All of these will find its way to pollute our lake. The map above is a bit hard to read, but all the boxed red text shows our impaired waters due to pollution.
Keeping Lake Superior Blue Is Up To YOU!!
