Rowena Rae - Upstream, Downstream: Exploring Watershed Connections

Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina.

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Text copyright Rowena Rae 2021

Published in Canada and the United States in 2021 by Orca Book Publishers.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Upstream, downstream : exploring watershed connections / Rowena Rae.

Names: Rae, Rowena, author.

Series: Orca footprints ; 21.

Description: Series statement: Orca footprints ; 21 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210095881 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210095903 | isbn 9781459823921 (hardcover) | isbn 9781459823938 ( pdf ) | isbn 9781459823945 ( epub )

Subjects: lcsh : WatershedsJuvenile literature. | lcsh : Watershed hydrologyJuvenile literature.

Classification: lcc gb980 .r34 2021 | ddc j551.48dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020951476

Summary: Part of the nonfiction Orca Footprints series for middle-grade readers, this book examines our relationships with watersheds and what we need to do to protect them for future generations.

Orca Book Publishers is committed to reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources in the making of our books. We make every effort to use materials that support a sustainable future.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at the time of publication. The author and publisher do not assume any liability for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

Front cover photos by susan.k./Getty Images and Francesco Bergamaschi/Getty Images.

Back cover photos by Christine Phillips/Getty Images, hadynyah/Getty Images and fenkep/Getty Images.

Design by Teresa Bubela

Layout by Dahlia Yuen

Edited by Kirstie Hudson

Printed and bound in China.

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A sk me for my mailing address, and Ill give you a house number and street name, a city, province and country. Ask me for my watershed address, and Ill tell you Douglas Creek, Pacific Ocean. This little creek drains 1,295 acres (524 hectares) of land in my neighborhood and then flows straight into the Pacific Ocean.

Me at Douglas Creek, near my home.

Travis Commandeur

I havent always had such a straightforward watershed address. Years ago I lived in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, and had this address: Rideau River, Ottawa River, St. Lawrence River, Atlantic Ocean.

Whats your watershed address? If you shrug your shoulders in answer, you arent alone! Many people have no idea what their watershed address is, but its really a good thing to know. Heres why:

First, where does your drinking water come from? From a watershed near you. Where does your homes gray water (washing water) and black water (toilet water) end up? In a watershed near you!

Second, what happens when a forest gets cut down to build houses or when a road gets paved? It changes the land in a watershed. A watershed isnt just the water in an areaits all the land and everything on the land too. How the land is used can make a big difference to the health of a watershed. And a watersheds health can translate into how much water people and animals have for daily living and how clean that water is.

Children enjoying a swim in an Indonesian river.

ti-ja/Getty Images

Third, watersheds the world over are stressed out, thanks mainly to us humans. Weve built huge cities, dammed and diverted rivers, cut down vast forests, drained wetlands to create farmland and even meddled with the planets climate. Each of these actions, and lots of others, has an effect on one or more watersheds and all the animals, plants and people that live there.

Once I knew I had a watershed address, I wanted to learn more about whats happening in watersheds near and far. There are amazing things going on, some worrying, some inspiring. Interested in finding out more? Come for a walk with me through the worlds watersheds.

Chapter One

A Watery World

Beginning with Basics

W hat are the two most basic things people need to survive? Water to drink and food to eat. Where do water and food come from? (I mean before they get to your kitchen tap and refrigerator.)

Water comes from lakes, rivers and streams and from precipitation rain, snow and fog. Food also comes from lakes, rivers and streams, as well as from the ocean and the land. Together, water and land make up watersheds.

The lower Fraser River near its mouth, seen from an airplane. Rowena Rae

My Watery World

I grew up in Vancouver, BC, a city with lots of natural beautysnowcapped mountains, beaches, forests and the Fraser River. This river drains such a large area of land that the entire country of Romania could fit inside its watershed! Ive been lucky to see many parts of this long river, from its clear, chattering headwaters 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) inland to its wide, swiftly moving middle to its many-fingered delta and milky-brown exit to the sea. One of my favorite views of the Fraser River is from on high. Im reminded of the rivers grandeur and also of the many ways that people affect it by building and farming nearby, navigating boats and changing the look of the shoreline.

The water part of the word watershed is obvious. The shed part comes from an Old English word meaning to divide or separate. It refers to a high point of land where a river startsits headwaters or source . At this point the hills and mountains form a ridge that guides precipitation in a certain direction as it begins to tumble downhill. All the water falling on one side of the ridge goes one way, and all the water falling on the other side goes the other way. The watershed is all the land on one side of the ridge plus all the water in and on that land. Think of the land as a bowl or basin catching the falling or melting precipitation, so another term for a watershed is catchment basin .