Connecticut Water Trails Program

Watersheds

Three Primary Functions Of A Watershed

It captures water from the atmosphere. Water infiltrates the soil and percolates downward. Several factors affect the infiltration rate, including soil type, topography, climate, and vegetative cover. Percolation is also aided by the activity of burrowing animals, insects, and earthworms.

It stores rainwater once it filters through the soil. Once the watershed's soils are saturated, water will either percolate deeper, or run off the surface. This can result in freshwater aquifers and springs. The type and amount of vegetation, and the plant community structure, greatly affects the storage capacity of a watershed. The root mass associated with healthy vegetative cover keeps soil more permeable and allows the moisture to percolate deep into the soil for storage. Vegetation in the riparian zone (the biologically distinctive area that borders the waterfront and acts as a protective buffer between land and water) affects both the quantity and quality of water moving through the soil.

Water moves through the soil and is ultimately released into coulees, bayous, and the ocean. Slow release rates are preferable to rapid release rates, which result in short and severe peaks in stream flow. Storm events which generate large amounts of run-off can lead to flooding, soil erosion and siltation of waterways.

Ultimately, the moisture will return to the atmosphere by way of evaporation. The hydrologic cycle (the capture, storage, release, and eventual evaporation of water) forms the basis of watershed function.

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