Kurtz 1 Lauren Kurtz Prof Doug Lipton Prof Doug Parker TA Dennis Guignet AREC200 0103 11 February 2011 Severn Watershed Watershed Size Geographic Features Rainfall and Hydrologic Patterns When researching the Severn Watershed I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of citizen based groups that work in this particular area Because all of these groups concentrate on various aspects of the Severn it is pleasing to know that many people care dearly about the overall wellbeing of this watershed With nearly thirty groups working on it I am certain that it both needs help and shows advancements often This interests me greatly because it proves to be a work in progress Although I am not a Maryland resident this watershed has definitely captured my attention Of the Severn s eighty one square mile watershed area sixty nine square miles of it is land therefore around fifteen to twenty percent of the Severn watershed is actually water The other eight five percent of the watershed is comprised of many small freshwater streams that form a network flowing into the Severn County Connections These streams may conclude as a spring where groundwater flows to the surface The proper term for these makeshift springs is a branch or a run The southern border of the watershed is reasonably expansive as some of the branches run nearly a mile long The northern side of the Severn watershed drops off abruptly so the tiny streams rarely receive notice Development along the watershed has led to many of the Kurtz 2 original runs to getting replaced by stormwater arrangements of varying quality County Connections In its ordinary state most of the rainfall soaks into the ground where plants utilize it for growth and food On the other hand the rainfall descends into saturated layers of soil taking on the term groundwater This groundwater flows consistently toward the Bay typically through freshwater streams There are wells in the area that tap this groundwater and become a prominent source of drinking water within the Severn area Another source of filtration is the flow of water through soil that naturally filters and purifies it throughout a physical and microbiological process Unfortunately groundwater can easily become contaminated with nitrogen nutrients or toxic chemicals during this process Performance ChesapeakeStat On the other hand runoff water cannot receive this same filtration from soil so it carries its sediment contaminants and nutrients with it through streams and tidewater Manmade development renovates certain surfaces from pervious to impervious increasing runoff at the expense of groundwater recharge Tutorial ChesapeakeStat As the Chesapeake Bay Program explains The quality of a watershed is the major determinant of the water quality of its receiving waters in our case the tidal Severn For developed areas with impervious surfaces unfiltered nutrients and toxins will flow into streams and into the tidal Severn Therefore the leftover rainfall or rainfall that arrives at streams or tidewater by flowing over the surface of land is termed runoff These hydrologic patterns of rainfall groundwater and runoff are essential parts of the Severn watershed These are the natural patterns of the watershed and the water movements in relation to land Kurtz 3 The Severn watershed size geographic features rainfall and hydrologic patterns are some of the most significant parts of the innate cycles that occur in and around the watershed Throughout the years these patterns have shifted and will continue to change however it is important that we are always aware of their existence Kurtz 4 Works Cited County Connections Severn Watershed Anne Arundel County Maryland Web 9 Feb 2011 http www aacounty org SevernRiver watershed cfm Data Tools Bay Resource Library Chesapeake Bay Program Chesapeake Bay Program A Watershed Partnership Web 8 Feb 2011 http www chesapeakebay net dataandtools aspx menuitem 14872 Performance ChesapeakeStat Home ChesapeakeStat Web 8 Feb 2011 http stat chesapeakebay net q node 59 quicktabs 3 3 Tutorial ChesapeakeStat Home ChesapeakeStat Web 9 Feb 2011 http stat chesapeakebay net q node 6