SAN ANTONIO – When parts of Lake Erie turned green with algae cover, contaminating the drinking water last week, scientists believed farming was partly to blame.
Fertilizer drained into the lake from farms downstream, helping to enhance the bloom. Those farms were located on what is called a watershed.
While algae blooms are unlikely for our waterways, the term watershed remains a very important concept for those who live in Bexar County. As it turns out, almost everyone in San Antonio lives on a watershed in one way or another, with all paths leading to the city's most coveted waterway: the San Antonio River.
The San Antonio watershed spans some 4,200 square miles, meaning you can live miles and miles away from the river and still impact its water quality, especially when storms pass by.
"When the rain comes it picks up all the trash, all the fertilizers, all the pet wastes, all the bacteria, all the garbage that's been left," said San Antonio River Authority General Manager Suzanne Scott.
Trash that is left behind in the city eventually ends up in the San Antonio River and it's one of the reasons the river gets a bad rap when it comes to water quality. Trash has long piled up in the river, especially along the Mission Reach after heavy rainfall. The EPA even takes tabs on some of the streams that feed the river, placing them on what is called an "impaired list" because of high levels of pollutants.
"It's our goal to be able to get all of our streams off that impaired list so that we can be the largest city in the nation with the cleanest rivers," said Scott.
That, however, will take effort from everyone by cleaning up trash and litter and picking up after pets. Even oil in driveways can feed into waterways.