Water Resources
The Catskills: A Sense of Place - Module I

The human body is about 70 % water, and water is essential to the processes of life. Even though most of the Earth's surface is covered with water, only a fraction of one percent is fit for human consumption. One focus of this program is to provide youth with information that will enable them to make informed decisions about regional resources. There are dozens of reasons why we should be concerned with water quality in the Catskills, not just for the sake of New York City's water supply. The water that the city drinks is the water upstate residents drink. Just like the 1.2 billion gallons of water per day that travel from the Catskill watersheds downhill to New York City, the water from your house, farm, business, or school has moved on to someone else's before you realize it. Many years ago, most people knew of the term watershed, but did not know much more about it than that. Today, with concern for the well-being of the environment on the rise, watershed is a commonplace word. Everywhere we stand, sit, or sleep is inside a watershed, and every action that humans take has an effect on it. Adverse actions fifty miles upstream from a drinking water supply will have detrimental effects downstream. Ask yourself who or what is upstream and downstream from you.

A component of this program, appropriately called Streamwatch, gives youth a chance to enjoy water in a more hands-on way than otherwise possible. These students get to enjoy (and monitor) the same Catskills streams that fly-fisherman have been bragging about for more than a century. One thing we have discovered while implementing the Streamwatch program is that kids enjoy water for many different reasons than adults do, but both age groups rely on clean, pure water to have their fun. These streams that most of us take for granted each day when we pass over or drive along them are some of the purest in the world. Let's help preserve the water quality and be proud of it.

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