Impervious Surfaces
An impervious surface is any ground cover such as a building, sidewalk, road, or parking lot that does not allow rainfall to soak into the ground. Impervious surfaces provide places for pollutants to accumulate and then wash off into the water in higher concentrations. In areas with lots of impervious surfaces, rainwater flows across the surface, picking up pollutants and depositing them in the nearest body of water.
If water cannot seep into the ground, the amount and intensity
of runoff increases. This causes fluctuating stream flow, stream bank erosion,
and flooding. Vegetated areas, meadows, and wetlands allow rainfall to be
slowly absorbed into the ground.
The Quality of Water Flowing From Different Land Uses
Everyone contributes to pollution through the normal ways we live and work each day. We all need to understand how activities on the land create water pollution. How we use and manage our land are the most important factors in determining water quality in the Little River Watershed. The types of pollution associated with each land use are described on the land use practices page.
Habitat Alteration
Not all organisms live in the same type of environment.
A crayfish or a minnow might live in a shallow, gravel-bottom pool while
a larger fish, such as a bass, might live in a deeper pool with fallen tree
limbs and other places to hide.
Physical alterations such as channel straightening
or dredging dramatically change a stream environment affecting the wildlife
that lives there. These changes can reduce abundance or totally eliminate
groups of animals. Habitat alteration can cause increased stream bank erosion
and downstream flooding.
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