-Consists of both surface and ground water - These systems are linked - There are many aspects to these systems including: - Lake: body of water in which light does not reach the bottom - Pond: body of water in which light does reach the bottom - Wetland: low lying area which is saturated with water most if not all of the time. There are many different types (marshes, bogs, sloughs, ect) - Stream: small, fast flowing body of water - River: large, fast flowing body of water

Water Underground -Recall that a large amount of water is located underground -When rain falls it can either run into rivers, ponds and other bodies of water (runoff) OR it can seep through the layers of dirt and rock until it reaches a solid layer called bedrock. -Once the water hits this layer it cannot move any further so it starts to back up. -People have found ways to access this water…but more about that later

Watershed Concept Watershed – the area of land that drains into a body of water, also called a drainage basin. Includes both land and water. Large watersheds have many small watersheds within them. Water is always on the move (even when its frozen in a glacier the glacier is always moving!) Any water that does not evaporate or sink into the ground after a rainfall is known as runoff.

The Continental Divide is a long mountain range dividing North America into different watersheds Headwaters are the upstream areas of a watershed compared to the outflow which is the end. Landforms determine the size, speed, and direction of a waterflow. Anything we put on the land or in the water, by accident or not, will affect our watershed. Paving, cutting down trees, and building dams are a few ways in which we alter the runoff pattern of a watershed. Geographic Information System (GIS) – used to store info and generate maps.

Big Horn Dam and Abraham Lake on the North Saskatchewan

Consequences of Run-off - the process by which soil is picked up by run-off and moved somewhere else -this depends on the amount of rain and the speed of the rainfall as well as the slope of the land and the amount of vegetation. -The steeper the slope of the land the faster the run-off will run down it and vise versa. This does not give much time for evaporation or absorption. -Similarly, the more rain you have and the faster it falls means more water just sitting around or running down the hill -Vegetation will slow down this water as well as act as a sponge to soak up the water.

can also occur in rivers -At the headwater of the river it is usually very steep, straight, and narrow -The river will eventually slow down, get curvy, and wide -This phenomena is called deposition -The volume, speed, and timing of the river all effect how it shapes the surrounding land. -This is also influenced by groundwater, rainfall, and snowmelt. -Changes from season to season and year to year.

Delta – the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet and the shape of a triangle. In hydrology, a delta is an area of sediments deposited by a river when it meets a larger body of water and slows down, depositing the sediments. Over time the sediments build up into solid ground. It is also called a fluvial fan because of its shape. Fluvial fan delta at Medicine Lake, Jasper. Taken by Kartik Rana, Sept on Grade 8 Jasper trip Where is this?

Monitoring River Flow -Streamflow is the amount of water discharged by a watershed -Studied by watershed managers -Why? They can determine if there will be floods our droughts and inform people on water quality. This way people can prepare themselves. -They measure water flow using cubic meters of water flow per second -They also measure and classify sediment: stationary, rolling, or suspended -Sediment is important because it is a major vector of toxins from pollution. -By studying the quantity, quality, and characteristics of the sediment they can determine the source, the impact and what should be done about it. Ex) Farming increases the amount of sediment and toxins in the water which can cause fish death and deformities, decrease water depth making it hard to navigate, and an increase in water temperature. -Did you know that the Peace River once was flowing at a rate of cubic meters/second which is fast enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in less than one second!

-A huge amount of sediment is lost at construction sites. -To help this situation de-sedimentation sites can be established and some rivers are dredged to remove the sediment that has built up. -Eroded rivers can also be restored more naturally by: -planting native plants on the riverbanks -reinforcing weak banks with logs or rip-rap in sever cases -“digger logs” are put in the force water down to deepen the channel -VERY IMOPORTANT! -even though they may be smelly and not always pretty they are vital for water quality and management -they reduce the rate of river flow, neutralize toxins, and act as a buffer for severe weather among other things

Groundwater -Very important, especially here in Alberta for both farmers and residents -Groundwater systems are similar to freshwater systems except they are not connected by channels but through porous underground rock and soil. -This ground is said to be permeable (compared to impermeable) -Very porous material gets saturated with water and forms a sort of underground river system called an aquifer. -Just like rivers above ground, the water in the aquifer is flowing just much slower -This layer of rock filled with water is what is known as the water table. -The level of the water table is subject to change just as the level of rivers is subject to change. -Rivers also depend on groundwater during dry seasons to keep them flowing. -Wells are made by drilling down to the water table. -Springs are essentially natural wells that occur when there is a dip in the land -They can be cold OR hot! Miette Hot spring,Jasper

Potential Problems -Too many wells or overusing them causes the aquifer to dry up -In dry areas, such as southern Alberta, residents, farmers, and industry rely on irrigation for all of their water unless they are located beside a river -Irrigation seems like a great idea and a great way of spreading out water HOWEVER all the water you are taking away from the original river could potentially dry it out -If you are irrigating more water out of a river than the aquifer can support or than rainfall can replace then the river dries out!

-When snow melts too fast or there is a large rainstorm the level of water in the river rises above its banks and spills out to the surrounding area. -This area now covered in water is called a floodplain. -Dams are essentially intentional floods! -Why would we do this? Sounds kind of ridiculous! -Hydropower, irrigation, industrial purposes. -Just as you would suspect there are HUGE consequences to this for the land before and after the dam. It causes a drought and a flood at the same time! -Irrigation can also cause a sort of flood -In order for things to grow in the ground they need airspace in the soil along with water -Too much water and the plants drown! -This happens when the soil is saturated.

-Just like any other water, groundwater will dissolve any soluble material -This material usually is not good, i.e. pollution, thus making the water contaminated. -Contaminants can come from a source that is small and defined such as a leaking gas or septic tank – Point Source (sewer pipe, smokestack, oil pipeline) -Contaminants can also come from a wide area such as a field sprayed with pesticides – Non-point Source (golf course, farms, industrial area) -Examples of Contaminants: oil, heavy metals, antifreeze, fertilizer, ect. -Hydrogeologists study groundwater and aquifers by drilling wells and analyzing the type and depth of each rock sample. -Using their data they can determine availability, quality, quantity and movement.