What is a Watershed?

A watershed is an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean. The watershed includes both the streams, rivers, and ditches that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains. The watershed represents an area where all the water is drained to a single point. Each watershed is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a geographical barrier such as a ridge, hill or mountain. Sometimes political boundaries influence watershed boundaries such as when man-made efforts transport water out of one watershed into another.

Why is the work of BMW important to me?

BMW is working to keep the water in our watershed clean.  One out of every two citizens in Colorado lives within the Barr Lake – Milton Reservoir Watershed (BMW), but most don’t know it. Because so many Coloradans live in the BMW, water resources in the watershed are very familiar to us, because we use them everyday, whether we’re drinking water from our tap, taking a shower, washing dishes, flushing our toilet, eating locally grown food, or enjoying wildlife near our homes. Without the water in the BMW remaining clean, the lifestyle in the Denver metro area would be very different from what we currently enjoy.