Students examine water issues

Did you know dropping motor oil down street drains or letting garden pesticides run to the curb can harm local watersheds?

May is "Watershed Awareness Month," and the Glenn County Resource Conservation District is spreading the word about protecting the county's lakes, river, creeks and streams.

Conservation planner Claudia Street said the RCD attended a "Pioneer Day" this week for Murdock School fourth-graders at the Mudd Ranch in Clarks Valley in the Willows area.

Staff from here and the Colusa County RCD had a booth there with a watershed model demonstrating the effects of different activities, she said.

She estimated 128 students were at the event, Street said.

Street also has visited the FFA classes at Orland, Willows and Hamilton High schools and talked about it along with the upcoming Glenn County Certified Farmers Market.

"We are planning to have a booth at the market containing information on water issues," Street said.

Wise water usage and disposal of household products are emphasized for city households, she said.

The RCD also works with farmers and ranchers to improve their conservation methods, but Street said most of them already do steps to keep pesticides and chemicals from flowing off their properties.

She added a lot of ranchers are putting in watering facilities for their livestock instead of allowing them to drink from streams and creeks.

"This reduces erosion and leaves vegetation in the creek which filters out contaminants," Street said.

She said a watershed is defined as "the land area that drains into a particular lake, river or ocean," and they exist throughout world.

Glenn County has 13 major watersheds, she said. They include the Eel River and Upper Eel, Upper Stony, Middle Fork Stony, Lower Stony, Black Butte, Nye Creek, Logan Creek, Stone Corral Creek, Colusa Basin, Butte Creek and the Sacramento Lower Thomes watersheds.

Keeping these areas healthy and pollution free is vital to providing clean water sources for a variety of agricultural, recreational and industrial uses along with drinking water.

For more information, call 934-4601, ext. 126.