Clean, healthy waters are important to everyone. Waters of Illinois are needed for drinking, growing food, washing, swimming, fishing, and supporting amazingly diverse wildlife. Our overwhelming, but under-appreciated, dependence on clean water mandates our careful use and protection of our rivers.
We all live in a watershed. A watershed is an area of land that drains into a particular river or stream. So, if you were to go outside and pour your coffee onto the ground, where would it flow? Into a storm drain? Then where? Regardless of where you live, everything that flows from your yard, business, or farm ends up in a nearby stream. Literally thousands of pollutants find their way into Illinois rivers.
The things we do around our homes and communities every day makes a difference on the quality of our rivers because we all live in a watershed.