What Is a Watershed

Watershed IllustrationA watershed is the area of land that drains surface water to a common basin such as a stream, river, lake or reservoir. Watersheds vary in size depending upon natural features of the land the water flows across (illustration courtesy of the Arkansas Watershed Advisory Group).

The three watersheds that supply raw water to the City of Columbus are Big Walnut Creek, the Upper Scioto River and Alum Creek. View a map of the Upper Scioto Watershed(PDF, 634KB) , which includes the Big Walnut Creek (displayed in dark green), the Upper Scioto (light green) and Alum Creek (yellow).

Keep it Clean

Keep it Clean

Simple steps you can take at home to prevent water pollution.

Take a Tour

take a self-guided tour

Signage installed at Griggs, O'Shaughnessy & Hoover Reservoirs invites park visitors to take a self-guided tour along the shoreline & learn about the green infrastructure installed there.

Rain gardens, porous pavement & more can improve the quality of storm water entering the reservoirs that supply our drinking water.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Protect our Waterways

Protect our Waterways
Illustration Courtesy of NCDENR

Back to top