Watersheds In Winter printable pdf download

Where does the snow go?

Winter Activity, Time: 45 min. - 1 hr

Objective:

In this activity students calculate the land area of a watershed and determine how

much water will be produced when the snow melts.

Introduction:

A watershed is the land area which drains into a river system. When snow melts in the

spring, the meltwater enters the river system and if the water volume entering is

greater than the capacity of the river a flooding event will occur. New developments

must provide storage for the meltwater and stormwater in a stormwater management

pond. This pond collects rain and meltwater from the storm sewers and then releases

the water slowly to a natural watercourse. The pooling of the water in the pond

allows the large particles of sediment in the water to settle out to the bottom of the

pond thereby improving water quality.

Water from school yards and parking lots drain into the storm sewers around schools

and eventually the water enters the local river system.

Calculating the amount of water in a subwatershed

Teachers/leaders need to define a local catchment or subwatershed to be used for

the activity. This can be as small as a schoolyard or as big as a watershed. You need

to be able to calculate the land area of the selected area. This can be done using a

map of the area, like the GIS maps for each school on the Peel Water Story Web site.

One can also use direct measurement in the field. If this land area drains to a

stormwater management pond, students can also calculate how much water the pond

can hold.

Materials:

• plastic snow measuring tube

• a piece of cardboard

• a data sheet (attached)

Procedure:

1. Divide the students into groups. Each group receives a plastic snow measuring tube,

a piece of cardboard, and a data sheet.

2. The tube is used to first measure the snow depth. Each group needs to find an

untrampled area of snow within the selected area. Students gently push the open end

of the tube into the snow perpendicular to the ground. When the tube reaches the

ground, have the students dig down to the ground beside the tube and carefully cover

the open end of the tube without loosing any snow. If done carefully the tube will

Peel Water Story, Public Works Department, the Regional Municipality of Peel

Watersheds In Winter