A Clear Water Stream
Flow in a headwater may be year-round, seasonal, or rain-dependent. Year-round streams perennial typically have water flowing in them year-round. Most of the water comes from smaller upstream waters or groundwater while runoff from rainfall or other precipitation is supplemental. Click on the map above to see the percentage of people in your county that gets some of their drinking water directly or indirectly from streams that are seasonal, rain-dependent or headwaters.
Seasonal streams intermittent flow during certain times of the year when smaller upstream waters are flowing and when groundwater provides enough water for stream flow. Runoff from rainfall or other precipitation supplements the flow of seasonal stream. During dry periods, seasonal streams may not have flowing surface water.
Larger seasonal streams are more common in dry areas. Rain-dependent streams ephemeral flow only after precipitation. Runoff from rainfall is the primary source of water for these streams. Like seasonal streams, they can be found anywhere but are most prevalent in arid areas. Despite their seasonal or temporary appearance on the landscape, seasonal and rain-dependent streams are critical to the health of river systems, are hydrologically and biologically connected to the downstream waters, and provide many of the same functions and values as rivers and larger streams.
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The arid Southwest and Midwest portions of the country have the highest number of seasonal and rain-dependent streams. For example, more than 95 percent of the streams in Arizona are seasonal. Channels are natural or artificial open areas that connect two bodies of water and may have water flowing in them continuously or periodically.
Arroyos are small, deep, flat-floored channels of a seasonal or rain-dependent stream, usually with nearly vertical banks cut into soil and sediment, rather than rock. Arroyos are most often found in the arid and semiarid regions of the United States. Sloughs are small, marshy stretches in a swale or shallow undrained depression, or slow-moving creeks or channels in a wetland. Streams, headwaters and streams that flow only part of the year provide many upstream and downstream benefits.
They protect against floods, filter pollutants, recycle potentially-harmful nutrients, and provide food and habitat for many types of fish. These streams also play a critical role in maintaining the quality and supply of our drinking water, ensure a continual flow of water to surface waters, and help recharge underground aquifers. Streams play a critical role in the quality and supply of our drinking water by ensuring a continuous flow of clean water to surface waters and helping recharge underground aquifers. In the continental United States, , miles of streams provide water for public drinking water systems.
Of that total, 58 percent more than , miles are headwater streams. Approximately million people— over one-third of the total U. Small streams, headwaters and streams that flow only part of the year protect against floods, filter pollutants, and provide food and habitat for many types of fish.
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Headwaters, seasonal streams and rain-dependent streams absorb significant amounts of rainwater, runoff and snowmelt before flooding. These streams have significant storage ability and play a critical role in protecting downstream communities by moderating flooding during heavy flow and by maintaining flow during dry weather. Water enters the groundwater through the stream bed. Even during dry periods, groundwater replenishes flow in the stream to feed downstream waterways.
In arid regions, water from rain-dependent and seasonal streams supports springs, wetlands and plants far from the recharge areas.
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A major source of water in rivers in the Southwest is from groundwater released into streams that only flow part of the year. Streams can reduce the pollution that flows to downstream rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters. I like to do some trail running, and just in the little handheld water bottle I carry, I've got a little packet with a couple of iodine tablets because I figure if I'm out somewhere in the mountains and there's a water source there, but I'm too far away to really refill my bottle and I need some water, that's some option.
It's easy to do.
That's going to take care of most things. So it's very simple. You can also carry water filters, which are very simple. They're very small to fit in your backpack. Those are nice because you just drop something in the water, you pump it, and it brings out water right into your bottle. And that stuff is great.
You can drink that stuff, and that's going to filter pretty much everything out that you would be concerned about. So as I'm weighing the risks versus maybe the need to drink water, are there other risks that are out there than Giardia? There's one called Cryptosporidium as well. That's a risk there. We think of that probably a little bit more with people who may have some immune system issues, certainly someone who might have HIV or are on chemotherapy.
Anything that's going to affect your immune system there, you have to take extra precautions.
But Giardia is typically the big one. That's often what we think about with really kind of the classic case of someone who drank some stream water, comes to the ER, sees their doctor a week later just saying that they're just having profuse, watery diarrhea. That's usually the big risk.
That's often what we think about. Maybe animal feces or a dead animal, some sort of source. And obviously, when you're in the mountains, you might see this crystal, clear spring and think, "This is just fine.
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Who knows what's right around the corner or in, you know, the small mountain lake that's then the source of that? You know, you never know what could be in there that could be a source of infection. So you can't trust it just based on how it looks. If you've got iodine tablets with you, you should be safe. Again, if you've got immune problems, reconsider. But for most of us, iodine tablets are going to make things just fine.
We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. That's the big thing? Is that caused by dead animals in the water?