The United States is home to over three and a half million miles of streams and river habitats. These streams and rivers once were flourishing ecosystems of prestien water, boasting healthy populations of native fish, and plant life. In the United States, streams provide some of the most prized fishing locations for many different species. Today however, as cause from human development, there has been a major negative impact on the health of these cherished waterways. A large number of rivers and streams have lost prized game fish such as salmon and steelhead because of dams. Many other streams are also now suffering from pollution, spread of invasive species, and unnatural flow rates.
The ecosystem inside of a stream is extremely fragile …show more content…
As the population continues to grow in the south west, water is becoming more scarce. Instead of people changing how they use their water, they instead just dig deeper to find it, which in turn is lowering the water table to a dangerous level for many ecosystems. The Colorado River, one of the most renoud rivers in the United States is a great example of wasteful use of water. This 1,450 mile long river is best known for being the heart blood of the Grand Canyon pumping 84,750 gallons of water through the canyon every second. But what is not known about this mighty river is that none of its water ever flows into the ocean. Shortly after passing through the water wasting city of Las Vegas, the Colorado River shrinks to half its size. Further along, the river is drained to a mere trickle from wasteful irrigation systems, leaving the last 100 miles of what used to be a thriving marshland now a dry bed of sand.
Natural waterways are places that are cherished by many people and are in need of help. Protecting these rivers and streams is not a matter of convincing people that they are important, but more about making them aware of the dangers that waterways face. If action is not taken to prevent the loss of our natural water systems then we could risk the collapse of whole ecosystems that rely on the purity of our
The ecosystem inside of a stream is extremely fragile …show more content…
As the population continues to grow in the south west, water is becoming more scarce. Instead of people changing how they use their water, they instead just dig deeper to find it, which in turn is lowering the water table to a dangerous level for many ecosystems. The Colorado River, one of the most renoud rivers in the United States is a great example of wasteful use of water. This 1,450 mile long river is best known for being the heart blood of the Grand Canyon pumping 84,750 gallons of water through the canyon every second. But what is not known about this mighty river is that none of its water ever flows into the ocean. Shortly after passing through the water wasting city of Las Vegas, the Colorado River shrinks to half its size. Further along, the river is drained to a mere trickle from wasteful irrigation systems, leaving the last 100 miles of what used to be a thriving marshland now a dry bed of sand.
Natural waterways are places that are cherished by many people and are in need of help. Protecting these rivers and streams is not a matter of convincing people that they are important, but more about making them aware of the dangers that waterways face. If action is not taken to prevent the loss of our natural water systems then we could risk the collapse of whole ecosystems that rely on the purity of our