What is a watershed? 

A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place. John Wesley Powell, scientist geographer, put it best when he said that a watershed is:

“That area of land, a bounded hydrologic system, within which all living things are inextricably linked by their common water course and where, as humans settled, simple logic demanded that they become part of a community.”

Watersheds come in all shapes and sizes. They cross county, state, and national boundaries. In the continental US, there are 2,110 watersheds; including Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, there are 2,267 watersheds.

This section provides information and links referring to real-time information, a general overview of the Ohio River Basin Regional Watershed, and a link to all the Regional watersheds.

Real-Time Information - Find the latest real time stream flow and ground water information in your river watershed.

Ohio River Basin Regional Watershed -The watershed drainage area of the Ohio River Basin, excluding the Tennessee River Basin, includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Regional Watersheds – Learn about the 21 Regional Watersheds in the United States.