Stark County Watersheds
What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land where all of the storm water drains to one body of water. Storm water is the flow of water resulting from precipitation, such as rainfall or snow melt.
The diagram below shows an example of how watersheds can be determined. All of the storm water that falls on the hillside that is facing you is part of one watershed, while all the storm water that falls on the far side of the hill is part of a different watershed.
Public Domain Image Obtained Courtesy of Lake County Stormwater Management Commission
Ohio has 2 main watersheds, the Lake Erie Watershed and the Ohio River Watershed. The majority of storm water in Stark County will flow to the Ohio River, but a small portion of the county, part of the Cuyahoga River Watershed, will flow to Lake Erie.
What Watershed Do You Live In?
The Ohio River and Lake Erie Watersheds can be broken down further, into many smaller watersheds.
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Stark County has 6 main watersheds, based on the main waterways in the county:
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Cuyahoga River Watershed
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Mahoning River Watershed
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Nimishillen Creek Watershed
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Sandy Creek Watershed
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Sugar Creek Watershed
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Tuscarawas River Watershed
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Stark County residents can locate their local watershed on the map below:
Protect Our Watersheds
There are many steps we can all take to protect our storm water and watersheds. Check out the videos below, produced by Stark Soil and Water Staff, to learn more about watersheds and storm water, and the steps we can all take to protect them.
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