Web-Based Watershed Tools for the Classroom: A Pilot 319 Project for Grades 4-8 in Southwest and Northeast

Water is costly to purify and transport, impossible to substitute- and essential to food production, economic development, plant and animal life. In the United States over 250 million people depend on rivers, lakes, streams and ground water supplies for their drinking water. Approximately 179 water bodies are listed on Missouri’s 1998 Final 303 (d) List for Impaired Waters and require immediate restoration to designated uses. Many streams suffer from low water volume, organic enrichment, siltation and polluted runoff. There is need to address surface runoff, groundwater, sediment, in-stream nutrients, wildlife and fish populations from the perspectives of researchers, state and federal conservationists, local citizen-based watershed groups, natural resource interest groups, landowners, farmers, young children plus local officials. The Internet is increasingly playing a vital role by providing access to watershed information. MoWIN proposed to develop and disseminate interactive watershed information web sites for use in schools (grades 4-8) in five Missouri watersheds. Web site topics include history, agricultural activities and statistics, human impact on th