Lake Erie Basin consists of
Lake Erie and surrounding
watersheds, which are typically named after the river, creek, or stream that provides drainage into the lake. The watersheds are located in the states of
Indiana,
Michigan,
New York,
Ohio, and
Pennsylvania in the
United States, and in the province of
Ontario in
Canada. The basin is part of the
Great Lakes Basin and
Saint Lawrence River Watershed, which feeds into the
Atlantic Ocean. 80% of the lake's water flows in from the
Detroit River, with only 9% coming from all of the remaining watersheds combined. (The remainder (11%) is derived from direct precipitation into the lake.) A
littoral zone serves as the interface between land and lake, being that portion of the basin where the lake is less than 15 feet (4.6 m) in depth.[1]
Agricultural, industrial, and residential land use are the primary nonpoint sources of
pollution in the Lake Erie Basin. National and state environmental agencies, as well as interstate and binational cooperative efforts, focus on water quality, especially since the freshwater lake is used extensively for drinking water, recreation, and the fishing industry. Habitat and flow alteration cause
siltation and
sedimentation issues which can require
dredging. Fertilizer runoff from farms and residences and unplanned releases from
sewage treatment plants promote
eutrophication through nutrient and organic enrichment, bacterial contamination, and the appearance of ammonium hydroxide. Industrial land use adds metals that flow into the basin and cause sediment contamination.[2]
See Map of Ohio's Principal Streams and Drainage Areas, including a small but important extension of waterway mapping across Ohio's Lake Erie Basin borders into the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
See Map of Ohio's Principal Streams and Drainage Areas, including a small but important extension of waterway mapping across Ohio's Lake Erie Basin borders into the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania
See Map of Ohio's Principal Streams and Drainage Areas, including a small but important extension of waterway mapping across Ohio's Lake Erie Basin borders into the states of Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania