topside
Volume 114, Issue 4
Page 8
Marine Safety
Rivers: Many Call Them 'Home'
34,000 cubic miles of fresh water reaches the sea each year travelling downhill by
way of channels surrounded by floodplains. This incredible system drains seventy
percent of the surface of the earth. All of that water also contains sediments which
head downstream winding-up being deposited on the aforementioned floodplains.
Rivers are called "home" by a vast array of flora, fauna, fish, amphibians and
reptiles not to mention their respective predators. More than half of our birds and
80% of the western United States' wildlife are found on and around rivers
(American Rivers Online. Rivers and Animals That Call Them Home.
http://www.amrivers.org/template2.asp?cat=85&page=85&id=1230&filter=0).
Gregg Bollinger
Food for those species calling the rivers home mainly come from the land instead
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Marine Safety
of the river itself. Decaying plants known as detritus, are carried into rivers from
their source(s) on land by the force of runoff. The first beneficiary of this "feast" is
plankton which are in turn, consumed by fish, crustaceans, and insects which, in turn, serve as food for trout,
salmon, large and smallmouth bass, striped bass, catfish, and crayfish; all of which are themselves consumed,
sometimes by you and I.
With that established, let's bring up the "P" word: pollution. Runoff that contains pollutants including, but not
limited to, chemicals will harm the food web found in our rivers. Runoff that is due to overdevelopment and
deforestation also will harm the delicate balance that the rivers depend upon. The EPA informs us that there are
some 160 million people in the U.S. whose drinking water comes from rivers, and/or lakes and reservoirs meaning
that when pesticides and animal waste enters rivers and oil, grease, and chemicals find their way into rivers via
street and parking lot storm drains, the quality of their water is seriously threatened. The Auxiliary sometimes
receives questions such as "Why are you participating in a road clean-up? The river is miles from here!" The
answer, of course, is that the drains along a country road and/or city street lead ultimately to the river and well
beyond so we need to do our part in keeping roads and streets as clear of trash as we can. By the way, we also do
cleanups of rivers and streams, sometimes retrieving very unusual items that have been carelessly permitted to
end-up in those waterways!
One last thought. Yes, rivers are home to animals, fish, and birds, but what about people? The obvious answer is
that yes, there are many towns and cities along our rivers, but did you know that due to the billions of tons of silt
and sediment deposited downstream by the Mississippi River over time, caused formation of the Mississippi Delta,
which is where the "Crescent City," New Orleans sprang up? Yes, many do call the river "home."
Gregg R. Bollinger, Th.D
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