Watersheds
Additional Information
A watershed is the land area that drains rain and snow into a shared outlet: like a creek, river, or wetland. Everything that happens on the land within a watershed affects the water downstream.
Here in DeKalb County, we have many watersheds to take care of. Find what watershed you live in on our interactive watershed map.
Our office in Sycamore is in the South Branch Kishwaukee River watershed. The River Runner program below shows the path the water we use takes to reach the ocean, totaling 2634 km of travel down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Map of all the HUC - 12 Subwatersheds in DeKalb County
HUC? What the Heck!
What does HUC mean in terms of watersheds?
What is a Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)?
HUC stands for Hydrologic Unit Code, a standardized system used to identify and classify watersheds across the United States. Each hydrologic unit is a land area that drains water to a specific point on a stream or river—typically called a drainage area or watershed.
These units are organized using a numerical code ranging from 2 to 12 digits, depending on the level of classification. The more digits in the code, the smaller and more specific the watershed.
How is a Hydrologic Unit Defined?
A hydrologic unit is determined by starting at an outlet point (usually where a stream ends or joins a larger river) and following the highest elevation points—called ridge lines—that separate one drainage area from another. These boundaries form the edges of the watershed.
- dep.wv.gov
USGS.gov
