The Muddy Creek Story
A Watershed is the land that the waters flow over or through on their way to a creek, river or a standing body of water. Waters, for the most part, start out clear and unpolluted when they come out of a spring or fall from above. But as the waters flow over and through the watershed, they are changed. The waters pick up sediment, chemicals, excess nutrients and pollutions that are on, or in, the watershed. As the waters attempt to cleanse the watershed they become the urine of the watershed. As we study the waters that flow through a watershed we soon realize that in reality, we are studying the land. When we step out in the creek to study the land, we soon realize that we are studying the practices used in the watershed. As we study the practices, we find that we are studying the people who implemented these practices.
I started studying water in the early 1970�s on the lakes, rivers and streams of Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. In 1999 I renewed my knowledge of water at an IOWATER class. Since 1999 I have attended over 30 hours of IOWATER training, attended every water conference that I could and spent many hours of self-study. But never once did I have a chance to take a course in Psychology!
Maybe that is why I am still learning from the waters. The story that follows is what the waters that flow down Muddy Creek have taught me.
Dave Ratliff
Project Leader, IOWATER Trained Volunteer