Urban Runoff and the Fox River

The Fox River was ranked as the seventh most endangered river in America in 1999. This was due to its many threats, including urban runoff. Although the Fox has since been taken off the most endangered list, urban runoff still poses a real threat to the river's health.

Urban runoff is caused by many things. Fertilizer put on people's lawns, pesticides on a farmer's field, and garbage left lying on the ground can all end up in the river. A carelessly tossed cigarette or litter will eventually end up in the Fox as well. People might be polluting the river 100 miles away through the process of urban runoff.

This is how urban runoff works. Let's say some one dropped some garbage on the ground 15 miles away from the Fox River. Eventually it will rain, carrying the garbage downhill, and closer to the Fox River. Depending on the conditions, this process could take years, or maybe just a severe thunderstorm.

Something needs to be done to keep the river's condition from becoming worse. If nothing is done to save the Fox River, there might not be any river left to save. If environmentalists do not take action, people will most likely spray more deadly chemicals, spread more fertilizer, and carelessly dispose of more garbage near the Fox River, unaware of the deadly consequences of their actions.

The pollution will also affect the ecosystems in, near, or maybe even far away from the Fox River. An ecosystem is where an organism depends on other organisms and non-living things in a given area. This means if a type of fish dies from the pollutants in the Fox River, organisms that eat that fish will starve until there are only a few of them left, also. This creates a chain reaction inflicting death on more and more species.

There are many ways to help slow or even stop urban runoff. The government could limit the amount and types of chemicals to be sprayed on a field. People could volunteer to help pick up garbage in the watershed. If people did these things, the threat of urban runoff would become less severe, and the Fox River will become less polluted.

The process of making the Fox River less polluted will take many years, but if everyone pledged an hour of work a year to improve the Fox River's condition, it could happen. There are many people who want the Fox River to be in a better condition but they don't want to put any effort into it. If you are concerned about the Fox River, then you need to become one of those people and help.

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