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Programs < Alcovy Greenway Program < What Is Your Watershed Address?
By Kathy Sasser
A watershed is the entire area drained by a river or stream. You can think of a watershed as a great basin, with the river running at the bottom and the edges being the sides of hills. A raindrop that falls on one side of a hill will drain into the stream while a drop that falls onto the other side (outside the basin) will find its way into another. Just as your street address tells what street you live on, your watershed address tells what watershed you live in. If you know your watershed address, you know which creek or river all of the rain that hits your house and yard drains into no matter how far away you are. Everything that happens in the watershed affects that body of water, so everything you do at home in your watershed will affect your creek or river. What a responsibility! Newton County is home to parts of five large watersheds, each described below. Find your home on the map below and read the color-coded description of your watershed. Now you know your watershed address! Next time you cross your river or creek you can know that your efforts have made it better and cleaner!
The South River Watershed is simple. It contains all of Newton County west of Highway 162.
The Yellow River Watershed is bordered by Highway 162 on the west. The eastern boundary falls along Highway 81 until it meets with Highway 142, then follows Highway 142 until the Covington city limits. The watershed edge falls almost straight south through Covington to the point where Highway 36 intersects the city limit. It then follows Highway 36 until Jackson Lake. The Yellow River Watershed contains Porterdale and the western three-quarters of Covington.
The Alcovy River Watershed shares its complicated western boundary with the Yellow River Watershed’s eastern edge. The Alcovy River Watershed’s eastern edge is defined by Highway 11 until it meets Interstate 20. It then follows Cedar Lane, then Dixie Road until it crosses Poplar Hill Road. At that point, it falls almost straight down between the Alcovy River and Bear Creek until it meets Jackson Lake at the point between where the two waterways empty into the lake. It contains the eastern quarter of Covington.
The Bear Creek Watershed begins below Interstate 20 at about Hub Junction. It is bordered by Highway 11 in the east and follows the Alcovy River Watershed’s border in the west. It contains the western half of Mansfield.
The Little River Watershed contains all of Newton County east of Highway 11, including Newborn and the eastern half of Mansfield.
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