An Ecosystem-Based Watershed Management Plan:
Susquehanna and Chemung Basins of New York

Water connects us all...

*Click here to view the Susquehanna-Chemung Action Plan*

The Susquehanna-Chemung Action Plan is a sustainable approach to economic and community development that respects the natural functions of watersheds and minimizes flood risks. This evolving website presents the current action plan recommendations and includes links to a wealth of supporting information: state-of-the-watershed data, existing plans, educational resources, relevant programs, success stories, and more.

What is a watershed?  A watershed is the area of land from which water runs off into a common waterway. It includes both the network of rivers, streams, and lakes and the land surfaces from which the water drains.  It is separated from adjacent watersheds by highpoints, such as hilltops and ridges. The watersheds for individual streams combine to form a larger watershed, or drainage basin, for the river that the streams flow into.

The Susquehanna River flows over 440 miles from Otsego Lake (at Cooperstown, New York) to the Chesapeake Bay. The Chemung River joins the Susquehanna at Sayre, Pennsylvania. The Upper Susquehanna Watershed and the Chemung River Watershed drain south-central New York State and form the northern headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

We all live in watersheds:
What we do upstream affects water quality downstream.