The Tualatin Watershed
Narrator
Fresh water has sustained life on Earth for millions of years. Time and time again it has cycled through our atmosphere—falling from the skies as rain, sleet, or snow, nourishing the Earth, and returning to the skies through evaporation. Fresh water is the lifeblood of human existence, flowing from highlands to lowlands, and generation to generation.
 The Tualatin River is one of our nation’s most-studied fresh water sources. It springs to life in Oregon's Coast Range, dancing over waterfalls and gathering momentum, as it rushes through the heart of lush Northwest forests. The river slows to a crawl as it reaches the flatlands, carving a path through the fertile Tualatin Valley. Near the end of its 83-mile journey, the Tualatin tours several Portland suburbs, then empties into the larger Willamette River.
Like many of America’s fresh water sources, the Tualatin is feeling pressure from growing populations and development. Water quality specialist Ron Miner says the Tualatin provides a perfect example of what is happening to fresh water sources across our country.
Ron Miner, Oregon State University
It makes a unique laboratory to talk about how can American civilization cope with itself and preserve the quality of the environment around it.
Narrator
One of Miner’s specialties is the history of the Tualatin basin. He understands how urban and rural development have taken a toll on this river.
 Ron Miner, Oregon State University
As we have developed this basin to make it more amenable to human endeavors, we have made dramatic changes in the way the water is going through the streams. We have, first of all, changed the flow rate and the hydrology, we’ve changed the amount of natural treatment that goes on within the system, and then we’ve added new waste loads to the whole system in addition to that.
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