Central Avenue
The Booker Creek watershed is an urban watershed. From the headwaters, Booker Creek runs southeast, winding through historical neighborhoods and flowing under Central Avenue in downtown St. Petersburg.
Because there is a lot of pavement and concrete in the city, most of the rainwater has no chance to soak into the soil. Instead, the stormwater flows downhill into drainage ditches, storm sewers, and street drains...even Booker Creek! This stormwater is also called "overland flow" or "runoff."
Unfortunately, this water picks up pollution and contaminants along the way. Some pollution, called "point source pollution" can be traced to a single location, like a pipe from a factory. Other types of pollution, called "nonpoint source pollution" come from a wide range of sources. Most of the pollution in runoff is nonpoint source pollution, like oil from cars or pesticides from agricultural operations. However, these are also the sources of pollution that we have the most control to stop!
And remember, just because a creek flows through a city, doesn't mean it's not living! The water and land around Booker Creek provide habitat for many plants and animals that share this urban watershed.