Water School

Wetlands provide a habitat for a variety of plants and animals that would fare poorly in other environments. They also provide water storage, functioning like a sponge, storing water and slowly releasing it. This helps ease water’s potential for flooding and erosion. The slow release also contributes to surface water flow during dry periods.

Wetlands also can act as a natural water filtration system. As the water enters the wetland, its movement slows around plants, which allows suspended sediments to drop to the wetland floor. Nutrients and pollutants get absorbed by plants and microorganisms. An example of this process is the Lake Waco Wetlands area, where many nutrients carried into the lake from the Bosque River are trapped in the wetland, instead of entering the lake proper, the nearby city’s chief source of water.