A watershed can be defined as the area of land that captures rainfall and other precipitation and funnels it to a particular river, lake, stream, or, in our case, Grand Traverse Bay.

The Grand Traverse Bay Watershed drains approximately 973 square miles of land and is located in northwest Michigan. The watershed is one of the larger ones in the State of Michigan and covers major portions of four counties: Antrim, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau. Cities, towns and villages in the watershed include Traverse City, Kingsley, Kalkaska, Mancelona, Elk Rapids, Suttons Bay, Northport, Bellaire, Acme and Williamsburg.