EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Surface runoff includes all water flowing downhill over the surface of land via spontaneously formed channels. These channels will reach a creek, stream, or river and eventually flow into a pond, lake, or ocean.

Detailed explanation-2: -Runoff is nothing more than water “running off” the land surface. Just as the water you wash your car with runs off down the driveway as you work, the rain that Mother Nature covers the landscape with runs off downhill, too (due to gravity). Runoff is an important component of the natural water cycle.

Detailed explanation-3: -Water returns to the Earth from precipitation falling on the land, where gravity either takes it into the ground as infiltration or it begins running downhill as surface runoff.

Detailed explanation-4: -Surface runoff is defined as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) that reaches a surface stream without ever passing below the soil surface.

Detailed explanation-5: -Runoff occurs when there is more water than land can absorb. The excess liquid flows across the surface of the land and into nearby creeks, streams, or ponds. Runoff can come from both natural processes and human activity.