In the last century, Silver City learned that wood collection and livestock grazing on surrounding hillsides had major downstream effects in town. As vegetation disappeared, rainwater no longer soaked into the ground but rushed downhill in fast-moving torrents through arroyos. Large amounts of wood were cut from nearby hills to heat homes and power steam engines for the mines. Since the flood era, private and government efforts have worked to reverse that destructive process. Vegetation has returned to the hills, soil erosion is under control, flow from underground springs has become reliable, and improved absorption of rainfall has helped recharge groundwater, making Silver City's municipal water supplies more productive and dependable. Today, the Big Ditch is a valued urban park with a shaded trail system and picnic areas along tree-lined San Vicente Creek.