Water Usage Water Contamination

1. Water Usage Water Contamination

2. Office of Wastewater Management, U.S. EPA. 2000. Progress in water quality: An evaluation of the national investment in municipal wastewater treatment. EPA-832-R-00-008.

3. Pollution can enter ground or surface water in liquid form. http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/roads/maintenance/illegaldumping/index.cfm http://www.answers.com/topic/water-pollution http://www.gotalgae.com/temperature_solutions.htm

4. Air pollution is one of the most important sources of groundwater pollution. What goes up must come down somewhere. http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/photo117650.htm

5. Mercury in Surface Water Mercury from coal-burning plant smokestacks can become concentrated in fish living in streams. South Carolina releases advisories for species of fish in different streams with guidelines about how many can be “safely” consumed. http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/fish/map.htm

6. Air pollution (polluted rain) • Garbage/waste dumps • Septic fields • Leaky tanks • Surface pollutants http://www.groundwater.org/

7. Pollution from Residential Septic Fields Grey Water– wastewater from bathtubs, washing machines, bathroom sinks, and other sinks not used for hazardous or toxic ingredients or food preparation. Black Water– wastewater from kitchen sink and toilet. High in nutrients, solids, and pathogens, demands more complex treatment regimen = more $$$ http://www.waterwisetexas.org/understanding_our_water_supply.htm

8. Pollution in groundwater is worse than pollution in surface water because it: • Has a longer residence time • Is harder to clean up • Is harder to trace to source

9. Point Source Pollution • Most contamination from a single polluter. • Relatively easy to assign blame • Relatively easy to stop • Non-Point Source Pollution • Contamination from many sources • Difficult to assign blame • Difficult to stop http://www.wrc.wa.gov.au/public/waterfacts/10_groundwater_pollution/pollution.html

10. Point Source Pollution The contaminant goes with the flow – wherever the water goes, the pollution follows.

11. Point Source Migration of pollution from a single area. Real World Pollution Plume

12. York County 172 total investigations Petroleum product: 86% Heavy metal contamination: 8% Volatile organic compounds: 5% Under remediation: 39% Under investigation: 27% Owner contacted: 12% Inactive: 10% Awaiting funding: 5% Other: 6%

13. Point Source Pollution If the leak is caught early and flow within the contaminated aquifer has been well studied, it may be possible to force the pollution out with a combination of pressure (to concentrate the contaminant) and pumping. If the flow of that aquifer at that spot is not well understood, it is possible to make the situation worse. Pumping out the contaminant is not a viable option for most groundwater pollution.

14. California Nitrates and Nitrites Primarily associated with agriculture (fertilizer and animal waste). This is non-point source pollution. Helperin, A.N., D.S. Beckman, and D. Inwood 2001. California’s contaminated groundwater: is the state minding the store? National Resource Defense Council, Los Angeles.

15. Contaminants in Drinking Water http://www.nelsonwater.com/

16. Organic contaminants - chemicals with organic chemical structures. Pollutants include primarily synthetic compounds, including plastics. Common Organic Chemical Contaminants Chemical Health Effect Source Benzene Carbon tetra-chloride Trihalomethanes Toxaphene Tetracholroethylene Vinyl Chloride Endrin Lindane Methoxychlor cancer cancer cancer cancer cancer cancer liver, kidney, heart damage liver, kidney, nervous, immune, and circulatory damage growth, liver, kidney, nerve effects fuel, drugs, paint, pesticides cleaning solvents chlorine treated water insecticides dry cleaning wastes, solvents PVC pipe, solvent breakdown pesticides insecticides insecticides http://www.nelsonwater.com/watrinfo/origin.htm

17. Inorganic contaminants - primarily metals, some other dissolved ions, and radioactive chemicals. Does not include organic chemicals Common Inorganic Chemical Contaminants Chemical Health Effect Source skin and nervous system toxicity kidney problems kidney and nervous system damage kidney and nervous system disorders Blue Baby Syndrome liver damage cancer cancer circulatory system irregularities skeletal and dental damage pesticides, industrial waste, smelting epoxy sealants, coal, pigments lead pipes and solder crop runoff, batteries fertilizer, sewage, animal waste smelting, coal/oil combustion radioactive decay asbestos cement in water systems bed rock and soils flourinated water, fertilizer, aluminum Arsenic Cadmium Lead Mercury Nitrate Selenium Radon Asbestos Barium Fluoride http://www.nelsonwater.com/watrinfo/origin.htm

18. fecal coliform bacteria http://giardiaclub.com/giardia.html Giardia Legionella http://www.oberlin.edu/ajlc/edu_4.html http://www.repower.ch/INimg/Newsletter/legionella.jpg Microbiological contaminants - disease-causing micro-organisms (i.e., germs) Common Microbiological Contaminants Bug Health Effects Source Gastroenteric infection, dysentery, typhoid fever, and cholera Gastroenteric disease Legionnaire's disease human and animal fecal matter human and animal fecal matter natural waters, some water heaters fecal coliform other bacteria Giardia lambia Legionella http://www.nelsonwater.com/watrinfo/origin.htm

19. BIG tiny Drinking Water Purification http://www.thewatersource.com