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Water Pollution

Water Pollution. Oceans, Rivers, Streams & Lakes. Agriculture . Agriculture is the LEADING cause of water pollution! Sources of agricultural pollution include: Eroded sediment Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers Pesticides Animal waste Salt from over-irrigated areas.

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Water Pollution

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  1. Water Pollution Oceans, Rivers, Streams & Lakes

  2. Agriculture • Agriculture is the LEADING cause of water pollution! • Sources of agricultural pollution include: • Eroded sediment • Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers • Pesticides • Animal waste • Salt from over-irrigated areas

  3. Industry and Mining • Industrial factories contribute to water pollution by emitting chemicals into the water • Mining creates erosion which releases sediment and toxic chemicals into the water

  4. Point vs. Nonpoint sources • Point Source: pollution is discharged from a specific location – drainpipe, ditch, sewer line, factories, oil tankers • Nonpoint Source: pollution is discharged from a broad area – runoff, parking lots, streets

  5. Ocean Pollution Message in The Waves – Great Pacific Garbage Patch • 80% of marine pollution originates on land • As more people live on the coast, this number is expected to increase

  6. Causes of Ocean Pollution • Dumping of untreated waste – largely by developing countries • China’s coastline – large areas along the coastline can no longer support marine ecosystems due to algal blooms • Cruiseliners • Boats • River Pollution

  7. Dead Zones • Aquatic zone with low dissolved oxygen • Few fish and bottom dwellers • Abundant decomposing bacteria • Caused by cultural eutrophication • Cultural Eutrophication – human caused eutrophication (fertilizer runoff, waste from ranches, deposition of nitrogen compounds from the atmosphere)

  8. Oil Pollution in the Ocean • Oil Spills • Exxon Valdez • Gulf Oil Spill • Large oil spills get much publicity, but more oil is spilled into the ocean annually through land runoff from pipeline and refinery leaks than from most accidents • Refined Oil is much harder to clean up than Crude Oil

  9. BP Gulf Oil Spill

  10. Oil Spill Clean-up • Crude Oil – marine life usually recovers in about 3 years • Clean-up usually recovers about 15% of spilled oil • Floating booms, skimmer boats, feathers & hair, bacteria • Refined Oil – marine life can take up to 10-20 years to recover

  11. Pollution in Streams and Lakes • Oxygen Sag Curve

  12. River Pollution • According to the WHO, Half of the world’s rivers are polluted!! • Most of these rivers run through developing countries

  13. Clean Water Act of 1972 • Commercial and municipalities must file a permit before dumping waste into water • Establishes pollutant levels • Provides funds to monitor and enforce compliance • Provides restoration and support of aquatic life areas

  14. Cuyahoaga River - Ohio • June 22, 1969 • Sparks from a passing train ignited the river • It was so full of oil and other pollutants that the river caught fire • Fires also occurred in 1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948 and 1952

  15. http://www.cleveland.com/science/index.ssf/2009/06/cuyahoga_river_fire_40_years_a.htmlhttp://www.cleveland.com/science/index.ssf/2009/06/cuyahoga_river_fire_40_years_a.html

  16. Source: NOAA.gov

  17. China’s rivers Figure 21-5

  18. Case Study: India’s Ganges River: Religion, Poverty, and Health • Religious beliefs, cultural traditions, poverty, and a large population interact to cause severe pollution of the Ganges River in India. • Very little of the sewage is treated. • Hindu believe in cremating the dead to free the soul and throwing the ashes in the holy Ganges. • Some are too poor to afford the wood to fully cremate. • Decomposing bodies promote disease and depletes DO.

  19. Case Study: India’s Ganges River: Religion, Poverty, and Health • Daily, more than 1 million Hindus in India bathe, drink from, or carry out religious ceremonies in the highly polluted Ganges River. Figure 21-6

  20. Groundwater Pollution • Common groundwater pollutants: • Fertilizers • Pesticides • Gasoline • Organic Solvents

  21. Aquifer pollutants • Aquifer Pollution animation • Obstacles to natural clean-up • Low DO levels = low number of decomposing bacteria • Cold temperatures = slower chemical reactions • Result = may take thousands of years for groundwater to cleanse itself of the pollutants!

  22. Can we clean the aquifers? • Solutions • Pump the water to the surface, clean and return – EXPENSIVE! • Inject microorganisms into aquifer • Nanoparticles of inorganic compounds pumped into aquifers (still in development) • A more feasible solution is to purify the drinking water rather than the aquifer itself • Lifesaver Bottle • Lifestraw

  23. Infectious Disease • Infectious Disease can also be spread through the water. • Common infectious diseases: • Typhoid Fever • Cholera • Dysentery • Enteritis • Hepatitis B • Giardia

  24. Water Sanitation • Treatment of water before it is discharged into rivers or oceans Not all water is treated before being released!

  25. Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment • Septic tanks and various levels of sewage treatment can reduce point-source water pollution. Figure 21-15

  26. Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment • Primary and Secondary sewage treatment. Figure 21-16

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