Lesson 16: Freshwater Stress: Part II – Water Pollution

1. Lesson 16: Freshwater Stress: Part II – Water Pollution Amy Duray EVPP 490 003 5 April 2010

2. Water Quality Alterations • Point-source versus non-point source pollution • pH • Eutrophication and Nutrient Load • Minerals, Metals and Toxic Substances

3. Drivers • Increasing Human populations, especially in historically occupied river basins and coastal enclaves • Increasing globalization in world economy • Natural Hydrologic processes

4. Pressures • Agricultural expansion • Urbanization • Increasing industrial (point source) pollution • Increasing agricultural (non-point source) pollution • Reduced hydrologic flow – concentrates pollution and makes it more difficult to flush or dilute pollution once it is in the water source. • Changes in precipitation/Increasing variability especially with respect to monsoons. (Urban storm-water events)

5. State and Trends – (1 of 2) • Increasing nutrient loads • Increasing pollutant loads • Groundwater pollution

6. State and Trends (2 of 2)

7. Impacts • Eutrophication • Fish kills • Impacts to human health • Decreased availability of potable water

8. China: Pressures • Increasing agricultural inputs of fertilizer and pesticide • Increasing urbanization means increasing storm water inputs, and larger pollutant load • Industrial discharges • Increasing production of hazardous wastes, with poor disposal/sequestration protocols • Increased damming for hydropower leading to reduced flow volume • Increasing irrigation withdraws leading to reduced flow volume • Lack of adequate enforcement of National environmental policies regarding waste water

9. China: State and Trends • Aquifers below 90% of China’s cities are polluted • The Chinese Government has reported that 30% of river water throughout the country is unfit for use in agriculture or industry • 700 Million people drink water contaminated with animal and human wastes

10. China: Impacts • World Bank links water contamination as the leading cause of death among children under age 5. • 11% of gastrointestinal cancers in China are linked to water pollutants • Every year, an estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study • The health burden has an economic price. The cost of cancer treatment has reached almost 100 billion yuan a year ($14.6 billion), accounting for 20 percent of China's medical expenditure, according to Chinese media. • Widespread lotic habitat destruction

11. China – The Huai River

12. The Huai River • Most densely populated area of China • Water utilization exceed 70% • Heavily impounded: 5,600 reservoirs • Industries: paper-making, brewing, chemical production, tanning, and tobacco and food processing • Between 1981 and 2003, the population grew by 30 percent

13. Pollutants in the Huai • Ineffective/inadequate wastewater treatment • 50% - industrial pollutants • Wheat straw

14. Quick Chronology of the Huai • 1853 – Major Hydrologic changes to the Yellow river leave Huai with no outlet to the sea • 1917 – China seeks partnership with both Canada and US engineers to relieve flooding • 1950 – Disastrous flooding: Mao creates Huai River Conservancy • 1974 – major pollution release • 1975 – collapse of two dams kills 250,000 • 1991, 1996 – major seasonal flooding • 1998 – Zero Hour Operation - plan to clean the river • 1999-2000 – River runs dry in the dry season • 2001 – Additional flooding – 38 Billion Gallons • 2004 – Further flooding – 500 million tons of polluted water after a rainfall

16. Flooding in the Huai River Valley

17. Difficulties in implementing controls • Four provinces • Size-based standards • Unrealistically high targets for reduction • Inadequate enforcement • Impounding water makes it difficult to control contamination created by flood events

18. Response - Green GDP • http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/1219 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t77bLtIck2g&feature=related