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What is Water Pollution?

What is Water Pollution?. Chapter 20 APES 2007. Water Pollution defined:. A Physical, Chemical, or Biological Change in water quality that: Adversely affects living organisms Or Makes water unsuitable for desired uses. Natural vs. Unnatural Sources. There are natural sources.

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What is Water Pollution?

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  1. What is Water Pollution? Chapter 20 APES 2007

  2. Water Pollution defined: A Physical, Chemical, or Biological Change in water quality that: • Adversely affects living organisms Or • Makes water unsuitable for desired uses

  3. Natural vs. Unnatural Sources There are natural sources. We will focus on Human caused issues.

  4. Two types of water pollution Sources: Point Source Nonpoint Source

  5. Point Source Pollution • Discharge from a specific location, YOU CAN point at it and say, look, pollution!

  6. Examples of Point Source Pollution • Drain pipes • Ditches • Sewer outfalls Pros: • Easy to monitor and regulate • Possible to treat before entering the environment

  7. Nonpoint Source Pollution Sources are scattered or diffuse, having so specific location.

  8. Examples of Nonpoint Source Pollution Runoff from: • farm fields • Golf courses • Gardens • Construction sites • Logging areas • Roads, streets, parking lots Atmospheric deposition of contaminants! • Contaminants carried by wind and rain! HIGHLY EPISODIC: tough to regulate!

  9. Types and Effects of Water Pollution We will group these pollutants into two categories: • Those that cause health problems • Those that cause ecosystem disruption Let’s tackle each group separately. See chart page 450 for some ideas!

  10. Those that cause health problems: • Infectious agents • Organic chemicals • Inorganic chemicals • Radioactive materials

  11. Infectious agents Pathogenic organisms There are three types: Bacteria (test for coliform bacteria) Viruses Protists These are found in excrement.

  12. Bad Stuff: People suffer and die from horrible diseases that could be prevented by good sanitation practices.

  13. Organic chemicals Pesticides, plastics, detergents, oil Sources: • Runoff from farms and households • industrial and household chemicals not disposed of properly

  14. Bad Stuff: • Birth defects • Genetic disorders • Cancer • Chemicals persist, don’t break down • Contaminate ground and surface water sources for human consumption

  15. Inorganic chemicals Acids, Caustics, Metals, salts These can be released naturally through weathering and erosion. Human activities can speed that up: Mining, processing, using, and discarding minerals.

  16. Bad Stuff: Metals Mental health issues, brain damage Salts

  17. Radioactive materials Uranium, thorium, cesium, iodine, radon Sources: • Mining and processing of ores • Power plants • Weapons production • Natural sources

  18. Bad Stuff: • DNA and RNA gets modified….

  19. Those that cause ecosystem disruption: • Sediment • Plant nutrients • Oxygen demanding wastes • Thermal

  20. Sediment Soil and silt resulting from erosion Land erodes. This just happens. This can be accelerated by activities of humans: vehicle use, road building, mining, foliage removal…

  21. Bad Stuff: These sediments: • Fill lakes and reservoirs • Obstruct shipping channels • Clogs hydroelectric turbines • Makes purifying of drinking water more costly • Smother gravel beds where insects and fish lay eggs • Sunlight is blocked: photosynthesis drops, oxygen levels decline • Murky water is less attractive.

  22. Plant nutrients Nitrates & Phosphates (fertilizers and excretion) Ammonium (excretion) Sources: Sewage, fertilizers, manure

  23. Bad Stuff: Define oligotrophic lakes and eutrophic lakes Cultural eutrophication: When biological productivity and ecosystem succession is caused by human activities. This causes algae bloom, fish die, bacteria take over, and the area dies.

  24. Oxygen demanding wastes Animal manure and plant residues Sources: Sewage, agricultural runoff, paper mills, and food processing

  25. Bad Stuff: BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand DO: Dissolved Oxygen Several factors determine the BOD of an area: • Volume • Flow • Temperature • Aeration Oxygen sag:

  26. Thermal Heat energy changes the temperature of the water. Power plants, industrial cooling

  27. Bad Stuff: Water quality drops Plants and animal balance changes As temp goes up, DO drops What to do: Make artificial ponds to cool the water down before discharge.

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