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Water Pollution

Water Pollution. G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment Chapter 20. Water Quality. Do (ppm) at 20˚C. Good. 8-9. Slightly polluted. 6.7-8. Moderately polluted. 4.5-6.7. Heavily polluted. Below 4.5. Gravely polluted. Below 4. Types and Sources of Water Pollution.

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Water Pollution

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  1. Water Pollution G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment Chapter 20

  2. Water Quality Do (ppm) at 20˚C Good 8-9 Slightly polluted 6.7-8 Moderately polluted 4.5-6.7 Heavily polluted Below 4.5 Gravely polluted Below 4 Types and Sources of Water Pollution • Point sources • Nonpoint sources • Biological oxygen demand • Water quality Pg. 535

  3. NONPOINT SOURCES Rural homes Cropland Urban streets Animal feedlot POINT SOURCES Suburban development Factory Wastewater treatment plant Point and Nonpoint Sources

  4. Water pollution • Bacteria,Viruses,Protozoa, Parasitic worms • Oxygen demanding substances • Inorganic plant nutrients • Organic chemicals • Sediment or suspended matter • Thermal pollution • Genetic pollution

  5. Water 0.000002 ppm Herring gull 124 ppm Phytoplankton 0.0025 ppm Herring gull eggs 124 ppm Lake trout 4.83 ppm Zooplankton 0.123ppm Rainbow smelt 1.04 ppm Biological Magnification

  6. Pollution of Streams • Oxygen sag curve Fig. 20-5

  7. Discharge of untreated municipal sewage (nitrates and phosphates) Nitrogen compounds produced by cars and factories Natural runoff (nitrates and phosphates Discharge of detergents ( phosphates) Manure runoff From feedlots (nitrates and Phosphates, ammonia) Discharge of treated municipal sewage (primary and secondary treatment: nitrates and phosphates) Runoff from streets, lawns, and construction lots (nitrates and phosphates) Lake ecosystem nutrient overload and breakdown of chemical cycling Runoff and erosion (from from cultivation, mining, construction, and poor land use) Dissolving of nitrogen oxides (from internal combustion engines and furnaces) Pollution of Lakes • Eutrophication Fig .22.7, p. 499

  8. Solutions to better water quality • Drainage Area Management Plans • Agriculture plots • 1987 Water Quality Act

  9. Leaking tank Aquifer Bedrock Water table Groundwater flow Free gasoline dissolves in groundwater (dissolved phase) Gasoline leakage plume (liquid phase) Migrating vapor phase Water well Contaminant plume moves with the groundwater Fig. 20-12

  10. Groundwater Pollution: Causes Hazardous waste injection well Pesticides Coal strip mine runoff De-icing road salt Buried gasoline and solvent tank Cesspool septic tank Pumping well Gasoline station Waste lagoon Water pumping well Sewer Landfill Leakage from faulty casing Accidental spills Discharge Unconfined freshwater aquifer Confined aquifer Confined freshwater aquifer Groundwater flow Fig. 20-11

  11. Groundwater Pollution Prevention • Monitoring aquifers • Strictly regulating hazardous waste disposal • Storing hazardous materials above ground

  12. Industry Nitrogen oxides from autos and smokestacks, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals in effluents flow into bays and estuaries. Cities Toxic metals and oil from streets and parking lots pollute waters; Urban sprawl Bacteria and viruses from sewers and septic tanks contaminate shellfish beds Construction sites Sediments are washed into waterways, choking fish and plants, clouding waters, and blocking sunlight. Farms Runoff of pesticides, manure, and fertilizers adds toxins and excess nitrogen and phosphorus. Red tides Excess nitrogen causes explosive growth of toxicmicroscopic algae, poisoning fish and marine mammals. Closed shellfish beds Closed beach Oxygen-depleted zone Toxic sediments Chemicals and toxic metals contaminate shellfish beds, kill spawning fish, and accumulate in the tissues of bottom feeders. Oxygen-depleted zone Sedimentation and algae overgrowth reduce sunlight, kill beneficial sea grasses, use up oxygen, and degrade habitat. Healthy zone Clear, oxygen-rich waters promote growth of plankton and sea grasses, and support fish. Fig. 20-15 Fig. 21-10, p. 505

  13. Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment • Primary and Secondary sewage treatment. Figure 20-19

  14. ( Sewage Treated water Wetland type plants Wetland type plants 45 centimeter layer of limestone gravel coated with decomposing bacteria First concrete pool Second concrete pool ( Technological Approach: Using Wetlands to Treat Sewage

  15. Global Outlook: Stream Pollution in Developing Countries • Water in many of central China's rivers are greenish black from uncontrolled pollution by thousands of factories. Figure 20-7

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. Drinking Water Quality • Bottled water • Safe Drinking Water Act • Maximum contaminant levels

  19. Is Bottled Water the Answer? • Some bottled water is not as pure as tap water and costs much more. • 1.4 million metric tons of plastic bottles are thrown away. • Fossil fuels are used to make plastic bottles. • The oil used to produce plastic bottles in the U.S. each year would fuel 100,000 cars.

  20. Using Laws to Protect Drinking Water • The U.N. estimates that 5.6 million Americans drink water that does not meet EPA standards. • 1 in 5 Americans drinks water from a treatment plant that violated one or more safety standard.

  21. What Can You Do? Water Pollution • Fertilize garden and yard plants with manure or compost instead of commercial inorganic fertilizer. • Minimize your use of pesticides. • Do not apply fertilizer or pesticides near a body of water. • Grow or buy organic foods. • Do not drink bottled water unless tests show that your tap water is contaminated. Merely refill and reuse plastic bottles with tap water. • Compost your food wastes. • Do not use water fresheners in toilets. • Do not flush unwanted medicines down the toilet. • Do not pour pesticides, paints, solvents, oil, antifreeze, or other products containing harmful chemicals down the drain or onto the ground.

  22. Roger Rosenblatt • It is a hard truth to swallow, but nature does not care if we live or die. We cannot survive without the oceans, for example, but they can do just fine without us. • End chapter 20

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