AP Environmental Science: Chapter 21: Water Pollution

Core Case Study: Using Nature to Purify Sewage Ecological wastewater purification by a living machine. o Uses the sun and a series of tanks containing plants, snails, zooplankton, crayfish, and fish (that can be eaten or sold for bait). WATER POLLUTION: SOURCES, TYPES, AND EFFECTS Water pollution is any chemical, biological, or physical change in water quality that has a harmful effect on living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses. o Point source: specific location (drain pipes, ditches, sewer lines). o Nonpoint source: cannot be traced to a single site of discharge (atmospheric deposition, agricultural / industrial / residential runoff) Leading Sources of Water Pollution Agriculture leading cause of water pollution o Surface runoff carries Soil sediment Excess fertilizers Excess pesticides Leading Sources of Water Pollution Industrial processes create large amounts o Inorganic Wastes Acids Heavy metals Fertilizers o Organic Wastes Pesticides Gasoline Motor oil Food processing wastes PCBs VOCs (volatile organic compounds) Leading Sources of Water Pollution Mining practices and exposure of large areas of earths surface creates runoff of o Sulfuric acid o Arsenic o Cyanide (used to extract gold) o Heavy metals

Water Quality Testing Techniques Physical Water Quality Test o Temperature impacts solubility of oxygen and range tolerance of organisms. low temps = more oxygen o River/Stream Flow Velocity impact the ability of oxygen to diffuse into water. fast rivers = more oxygen o Turbidity measures cloudiness of water. clearer water = more photosynthesis = more phytoplankton and vegetation Water Quality Testing Techniques Chemical Water Quality Tests o pH determines acidity or alkalinity levels. Most organisms survive between 6 and 9 o Dissolved Oxygen many aerobic organisms are stressed below 5ppm. Low values can indicate the presence of excess fertilizers, oxygen demanding wastes or thermal pollution Water Quality Testing Techniques Chemical Water Quality Tests o Nitrates/Nitrites and Phosphates nutrients that can cause cultural eutrophication. Can indicate the presence of fertilizer or feedlot runoff, sewage and septic tank leaks o Hardness the presence of common metal cations magnesium (Mg2+) and calcium (Ca2+). Higher levels absorb heavy metals and acts a pH buffer Water Quality Testing Techniques Biological Water Quality Tests o Fecal Coliform determines contamination of sewage. Increased bacterial and viral contamination o Biological Assessment organisms can be used to indicate the health of an ecosystem depending on how sensitive they are. The presence or absence can indicate presence of water pollution Water Pollution Problems in Streams Dilution and decay of degradable, oxygen-demanding wastes and heat in a stream. Case Study: Indias 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. o Very little of the sewage is treated. o 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. Case Study: Indias 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.

POLLUTION OF FRESHWATER LAKES Dilution of pollutants in lakes is less effective than in most streams because most lake water is not mixed well and has little flow. o Lakes and reservoirs are often stratified and undergo little mixing. o Low flow makes them susceptible to runoff. Various human activities can overload lakes with plant nutrients, which decrease DO and kill some aquatic species. Cultural Eutrophication Eutrophication: the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, estuary or slow moving stream, mostly from runoff of plant nutrients from the surrounding land. Cultural eutrophication: human activities accelerate the input of plant nutrients (mostly nitrate- and phosphate-containing effluents) to a lake. o 85% of large lakes near major population centers in the U.S. have some degree of cultural eutrophication. POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER Groundwater can become contaminated with a variety of chemicals because it cannot effectively cleanse itself and dilute and disperse pollutants. o The drinking water for about half of the U.S. population and 95% of those in rural areas comes from groundwater. POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER It can take hundreds to thousands of years for contaminated groundwater to cleanse itself due to o Slow flow rate (1ft/day) o Cold temperatures o Low populations of decomposing bacteria o Lower concentrations of oxygen Case Study: Arsenic in Groundwater - a Natural Threat Toxic Arsenic (As) can naturally occur at high levels in soil and rocks. Drilling into aquifers can release As into drinking water supplies. Arsenic contamination leads to cancers of the skin, bladder and lungs Case Study: Nitrate Ions (NO3-) in Groundwater In rural areas, groundwater can be contaminated by nitrate ions from fertilizers. Once in the body, nitrate is converted into nitrite and other organic compounds that have been linked to cancer In infants, it can limit the bloods ability to carry oxygen and cause death. Called blue baby syndrome

Case Study: MTBE in Groundwater Gasoline additive used in the US MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) Contaminated groundwater from leaky gasoline tanks Suspected carcinogen Was phased out by is still found in groundwater supplies OCEAN POLLUTION Oceans, if they are not overloaded, can disperse and break down large quantities of degradable pollutants. Pollution of coastal waters near heavily populated areas is a serious problem. o About 40% of the worlds population lives near on or near the coast. o The EPA has classified 4 of 5 estuaries as threatened or impaired. OCEAN POLLUTION Harmful algal blooms (HAB) are caused by explosive growth of harmful algae from sewage and agricultural runoff. When the HAB die bacteria moves in and uses up the oxygen causing hypoxia Case Study: Oxygen Depletion in the Northern Gulf of Mexico A large zone of oxygen-depleted water forms for half of the year in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of HAB. This is due to the runoff of sewage and agricultural waste from the Mississippi Basin Case Study: The Chesapeake Bay An Estuary in Trouble Pollutants from six states contaminate the shallow estuary Pollutants such as phosphates and nitrates have led to low oxygen conditions causing the decline of commercially and ecologically valuable species OCEAN OIL POLLUTION Most ocean oil pollution comes from urban and industrial runoff on land. VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in oil immediately kill many larval forms of ocean organisms Oil reduces buoyancy and insulation in marine mammals and sea birds causing death from loss of body heat or drowning Case Studies Ocean Oil Accidents Exxon Valdez 1989 released an enormous amount of oil in the ocean near Alaskas Prince William Sound o To this day toxic oil patches still are found in the Sound BP Oil Blow out- April 2010 considered worst oil spill in history o 4.9 million barrels spilled from a well blowout o Took 5 months to cap the well

PREVENTING AND REDUCING SURFACE WATER POLLUTION The key to reducing nonpoint pollution most of it from agriculture is to prevent it from reaching bodies of water. o Farmers can reduce runoff by planting buffers and locating feedlots away from steeply sloped land, flood zones, and surface water. Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment Septic tanks and various levels of sewage treatment can reduce point-source water pollution. Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment Raw sewage reaching a municipal sewage treatment plant typically undergoes: o Primary sewage treatment: a physical process that uses screens and a grit tank to remove large floating objects and allows settling. o Secondary sewage treatment: a biological process in which aerobic bacteria remove as much as 90% of dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen demanding organic wastes Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment Advanced or tertiary sewage treatment: o Uses series of chemical and physical processes to remove specific pollutants left (especially nitrates and phosphates). Water is chlorinated to remove coloration and to kill diseasecarrying bacteria and some viruses (disinfect). Reducing Water Pollution through Sewage Treatment Use separate networks of sewage and storm drain to prevent overflow during storms Sludge from sewage treatment facilities needs to be treated for harmful bacteria, toxic metals and organic chemicals before it is applied as fertilizer Require industries and businesses to remove toxic and hazardous wastes before it reaches municipal sewage treatment plants Increase use of natural and artificial wetlands to treat sewage Septic tanks should include a large drainage field where soil and bacteria can filter and decompose biodegradable materials Water Quality Legislation Clean Water Act- primarily deals in regulating point-source pollution from municipal sewage facilities and industries and financing wastewater treatment systems However in 2006 EPA found 45% of US lakes and 40% of streams are still unfit for fishing and swimming

Water Quality Legislation Water Quality Act amendment to Clean Water Act to encourage the separation of storm water and sewer water lines US Safe Drinking Water Act Requires EPA to set standards fo maximum containment levels for water pollutants that have a negative impact on humans Is Bottled Water the Answer? Some bottled water is not as pure as tap water and costs much more. o In a 2011 scorecard by the Environmental Working Group only filtered tap water got an A, very few bottled water companies disclose where the water came from, how it was treated or if water testing was done and if it found anything (Dasani D, Aquafina D, Crystal Geyser F, Arrowhead C, Fuji C) 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.