WATER POLLUTION

Thirsty?
WATER POLLUTION
WATER POLLUTION IS THE
ADDITION OF ANY
SUBSTANCE THAT HAS A
NEGATIVE EFFECT ON
WATER OR THE LIVING
THINGS THAT DEPEND ON
WATER.

THE SUBSTANCES THAT

CAUSE WATER POLLUTION
ARE CALLED POLLUTANTS.
 POINT SOURCE POLLUTION
SOURCES OF
POLLUTION ARE
CLASSIFIED, IN PART,
BY HOW THEY ENTER
A BODY OF WATER.
POINT SOURCE
POLLUTION IS A SPECIFIC
SOURCE OF POLLUTION
THAT CAN BE IDENTIFIED.
EXAMPLE: A PIPE
GUSHING COLORED
WATER INTO A RIVER
 NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION

A WIDELY SPREAD
SOURCE OF POLLUTION
THAT CANT BE TIED TO A
SPECIFIC POINT OF
ORIGIN IS CALLED
NONPOINT SOURCE
POLLUTION.
EXAMPLE: RUNOFF FROM
A FARM FIELD, A STREET,
OR A CONSTRUCTION
SITE
 Examples of NPS

oil & grease from sewage & cleaners

cars from boats
fertilizers household cleaning
animal waste products
grass clippings litter
septic systems
 Pollutant Transport
Mechanisms
NPS pollutants build up on land surfaces during dry
weather
Atmospheric deposition
Fertilizer applications
Animal waste
Automotive exhaust/fluid leaks

Pollutants are washed off land surfaces during

precipitation events (stormwater runoff)
Stormwater runoff will flow to lakes and streams
 Impact of Nonpoint Source
Pollution

fish and wildlife

recreational water
activities
commercial fishing
tourism
drinking water
quality
 Pollutants Found in Runoff
Sediment Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)
Soil particles transported from Oxygen depleting material
their source. Leaves
Organic material

Toxics Nutrients
Pesticides Various types of materials that
Herbicides become dissolved and suspended
Fungicides in water (commonly found in fertilizer
Insecticides and plant material):
Metals (naturally occurring Nitrogen (N)
in soil, automotive emissions/ Phosphorus (P)
tires)
Lead
Zinc
Mercury Bacteria/ Thermal Stress
Petroleum Hydrocarbons Pathogens Heated runoff,
(automotive exhaust and removal of
Originating from: streamside
fuel/oil)
Pets vegetation
Waterfowl
Debris
Litter and illegal dumping Failing septic
systems
 EFFECTS OF POLLUTANTS

SOME POLLUTANTS CAN

BUILD UP IN THE BODIES
OF LIVING THINGS.
PESTICIDES ARE
CHEMICALS INTENDED TO
KILL INSECTS AND OTHER
ORGANISMS THAT
DAMAGE CROPS.
AN EXAMPLE OF A
PESTICIDE IS DDT
(DICHLORODIPHENYLTRIC
HLOROETHANE).
A VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF DDT IN WATER CAN
BUILD UP TO HARMFUL LEVELS IN LIVING THINGS
 MAJOR SOURCES OF WATER
POLLUTION
THE THREE MAJOR SOURCES OF WATER
POLLUTION ARE HUMAN WASTES, INDUSTRIAL
WASTES, AND CHEMICAL RUNOFF.
 HUMAN WASTE
SEWAGE IN CITIES
DURING HEAVY RAINS OR FLOODS, SANITARY SEWERS
SOMETIMES OVERFLOW AND CAN POLLUTE THE SURFACE
WATER.
IF THIS HAPPENS, PEOPLE ARE OFTEN TOLD TO BOIL
WATER FOR DRINKING AND COOKING AFTER A FLOOD.
THE BOILING KILLS MANY DISEASE-CAUSING ORGANISMS.
 SEWAGE IN RURAL AREAS
IN RURAL AREAS, PEOPLE MUST BE CAREFUL
WHERE THEY LOCATE SEPTIC TANKS.
IF A TANK IS TOO NEAR A STREAM OR ON A HILL,
WASTEWATER CAN LEAK INTO THE STREAM OR
FLOW DOWNHILL TO THE AREA OF A WELL.
LEAKING SEPTIC TANK
 SEWAGE IN RURAL AREAS
WASTES FROM CATTLE, PIGS, AND CHICKENS CAN ALSO BE A
PROBLEM IN RURAL AREAS.
ANIMAL WASTES CAN RUN OFF FROM PASTURES AND
BARNYARDS AND PASS DISEASE-CAUSING BACTERIA AND
OTHER KINDS OF POLLUTION INTO BODIES OF WATER.
 INDUSTRIAL WASTES
CHEMICALS, SMOKE , AND HEATED
WATER ARE THREE TYPES OF POLLUTANTS
PRODUCED BY FACTORIES, MINES, AND
OTHER INDUSTRIES.
 CHEMICALS
MANY FACTORY PROCESSES INVOLVE
TOXIC CHEMICALS AND STRONG ACIDS.
OTHER TOXIC WASTES ARE PRODUCED
AS A RESULT OF MANUFACTURING AND
MINING PROCESSES.
ALTHOUGH LAWS CONTROL MANY
POINT SOURCES OF CHEMICAL
POLLUTION, SOME FACTORIES STILL
RELEASE TOXIC CHEMICALS DIRECTLY
INTO NEARBY RIVERS AND LAKES.
 CHEMICALS
ANOTHER PROBLEM IS POLLUTION CAUSED
BY NONPOINT SOURCES.
IN THE PAST, MANY INDUSTRIES STORED
TOXIC WASTES IN BARRELS OR OTHER
CONTAINERS BURIED UNDERGROUND.
OVER THE YEARS, HOWEVER, MANY OF
THESE CONTAINERS RUSTED OR BROKE.
THE CHEMICALS LEAKED OUT, POLLUTING
BOTH THE SOIL AND THE GROUNDWATER.
BARRELS OF NUCLEAR WASTE FOUND
IN AN ABANDONED GERMAN SALT
MINE
 SMOKE AND EXHAUST

MANY POWER PLANTS AND FACTORIES BURN COAL OR OIL TO FUEL

THEIR PROCESSES.
THE ENGINES OF MILLIONS OF CARS, TRUCKS, AND BUSES BURN
GASOLINE.
SMOKE AND EXHAUST FROM THESE SOURCES POUR INTO THE AIR,
ESPECIALLY AROUND LARGE CITIES.
 SMOKE AND EXHAUST
WHEN COAL, OIL, AND
GASOLINE ARE BURNED,
THE GASES SULFUR
DIOXIDE AND
NITROGEN OXIDE ARE
RELEASED INTO THE
ATMOSPHERE.
THE SULFUR AND
NITROGEN REACT WITH
WATER, FORMING
SULFURIC AND NITRIC
ACIDS.
THE RESULT IS ACID
RAIN.
 ACID RAIN

ACID RAIN IS RAIN OR

ANOTHER FORM OF
PRECIPITATION THAT IS
MORE ACIDIC THAN
NORMAL.
ACID RAIN CAN AFFECT
FISH, HARM TREES, AND
EAT AWAY THE STONE
OF BUILDINGS AND
STATUES.
 HEAT POLLUTION
MUCH OF THE WATER IN
FACTORIES IS USED TO COOL
MACHINERY OR METAL OBJECTS.
THE WARM WATER ALONE CAN
ACT AS A POLLUTANT.
MANY WATER ORGANISMS CAN
LIVE IN ONLY A NARROW RANGE
OF TEMPERATURES.
WARM WATER RELEASED BY
FACTORY INTO A NEARBY RIVER
OR POND RAISES THE
TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER,
SOMETIMES ENOUGH TO HARM
THE LIVING THINGS THERE.
 CHEMICAL RUNOFF
FARMERS SPREAD OR SPRAY
FERTILIZING CHEMICALS ON THEIR
FIELDS TO PRODUCE BETTER
CROPS.
WHEN RAIN FALLS ON THE FIELDS,
IT WASHES SOME OF THE
CHEMICALS AWAY AS RUNOFF.
WATER USED FOR IRRIGATION
ALSO CREATES RUNOFF.
THE FERTILIZERS IN THE RUNOFF
ARE A NONPOINT SOURCE OF
POLLUTION.
EXAMPLES OF RUNOFF
 RUNOFF FROM FARMS
WITH THE ADDITION OF FERTILIZERS RUNNING OFF INTO PONDS AND
LAKES, THE PROCESS OF EUTROPHICATION SPEEDS UP.
RUNOFF AND IRRIGATION WATER CARRY AWAY POLLUTANTS FROM
FARM FIELDS SUCH AS PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS.
RUNOFF FROM FARMS
 RUNOFF FROM ROADS
WHEN IT RAINS, RUNOFF CARRIES OIL INTO RIVERS AND LAKES, OR
UNDERGROUND AND INTO THE GROUNDWATER.
DURING WINTER, RUNOFF ALSO PICKS UP SALT THAT IS SPREAD ON
ROADS AND SIDEWALKS TO MELT ICE.
GASOLINE, OIL, AND SALT ARE NONPOINT SOURCES THAT POLLUTE
RIVERS AND LAKES.
THEY CAN ALSO SEEP UNDERGROUND AND POLLUTE WELLS AND
AQUIFERS.
 WATER POLLUTION SOLUTIONS
SOLVING POLLUTION PROBLEMS INVOLVES CLEANING UP EXISTING
PROBLEMS AS WELL AS PREVENTING NEW ONES.
CLEANUP
MANY POLLUTANTS ARE REMOVED FROM FRESH WATER THROUGH NATURAL
CLEANUP PROCESSES.
LIVING THINGS IN LAKES, STREAMS, AND WETLANDS HELP REDUCE
POLLUTION BY FILTERING OUT AND BREAKING DOWN WASTE MATERIALS.
 LIVING THINGS HELPING CLEANUP
EXAMPLES
POLLUTION
PLANT ROOTS FILTER LARGER PARTICLES FROM THE WATER.
CERTAIN BACTERIA CONSUME OIL AND HAVE BEEN USED TO CLEANUP OIL
SPILLS.
NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL WETLANDS CAN BE USED TO CLEAN UP WATER
POLLUTION.
WETLANDS HAVE BEEN BUILT NEAR COAL MINES TO TREAT ACIDIC MINING
RUNOFF BEFORE IT RETURNS TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
MARINE POLLUTION
 PROBLEM:
POLLUTION OF THE WORLD'S OCEANS IS QUICKLY BECOMING A MAJOR
PROBLEM ON EARTH.
WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE EFFECT THAT POLLUTION HAS ON THE
OCEANS BUT WE CONTINUE TO DISPOSE OF CHEMICALS, SEWAGE AND
GARBAGE INTO IT.
 TOXIC OCEAN POLLUTANTS
OUR WASTE, EVEN IN SMALL QUANTITIES, HAVE
HUGE EFFECTS ON OCEAN COMMUNITIES AND
SPECIES.
TOXIC POLLUTANTS IN THE OCEAN ECOSYSTEM
HAVE MASSIVE IMPACTS ON THE PLANTS AND
ANIMALS.
 SOME MAJOR TYPES OF POLLUTANTS:
GARBAGE
SEWAGE
CHEMICALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE
EUTROPHICATION
HEAVY METALS
OIL
 MARINE GARBAGE
GARBAGE INCLUDES JUNKED OUT FISHING NETS,
PLASTICS, GENERAL HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE
IN ONE CASE AN ISLAND 300 MILES FROM THE
NEAREST INHABITED ISLAND) HAD 950 PIECES OF
GARBAGE RANGING FROM PLASTICS TO TIN CANS.
GARBAGE IN THE OCEANS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE AS
FISH ENTANGLE THEMSELVES IN FISHING NETS AND
ANIMALS SOMETIMES EAT TRASH PRODUCTS AND
DIE.
THERE ARE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES EACH YEAR OF
DOLPHINS, SHARKS AND WHALES ENTANGLING
THEMSELVES IN FISHING NETS AND DYING FROM
OXYGEN STARVATION.
 OCEANIC SEWAGE DISPOSAL
TYPICALLY THE PROBLEM WITH SEWAGE IS THAT IT CAUSES MASSIVE
NUTRIENT LOADING IN THE OCEAN ECOSYSTEM.
WHEN NUTRIENT LOADING OCCURS THERE WILL OFTEN BE ALGAE
BLOOMS IN THE WATER LEADING TO THE LOSS OF DISSOLVED OXYGEN.
AFTER THE DEPLETION OF OXYGEN LEVELS FROM SEWAGE, MANY
ORGANISMS IN THE OCEAN DIE FROM BEING UNABLE TO BREATHE
PROPERLY.
 CHEMICALS
THESE ARE TOXIC SUBSTANCES THAT ARE RELEASED BY THE
INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS AND MAKE THEIR WAY INTO OCEAN SYSTEMS.
TOXIC CHEMICALS OFTEN ENTER OCEAN SYSTEMS THROUGH FOOD
CHAINS AND AFFECT ORGANISMS AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND PLACES FROM
WHERE THEY WERE RELEASED.
 EXAMPLE: DDT
(DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE)
DDT WAS USED FOR YEARS AS A PESTICIDE ON
FARMS.
LATER IT WAS FOUND THAT IT DOES NOT
BREAKDOWN, THIS COMPOUND IS RELATIVELY
INSOLUBLE IN WATER AND BONDS STRONGLY TO
PARTICLES.
ALTHOUGH DDT IS NOT USED IN THE MARINE
ENVIRONMENT IT ENTERS MARINE FOOD WEBS
THROUGH LAND RUNOFF, PRECIPITATION AND
DUMPING.
DDT IS ABSORBED BY PLANKTON BUT CANNOT BE
METABOLIZED.
SINCE, IT IS NOT METABOLIZED IT ACCUMULATES IN
THE FOOD CHAIN UNTIL IT REACHES THE TOP
CARNIVORE, WHERE MORE DRASTIC EFFECTS ARE
SEEN.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN MARINE BIRDS, DDT INTERFERES
WITH CALCIUM DEPOSITION IN THE EGGSHELLS.
 DESALINATION PLANTS
THERE ARE SEVERAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPACT OF DESALINATION
PLANTS ON THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT. VARIOUS CHEMICALS USED TO
CLEAN PIPES AND TO PRE-TREAT THE WATER, ARE LATER WASHED OUT IN
THE EFFLUENT.
ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCERNS IS THE RELEASE OF HIGHLY-
CONCENTRATED SALT WATER, SOMETIMES INTO ESTUARIES AND RIVERS,
WHERE THE SALT CONTENT IS OBVIOUSLY MUCH LOWER THAN IN THE
OPEN OCEAN.
ESTUARIES ARE IMPORTANT BREEDING AND JUVENILE DEVELOPMENT
HABITATS FOR MANY SPECIES, BECAUSE OF THEIR CALM WATERS. EGGS,
LARVAE AND JUVENILES ARE USUALLY FAR LESS TOLERANT TO
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES THAN THEIR ADULT COUNTERPARTS, SO
CHANGES IN ESTUARY OCEANOGRAPHY COULD HAVE A LARGE IMPACT
OF BROOD STOCK OF VARIOUS FISH AND INVERTEBRATE SPECIES.
 HEAVY METALS
HEAVY METALS IN THE WATER ARE DANGEROUS WHEN THEY HAVE A
CHANCE TO BUILT UP INSIDE ORGANISMS.
ORGANISMS TEND NOT TO GET RID OF THE METALS WITHIN THEM, SO IT
ACCUMULATES OVER THE COARSE OF THEIR LIFE
EXAMPLES: MERCURY, CADMIUM, ARSENIC
 OIL SPILLS (1)
THE EFFECTS OF AN OIL SPILL OF
MARINE LIFE DEPEND ON A NUMBER
OF PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL
FACTORS.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE OIL SPILL
WILL BE AFFECTED BY CURRENTS
AND WIND
IN ADDITION, THE AMOUNT OF OIL
SPILLED WILL DETERMINE THE
EVENTUAL GEOGRAPHIC
BOUNDARIES OF THE IMPACT AREA.
THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES OF THE OIL WILL
DETERMINE THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE
SLICK, IN TERMS OF ITS THICKNESS
AND RATE OF SPREADING.
 OIL SPILLS (3)

BIOLOGICAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF
THE ORGANISMS
AFFECTED WILL
DETERMINE THE
SEVERITY OF IMPACT.
THESE CHARACTERISTICS
INCLUDE THE TYPE OF
SPECIES, LIFE STAGE
(LARVAL, JUVENILE OR