40: Some Solutions to the Water Pollution Problem

Question 1

What is a technical solution to the problem of water pollution?

Answer 1

sewage (wastewater) treatment plants

Question 2

What is the function of a sewage (wastewater) treatment plant?

Answer 2

sewage reaches a treatment plant and undergoes 2 sometimes 3 levels of purification

Question 3

What happens during primary treatment?

Answer 3

removes solids from water
- water passes through metal grate that removes debris.
- primary sedimentation tank is where half of suspended organic solids settle to the bottom as sludge

Question 4

What happens during secondary treatment?

Answer 4

aerobic bacteria are used to remove up to 90% of biodegradable, oxygen-demanding organic waste (biological treatment process)
- bacteria acts on all the organic matter, it decomposes the organic matter (complex to simple)

Question 5

What happens during tertiary treatment?

Answer 5

removes plant nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) and pathogens (with chlorine)

Question 6

Can we use sewage to detect COVID?

Answer 6

yes, people with COVID shed viral material in their feces

Question 7

What can public health officials do with sewage?

Answer 7

can determine if infections are decreasing or increasing in a sewer shed by measuring COVID levels in untreated wastewater over time

Question 8

What is an ecological wastewater treatment?

Answer 8

an environmentally-friendly approach to wastewater treatment created by Dr. John Todd that uses no chemicals, includes tertiary treatment, and has lower operational cost (cheap)

Question 9

What is happening in Arcata, California?

Answer 9

there are huge marshes where plants do the job (clean all the water themselves)

Question 10

What is the legal approach to the water pollution problem?

Answer 10

clean water act and safe drinking water act

Question 11

What is the clean water act (1972)?

Answer 11

principal law governing pollution control and water quality of the Nation’s waterways, the object is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters

Question 12

What does the clean water act prevent?

Answer 12

it made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained

Question 13

What is the environmental protection agency’s (EPA) mission?

Answer 13

protect human health and environment
- founded in 1970

Question 14

What does the EPA do?

Answer 14

develops and enforces regulations, gives grants, studies environmental issues, teaches people about the environment
- establishes standards and monitors, and punishes or puts fines for both the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act

Question 15

What is the safe drinking water act?

Answer 15

protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S and focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use whether from above ground or underground sources

Question 16

What are legal challenges?

Answer 16

the two pieces of legislations are constantly being challenged
- some people may have marshes and want to fill them but they cannot do that, making it a challenge