Ch 16 Water Pollution Flashcards
Water from precipitation that flows over surface of land
Stormwater runoff
Addition of anything that might degrade quality of water
Water pollution
Eutrophication
Excess nutrients in aquatic ecosystem feed biological productivity, lowering oxygen content in the water
Amount of oxygen in the water
Dissolved oxygen (DO)
Level of oxygen in water inadequate to support life
Hypoxia
Biological oxygen demand (BOD)
Amount of oxygen used by microbes living in body of water
Eroded soil washed into water thru runoff
Sediment pollution
Body of water where freshwater rivers meet the sea
Estuary
Pollution from discharge pipes, smoke stacks: wastewater treatment plants or industrial sites
Point source pollution
Runoff from overland flow, can come from any area
Nonpoint source pollution
Land surrounding body of water over which Water (rain) could flow & enter body of water
Watershed
Underground, permeable region of soil or rock, saturated with water
Aquifer
Algal blooms snuff out all underwater life creating
Dead zones
Cloudiness of water
Turbidity
Sampling area for what lives there to determine health of area
Biological assessment
Easy to see arthropods (insects) that live on stream bottom
Benthic macroinvertebrates
main US law that regulates water pollution
Clean Water Act
Allowable levels of pollutant that can be released over specific time period, set by EPA
Pollution standards
Best management practices
Agreed upon or EPA regulated actions that minimize pollution problems caused by industrial or land use impacts
Land area adjacent to water affected by water presence (water tolerant plants) and that affects the water (trees provide shade)
Riparian areas
