Water Pollution

Question 1

How is water pollution categorized?

Answer 1

Point source pollution: can be tracked back to a specific point

Non-point source pollution: an aggregate of pollution from a large area

Or by composition: nutrient, thermal, sediment, biological, chemical

Question 2

How does nutrient pollution affect water quality?

Answer 2

An oxygen sag curve shows how biological oxygen demand and dissolved oxygen in the water affected by the addition of pollution. As nutrients are consumed by microorganisms and diluted over time, the DO will rebound and biodiversity will recover.

Question 3

How does thermal pollution affect water quality?

Answer 3

Since cold water can hold more dissolved gases than warm water, thermal pollution can also cause a decrease in DO.

The largest contributors of thermal pollution are power plants, which use water as coolants. Urban runoff can also cause thermal pollution as sunlight can warm runoff from areas with little shade.

Question 4

How does feminist pollution affect water quality?

Answer 4

Wind or water can naturally cause erosion of sediment into waterways but can be accelerated by certain land uses like agriculture and construction areas.

Added sediment can reduce light penetration in aquatic ecosystems and disrupt benthic (at the bottom) habitats as it settles.