Water Pollution Flashcards
Water Sources
Surface Water:
Lakes, streams, rivers,
oceans(70% of earth’s surface)
Groundwater:
Underground water sources, aquifers, springs
Water Major Contaminants
- Pathogenic organisms
- Organic wastes (Oxygen demanding substances)
- Plant nutrients
- Toxic organic chemicals
- Toxic metals
- Sediments and suspended solids
- Acidity
- Salts
- Heat
Sources of Water Contaminants
Human activities:
1. Point source is the one that reaches the water from a pipe, channel or any other confined and localized source (sewage into a stream or river).
2. Non-point sources is a broad unconfined area from which pollutants enter a body of water (i.e. runoff from agricultural areas)
Natural sources:
Volcanoes or flooding
How to manage both waste source types
Point sources pollutants: are easy to control
They are collected and conveyed to a single point where
they can be removed in a treatment plant.
Non-point sources pollutants: are difficult to control
The only way to control the dispersed sources is to set
appropriate restrictions on land use.
Pathogenic Organisms. What? Where? How? Can cause?
They include:
Bacteria
Viruses
Protozoa
Parasitic worms
Where are they located:
In the intestines of infected people or animals
How they enter into water:
1. Inadequately treated sewage discharges
2. Stormwater drains
3. Septic systems
4. Runoff
Health problems:
1. Typhoid
2. Cholera
3. Diarrhea
4. Dysentery
5. Respiratory diseases
6. Skin diseases
Organic Wastes (Oxygen Demanding Substances) What? Where? How? Can cause?
They include:
Human and animal wastes
Food wastes
Organic residuals from industrial operations
(paper mills, food processing plants)
How they enter into water:
1. Discharges from municipal and industrial
wastewater treatment facilities
2. Sewage lines
3. Septic tanks
4. Urban and agricultural runoff
What problem they cause?
The dissolved O2 in the water is depleted
The water is unable to support any aquatic life
Biodegradable wastes:
They are decomposed by bacteria with the presence
of O2
The dissolved O2 is depleted
Plant nutrients. What? Where? How? Can cause?
They include:
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
How they enter into water:
1. Erosion
2. Runoff
3. Municipal waste treatment systems
Where are they located?
Fertilizers
Household detergents
What problems they cause?
They increase the nutrients in lakes, rivers, streams
Eutrophication Eutrophication:
Growth of algae and other forms of aquatic life,
leaving a water body unable to support fish and is
unsuitable for human uses
High concentration of nitrate in drinking water:
It restricts O2 transport in the blood-stream of
newborn infants
Toxic Organic Chemicals. What? Where? How? Can cause?
They include:
Oil spills
Pesticides
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Health Problems:
Causing cancer
Producing genetic mutations
Damage of vital organs
Birth defects
Tumors
VOCs:
They are used as industrial or household solvents and as
ingredients in chemical manufacturing processes
How they enter into water:
Industrial sources
Municipal stormwater
Sewer system
Runoff into surface waters
Percolation into groundwater
Accidental discharges
Toxic Metals. What? Where? How? Can cause?
They include:
Mercury
Lead
Arsenic
Chromium
Copper
Iron
Manganese
How they enter into water:
Outfalls from metal smelting and other industrial
processes
Runoff from mining activities
Runoff from construction activities
Atmospheric deposition (mercury)
Lead:
It is released from pipes and plumbing of old homes
It goes to waterways by municipal discharges
Mercury:
It is released in gaseous form high temperature industrial
processes
* Waste incineration
* Combustion of coal for power generation
Health problems:
Damage vital organs
Death
Affects the central nervous system
Sediments and suspended solids. What? Where? How? Can cause?
How they enter into water:
* Land erosion from human activities
* Mining
* Construction
* Farming
* Removal of vegetation on shorelines
What problems they cause?
Increase turbidity of water and blocks sunlight
needed by aquatic vegetation
Harm aquatic organisms by clogging gills
Suffocating eggs
Destroy habitats along the bottom of lakes, rivers,
streams, estuaries
Two types of soil erosion
There are two types of water-caused soil erosion:
1. Sheet Erosion
2. Stream erosion
Sheet Erosion:
is from land areas by raindrop and overland flow of storm runoff
Stream Erosion:
is the removal of soil from stream beds and stream banks by the
moving channelized water
Parameters affecting sheet and soil erosion
Parameters affecting the sheet erosion:
* Rainfall intensity
* Soil texture
* Steepness or slope
* Amount of vegetative cover
Parameters affecting the stream erosion:
* Velocity of stream flow
* Type of soil
Measures to protect/control sheet and soil erosion
Measures to protect sheet erosion:
* Vegetation cover of grass and trees.
* Construction plans should protect and control the erosion.
Since construction projects involve major construction land can
cause significant problem of erosion.
Measures to control the soil erosion:
* Temporary grass cover
* Mulching materials
* Diversion channels
* Hay bales
* Temporary fences
* Sediment basins
* Channel stabilization
* Scheduling of construction
Measures in sediment control (maybe sketch)
Diversion channels:
Diversion channels reduce the distance of overland sheetflow, reducing soil
erosion and sedimentation of nearby streams and lakes
Hay bales:
A typical hay bale and gravel filter that prevents sediment from entering a drainage
system and then local streams; it is usually used in the vicinity of active construction
sites
Temporary fences:
A temporary fence can be constructed to control erosion at a construction site.
It is placed on the perimeter of the site at the lower elevation where water runs off.
Acidity. Who? What?
Who generates acidic wastewater?
* Drainage and runoff from mining operations
* Mine wastes (i.e. coal)
* Acid deposition from the atmosphere
What problems it causes?
Biological processes are destroyed
Some fish species cannot survive in waters with
Ph < 5
