Water quality and water pollution

Question 1

Under natural conditions the chemistry of surface waters is controlled by three processes

Answer 1

Atmospheric inputs;
Weathering of bedrock;
Climate (evaporation-crystallisation processes)

Question 2

where does the word pollution come from?

Answer 2

latin word - pollutus meaning “to soil or defile”

Question 3

when is water considered polluted?

Answer 3

usunuable for a purpose

Question 4

What are solutes, suspended sediments and total dissolved solids (tds)

Answer 4

solutes = disolved matter; includes organic and inorganic matter;
suspended sediments= particulates that are within water bodes (lakes, rivers, etc.) (can include soil, algae, plankton, other substances; impacts the quality of water);
total dissolved solids (tds) = amount of inorganic and organic particles that are dissolved in water (can be used as an indicator of water quality)

Question 5

how do you measure a solute load?

Answer 5

Higher the annual runoff of a river the lower the concentration of solutes (tds);
The higher the annual runoff also means that there is more more total amount of solute available in the catchment and available for transport (weighed dissolved load)

Question 6

what is epilmnion

Answer 6

more sunlight

Question 7

what is termocline

Answer 7

layer based on temp difference

Question 8

what is hypolimnion

Answer 8

deeper water less sunlight

Question 9

why do we see stratification or layers in lakes?

Answer 9

This can be due to differences in temperature (seasonal variations-not usually seen in the tropics)

Question 10

what are the classes of water pollution?

Answer 10

Class AA and A = drinking and all other uses;
Class B= swimming/recreation
Class C = boating, fishing, fish propagation
Class D= fishing

Question 11

which classes of water are potable water sources?

Answer 11

class aa and a

Question 12

What percentage of lakes are polluted according to the EPA?
25%
35%
45%
55%

Answer 12

45%

Question 13

what percentage of estuaries and rivers are polluted according to usa epa

Answer 13

44% esturaies and 35% rivers

Question 14

according to the north america commission for environmental cooperation, what is the increase from 95-99 in industrial surface water pollution?

Answer 14

46%

Question 15

what did the clean water act amndements in 1972?

Answer 15

renewed national (U.S.) interest in clean water;
all cities, by law, had to install a water treatment plant;
at time only 1/3 of waters acceptable for swimming/fishing now approximately 2/3 are acceptable

Question 16

what does the canada water act - 1985 do? (federal)

Answer 16

For the management of the water resources of Canada, including research and the planning and implementation of programs relating to the conservation, development and utilization of water resources

Question 17

what did the boundary waters treaty act -1909 do? (federal)

Answer 17

Related to the management of border waters between the USA and Canada

Question 18

what is point-source pollution and nonpoint source pollution

Answer 18

point source - discharged through discrete identifable location; easy to location
nopoint source pollution - broad diffuse sources; difficult to identify and quanity

Question 19

surface freshwater accounts for less than ?% of all the non-saline water on the planet

Answer 19

1%

Question 20

water pollution can be broken down into 6 main components? what are they?

Answer 20

sediment load, nutrients, acids and salts, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, pathogens

Question 21

Nonpoint sources

Answer 21

lawns, gardens, and gold courses (starting in sept. 2007 toronto homewoners fined if use herbicides, insecticides; april 06 report issues that 24,D, a substance common in weed killers is "persuasively" linked to cancer, neurological impairment and reproduction issues); 
agricultural practices (soil erosion, fertilizer and pesticides into rivers and groundwater, animal feedlots a major source of pollution, 21% of canadian contribution to water pollution rfom eating meat, takes 85 times the amount of water to produce 1 pound of beef compared to potatoes)

Question 22

What was the walkerton crisi

Answer 22

may 2000; pollution from surface water entered aquifers; contamination from e.coli caused by agricultural runoff into a water well;
caused –> 2300 ppl to get sick and 7 pp to die
- a non-point source pollution

Question 23

What are sources of nonpoint pollution?

Answer 23

street refuse –> organic pollution from oil, lawn clippings, rubber, etc.; road salt gets into rivers lakes

construction –> soil erosion, chemicals used not properly stored

Stormwater runoff –> nonpoint source because from one ppt event water enters into water from multiple lcoations; picks up salt, litter, etc.

Question 24

What are point sources pollution?

Answer 24

factories –> many types of pollutants; kodak in monrow county are one of the worst and drains to great lakes

landfills –> leachate is formed under landfill (a gabage ‘tea); many toxic chemicals

Question 25

How can cities alter the hydrological characteristics of an area?

Cities have more impermeable surfaces and therefore create more runoff

Answer 25

Runoff volume increases --> 
Peak discharge occurs more rapidly 
- Increased erosion of river banks
- Increased risk of flooding 
- Transmit pollution to the river

Changes to water quality

• High sedimentation (high levels of suspended sediments)
• Dissolved oxygen depletion
• Eutrophication
• Transmission of pathogens
• Toxic effects from metals, biocides and persistent organic pollutants

Question 26

What is raw water?

Answer 26

water collected from natural areas and bottled without filtration or treatment
- sold for as much as $33/L;

Suggested that tap water filtration removes beneficial minerals, while leaving dangerous levels of fluoride and lead

Question 27

What are some potential risks with raw water?

Answer 27

Untreated water can lead to diseases such as:
Diarrhea
Cholera
Dysentery
Typhoid
Polio 
Beaver fever, or giardiasis
(Common for hikers );

Many deaths linked to untreated water –> 844 million people lack access to basic drinking water service
(Include many First Nations reserves in Canada)
–> 502,000 people die from diarrhea deaths each year