Chapter 21: Water Pollution
Harmful algal blooms (HABs)
algal blooms composed of phytoplankton known to naturally produce biotoxins, they can occur when certain types of microscopic algae grow quickly in water, forming visible patches that may harm the health of the environment, plants, or animals.
Bioreactor
an apparatus in which a biological reaction or process is carried out, especially on an industrial scale.
Cancer Corridor
an area along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, in the River Parishes of Louisiana, which contains numerous industrial plants.
Oxygen-depleted zones
an environmental phenomenon where the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water column decreases to a level that can no longer support living aquatic organisms. Hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico is defined as a concentration of dissolved oxygen less than 2 mg/L (2 ppm).
MTBE
an organic compound with molecular formula (CH3)3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water.
Water treatment plant
any process that makes water more acceptable for a specific end-use in a plant
Point source pollution
any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack
Non-point source pollution
any single unidentifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack
Waste water
any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. Wastewater can originate from a combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or stormwater, and from sewer inflow or infiltration.
Effluent
liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea.
Nitrate ions
naturally occurring ions that are part of the nitrogen cycle. Nitrate is used mainly in inorganic fertilizers, and sodium nitrite is used as a food preservative, especially in cured meats.
Septic tank
a big container or steel tank that is buried in the yard and may hold 1,000 gallons of water. Wastewater flows into the tank at one end and leaves the tank at the other.
Fecal coliform bacteria
a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals.
Cultural eutrophication
a form of water pollution. Cultural eutrophication also occurs when excessive fertilizers run into lakes and rivers. This encourages the growth of algae (algal bloom) and other aquatic plants.
Manure lagoons
a man-made outdoor earthen basin filled with animal waste that undergoes anaerobic respiration as part of a system designed to manage and treat refuse created by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
Crude petroleum
a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum product composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials. Crude oil can be refined to produce usable products such as gasoline, diesel and various forms of petrochemicals
Algal bloom
a rapid growth of microscopic algae or cyanobacteria in water, often resulting in a colored scum on the surface.
Ganges River
a river flowing SE from the Himalayas in N India into the Bay of Bengal: sacred to Hindus. 1550 miles (2495 km) long
Biological pollution
a term that defines adverse effects of invasive alien species (IAS) on quality of aquatic and terrestrial environment.
Secondary sewage treatment
a treatment process for wastewater (or sewage) to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality by using a sewage treatment plant with physical phase separation to remove settleable solids and a biological process to remove dissolved and suspended organic compounds.
Septic system
a type of OWTS, consisting of a septic tank that collects all the sewage. The sewage separates into a solid (sludge) that settles to the bottom, and a liquid effluent that then flows into a leach field for final treatment by the soil.
1987 Water Quality Act
A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to provide for the renewal of the quality of the Nation's waters, and for other purposes.
Grit tank
A chamber designed to remove sand, gravel, or other heavy solids that have subsiding velocities or specific gravities
Composting toilet systems
A composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that uses a predominantly aerobic processing system to treat human excreta, by composting or managed aerobic decomposition
Refined petroleum
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful products such as petroleum naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas.
Degradable waste
Biodegradable matter is generally organic material such as plant and animal matter and other substances originating from living organisms, or artificial materials that are similar enough to plant and animal matter to be put to use by microorganisms.
Primary sewage treatment
First stage in which screens, sedimentation tanks, filters, and apparatus for skimming and chlorination is employed to remove material that floats or will settle, and pathogens that account for about 30 percent of biological oxygen demand (BOD).
Integrated coastal management
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in an attempt to achieve sustainability
Leach field
Septic drain fields, also called leach fields or leach drains are used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges from the septic tank.
Pathogen
a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.
Oxygen sag curve
The curve obtained when the concentration of dissolved oxygen in a river into which sewage or some other pollutant has been discharged is plotted against the distance downstream from the sewage outlet (see graph). Samples of water are taken at areas upstream and downstream from the sewage outlet
Ecological wastewater purification process
The use of special additives to raw wastewater to cause flocculation or clumping to help settling before the primary treatment such as screening.
Discharge trading policy
Uses market forces to reduce water pollution in the United States, a water pollution source is allowed to pollute at levels higher than allowed in its permit if it buys credits from permit holders with pollution levels below what they are allowed.
Raw sewage
Water that has been used, as for washing, flushing, or in a manufacturing process, and so contains waste products
Groundwater pollution
Water that seeps through the soil or rocks underground
Oxygen-demanding waste
Waters 'enriched' with wastes or nutrients from human, domestic or wildlife are likely candidates for oxygen depletion.
NRDC
creates solutions for lasting environmental change, protecting natural resources in the United States and across the globe.
Hypoxia
deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching the tissues.
Thermal shock
occurs when a thermal gradient causes different parts of an object to expand by different amounts. This differential expansion can be understood in terms of stress or of strain, equivalently. At some point, this stress can exceed the strength of the material, causing a crack to form.
Exxon Valdez
oil spill that occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California
Biosolids
organic matter recycled from sewage, especially for use in agriculture.
PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers)
organobromine compounds that are used as flame retardant. Like other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs have been used in a wide array of products, including building materials, electronics, furnishings, motor vehicles, airplanes, plastics, polyurethane foams, and textiles.
Advanced or tertiary sewage treatment
pecialized chemical and physical processes that reduce the amount of specific pollutants left in wastewater after primary and secondary sewage treatment
Settling tank
piece of separation equipment. It is normally part of a process that involves separating solids from liquid. Sometimes this process is called sedimentation and the tank is referred to as a sedimentation tank. Waste treatment is a process that often involves the use of a settling tank
Bottom up political pressure
political pressure that progresses from small or subordinate units to larger or more important units, as in an organization or process
Municipal sewage
refers to the solids separated during the treatment of municipal wastewater. The definition includes domestic septage. "Biosolids" refers to treated sewage sludge that meets the EPA pollutant and pathogen requirements for land application and surface disposal.
Sewage sludge
semiliquid waste obtained from the processing of municipal sewage, often used as a fertilizer.
Non-degradable waste
something that is not degradable, as a chemical compound.
Maximum contaminant levels (MCL)
standards that are set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for drinking water quality. An MCL is the legal threshold limit on the amount of a substance that is allowed in public water systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Chlorination
the addition or substitution of chlorine in organic compounds
BOD (biochemical oxygen demand)
the amount of dissolved oxygen that must be present in water in order for microorganisms to decompose the organic matter in the water, used as a measure of the degree of pollution.
Arsenic
the chemical element of atomic number 33, a brittle steel-gray metalloid.
Water pollution
the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Eutrophication
the enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. Eutrophication can be a natural process in lakes, occurring as they age through geological time.
Thermal pollution
the harmful release of heated liquid into a body of water or heat released into the air as a waste product of a business. An example of thermal pollution is water used for cooling in a power plant that runs into a nearby river and harms the river's ecosystem.
Clean Water Act of 1977
the principal law governing pollution of surface waters in the United States. Originally enacted in 1948, it was totally revised by amendments in 1972 that gave the act its current shape.
Estuary
the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream.
Industrial waste
the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, industries, mills, and mining operations.
Blue baby syndrome
there is a reduction in the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood.
Drainage field
used to remove contaminants and impurities from the liquid that emerges from the septic tank. A septic tank, the septic drain field, and the associated piping compose a complete septic system.
U. S. Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources.
Livestock waste
waste of domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor.
Sewage
waste water and excrement conveyed in sewers
Storm water runoff
water from rain or melting snow that "runs off" across the land instead of seeping into the ground. Generally speaking, stormwater is rain (also melting snow and ice) that washes off driveways, parking lots, roads, yards, rooftops, and other hard surfaces.
Potable water
water safe enough for drinking and food preparation. Globally, in 2012, 89% of people had access to water suitable for drinking. Nearly 4 billion had access to tap water while another 2.3 billion had access to wells or public taps.