Water Pollution

3 Groups at greatest risk from lead poisoning

1. Middle-aged men 2. Pregnant women 3. Young children

Refuse Act

1899, reduce the release of pollutants into navigable rivers

Ocean Dumping Ban Act

1988, Congress passed this Act and banned the ocean dumping of sludge and industrial waste.

Oligotrophic

A body of clear water that supports small populations of aquatic organisms.

Dead Zone

A section of the ocean or a sea in which oxygen has been depleted to the point that most animals and bacteria cannot survive. Often is caused by runoff of chemical fertilizers or plant and animal wastes.

Tertiary Treatment

Advanced wastewater treatment methods that are sometimes employed after primary and secondary treatments.

Clean Water Act

Affects the quality of rivers, lakes, aquifers, estuaries, and coastal waters in the US.

Coal Ash

Also called fly ash, it's the solid material left over after coal is burned, can also cause considerable ecosystem damage. Contains toxic materials and can be stored in piles, ponds, or landfills.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

Amount of oxygen microorganisms need to decompose biological wastes into carbon dioxide, water, and minerals. Large amount of sewage produces a high amount of this, which robs water of dissolved oxygen.

Five ways to handle sludge

Anaerobic digestion, application to soil fertilizer, incineration, ocean dumping and disposal in a sanitary land-fill.

Water Pollution

Any physical or chemical change in water that adversely affects the health of humans and other organisms.

Endocrine Disrupters

Cause hormonal effects

Organic Compounds

Chemicals that contain carbon atoms, examples include sugars, amino acids, and oils. Most are human made such as pesticides and plastics.

Radioactive Substances

Contain atoms of unstable isotopes that spontaneously emit radiation. Nuclear power plants and the nuclear weapons industry use the largest amounts of this. It could concentrate into a sludge.

Inorganic Chemicals

Contaminants that contain elements other than carbon like acids, salts, and heavy metals. They do not easily degrade or break down and can remain in a body of water for a long time. Can be found in surface water and ground water.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Deals with the storage and disposal of hazardous wastes and helps prevent groundwater contamination

Eutrophic

Enriched body of water. When eutrophication occurs. Water is cloudy and resembles pea soup because of all the algae and cyanobacteria.

Eutrophication

Enrichment of a lake, estuary, or slow-flowing stream by inorganic plant and algal nutrients such as phosphorus

Inorganic Plant and Algal Nutrients

Essential for the normal functioning of healthy ecosystems but are harmful in larger concentrations. Chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus, since they stimulate the growth of plants.

Sediment Pollution

Excessive amounts of suspended soil particles eventually settle out and accumulate on the bottom of a body of water. Comes from erosion of agricultural lands, forest soils exposed by logging, degraded stream banks, overgrazed rangelands, strip mines, and construction.

Enrichment

Fertilization of a body of water caused by high levels of plant and algal nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

Give permits to discharge untreated wastewater

Hypertension

High blood pressure caused by lead in middle-aged men

Combined Sewer System

Human and industrial wastes are mixed with urban runoff from storm sewers before flowing into the sewage treatment plant.

Bacterial Source Tracking (BST)

Identifies subtle differences in strains of E. coli on the basis of their animal hosts.

Disease-causing agents

Infectious organisms that cause diseases, they come from the wastes of infected individuals and enter the water as sewage.

Water Pollution from Agriculture

Leading source of water quality impairment of surface waters nationwide. 72% of water pollution. Contributes mainly to non-point source pollution.

Hypoxia

Low-oxygen condition and occurs when algae grow rapidly because of the presence of nutrients in the water. It leaves little oxygen for sea life.

Mercury

Metal that vaporizes at room temperature, which can make clean-up hard to do. Coal-fired power plants release the largest amount of this.

Thermal Pollution

Occurs when heated water produced during certain industrial processes is released into waterways. Steam-generated electric power plants and nuclear power plants use water to remove heat, causing this. Can lead to chemical, physical, and biological effects.

National Water Quality Assessment Program

Ongoing study of pesticides and their degradation products, indicates that pesticides are widespread in U.S. rivers, streams, and groundwater.

Green Chemistry

Or sustainable chemistry, chemistry designed to reduce or halt the use and production of hazardous substances.

Artificial eutrophication

Overnourishment of an aquatic ecosystem by nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. It is due to human activities such as agriculture and discharge from sewage treatment plants.

Nonpoint Source Pollution

Pollutants that enter bodies of water over large areas rather than being concentrated at a single point of entry.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Present in 20% of the over 3000 samples of the nation's groundwater.

2 federal laws that have the most impact on water quality

Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act

Safe Drinking Water Act

Set uniform federal standards for drinking water to guarantee safe public water supplies through the US

Water Pollutant Categories

Sewage, disease-causing agents, sediment pollution, inorganic plant and algae nutrients, organic compounds, inorganic chemicals, radioactive substances, and thermal pollution.

Lead

The amount of this substance has decreased since it has been removed from paint and gasoline, but millions of US residents still have damaging amounts of it in their bodies.

National Emission Limitation

The max permissible amount of a water pollutant that can be discharged from a sewage treatment plant, factory, or other points of source.

Primary and Secondary Sludge

The solids remaining after sewage treatment has been completement

Secondary Treatment

Treating wastewater biologically to decompose suspended organic material; reduces the water's biochemical oxygen demand.

Primary Treatment

Treating wastewater by removing suspended and floating particles by mechanical processes

Maximum Contaminant Level

Upper limit for the concentration of a particular water pollutant in water intended for human consumption.

Sewage

Wastewater from drains or sewers (toilets, washing machines, and showers) that includes human wastes, soaps, and detergents. Causes enrichment and oxygen demand.

Point Source Pollution

Water pollution that can be traced to a specific origin

Fecal Coliform Test

Water quality test for the presence of fecal bacteria, which indicates a chance that pathogenic organisms may be present as well.

Cellular Respiration

When microorganisms decompose sewage and other organic materials into CO2, water, and other inoffensive materials.

Combined Sewer Overflow

When too much water enters the system the excess flows into nearby waterways without being treated.