Water Pollution

Sewer Lines

the pipes that bring sewage to the sewage treatment plant.

Water Pollution

Any physical or chemical change in water that adversely affects the health of humans and other organisms; can vary in magnitude by location

Sludge Digester

Large semi-burried tank in which sludge from sewage treatment processes is brought to be broken down by anaerobic bacteria.

Sewage Treatment Plant

Location where sewage is treated.

Screen

Part of primary sewage treatment; bars 2 inches across that catch large objects and keep them from entering the treatment process.

BOD test

Standard basic quality test to determine organic pollution of water.

Thermal Cline

The layer of water in which the temperature and DO levels change; separates the epilimnion and the hypolimnion.

Fertilizer and Sewage Runoff

The leading causes of eutrophication.

Agriculture

The leading source of water pollution in the US.

Lack of Disease Free Water

The major water pollution issue globally.

1 g/cm3 (OR 1 g/mm3)

Density of water.

Dr. Strange Love

Satirical movie about fluoride in water.

Disolved Oxygen

What does DO stand for?

Clean Water Act

1972 law that allowed the EPA to set up and monitor National Emissions Limitations; this law effectively improved water quality from point sources.

Safe Drinking Water Act

1974 law that set uniform federal standards for drinking water and set a maximum contaminant level.

Eutrophic

A body of water is considered this when it is enriched by inorganic plant and algal nutrients like phosphorus, high in nutrients, has poor light penetration, low DO, shallow water, high algal growth, a bottom made of silt or sand or clay, and has species like carp, bullhead, and catfish; has more than 500 algal cells per mL when there are algal blooms.

Oligotrophic

A body of water is considered this when it is low in nutrients, clear, has good light penetration, deep water, high DO, low algal growth, a bottom made of rock or gravel or sand, and supports small populations of aquatic organisms such as bass, trout, pike , sturgeon, and whitefish.

Ozone

A form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of the usual two; it is added to water to facilitate the break down of organics.

Dead Zone

A location within a body of water that does not have enough dissolved oxygen to sustain life; famous one is off the coast of Louisiana and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico.

Suspended

A particle or pollutant is considered this in the water if it is greater than 1 micron (millionth of a meter).

Colloidal

A particle or pollutant is considered this in the water if it is less than 1 micron (millionth of a meter) and greater than 1/500 microns; these particles give the water its color.

Dissolved

A particle or pollutant is considered this in the water if it is less than 1/500 microns (millionths of a meter).

Sodium Chloride

A polar molecule that dissolves and breaks apart in water.

Lake Maracaibo

A polluted lake in Venezuela that has 10,000 oil wells tapped in it and they leak into the lake; agricultural wastes from local fields and until recently raw human wastes went into the lake adding to the pollution.

Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR)

A process used in sewage treatment that removes nitrogen and phosphorus from the effluent or final process before release to the environment.

Drain Field

A series of pipes in a septic system that are buried under gravel or crushed rock and are full of small holes that allow wastewater to flow into the gravel or rock.

Tertiary Treatment

Advanced wastewater treatment methods that are occasionally employed after primary and secondary treatments that reduce phosphorus and nitrogen.

Agricultural Pesticides

Almost all streams and rivers are polluted with this and it can leach into the groundwater.

Septic Tank

An underground tank that separates solid waste from liquids and that has bacteria that break down the solid waste.

105 Degrees

Angle at which hydrogen atoms sit on in oxygen atom in a water compound; makes it look like Mickey Mouse ears.

E. coli

Bacteria that has two types: one is naturally found in the human large intestines while the other is a dangerous pathogen that can be transmitted through untreated water.

Organic Compounds

Chemicals that contain carbon atoms; found naturally in sugars, amino acids, and oils; found in human-made things like pesticides, solvents, industrial chemicals, and plastics.

Livingston

City in Texas that drinks almost exclusively treated sewage water from the DFW Metroplex due to being down river from it.

Hydrogen Sulfide

Compound found in the hypolimnion along with ammonia that is the producer of the rotten egg smell.

Inorganic Chemicals

Contaminants that contain elements other than carbon that do not degrade easily, ex. acids, salts, and heavy metals.

Peru

Country that stopped using chlorine in drinking water and then a huge outbreak of cholera broke out in 1991 that infected 300,000 people.

Polar

Describes a molecule with opposite charges on opposite ends; water is an example of this.

Typhoid, Cholera, Bacterial Dysentery, Polio, Hepatitis, Schistosomiasis

Diseases caused by disease causing agents in untreated sewage water.

Fluoride

Element added to drinking water that prevents tooth decay and was once linked to cancer and kidney disease but is not anymore.

Chlorine

Element added to drinking water to kill disease causing organisms but the byproducts are linked to cancer, miscarriages, and birth defects (THMs).

Sediment Pollution

Excessive amounts of suspended soil particles in the water that originates from erosion of agricultural lands, forest soils exposed by logging, degraded stream banks, overgrazed rangelands, strip mines, and construction; it limits light penetration, covers aquatic life, and brings insoluble toxins into waterways.

Enrichment

Fertilization of a body of water by high levels of plant and algal nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus caused by the release of wastewater.

Grit Chamber

First chamber in primary sewage treatment that allows the sand to settle to the bottom.

Aeration Tank

First chamber in secondary sewage treatment in which air is pumped into the water to provide oxygen to the bacteria that breaks up the remaining organic material.

Q10 Rule

For every 10 degrees C rise in temperature, the rate of a chemical reaction doubles.

Village Creek

Fort Worth's water treatment plant that sits in the lowest point in Tarrant County.

Methane (CH4)

Gas produced by sludge in sewage treatment plants and sludge digesters that could possibly be harvested and used as fuel.

>500 algal cells per mL

How many algal cells per mL are there for it to be considered an algal bloom?

Lightening

How ozone is naturally produced.

Mercury

Inorganic chemical pollutant that bioaccumulates in the muscles of top predators in the ocean.

Lead

Inorganic chemical pollutant that is found in old paint, industrial pollutants, and leaded gasoline.

Phosphorus

Inorganic plant and algal compound that leads to eutrophication that comes from soaps, detergents, and car washes.

Nitrogen

Inorganic plant and algal compound that leads to eutrophication that comes from urea in mammal wastes.

Brownian Movement

Kinetic energy of solvent that moves in random directions that keep things suspended.

Thermal Stratification

Lakes in temperate regions have vertical layers that vary in temperature, density, and DO levels; does not occur in flowing water.

70%

Percent of US drinking water that is fluoridated.

Thermal Pollution

Physical pollution in which industrial processes release heated water into waterways affecting organisms reproductive cycles, digestion rates, and respiration rates.

Physical Pollution

Pollution that does not involve chemicals but instead changes the water physically.

Ganges River

River in India used for bathing and washing cloths but is incredibly polluted with sewage and industrial wastes; the Ganga Action Plan was initiated by the government to construct 29 sewage treatment plants to prevent raw sewage from being dumped into the river.

Po River

River in Italy that is similar to the Mississippi River; 17 million Italians depend on the river for drinking water but it is very polluted with industrial wastes, sewage, and sediment to the point that swimming and fishing is prohibited; clean up will require a nation management plan and may take decades.

Primary Sedimentation Tank

Second chamber in primary sewage treatment that allows the organic materials to settle forming primary sludge.

Secondary Sedimentation Tank

Second chamber in secondary sewage treatment in which the remaining organics are allowed to settle again forming secondary sludge.

Sewage Sludge

Solids remaining after primary and secondary sewage treatment has been completed.

Henry's Law

Stability of gas in a solution under high pressure and temperature.

Radioactive Substances

Substances that contain atoms of unstable isotopes that spontaneously emit radiation and can be pollutants; sources of these pollutants is mining, processing radioactive materials, nuclear power plants, etc.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

The amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic organisms in a body of water to break down the organic material that is present.

7-8 ppm

The average amount of DO in Texas waters.

Hypolimnion

The densest, coldest water layer in a lake with low levels of dissolved oxygen.

Water Quality

The fitness for which the water is intended.

Primary Treatment

The initial treatment that removes suspended and floating particles by mechanical processes that is done upon sewage at the treatment plant.

Chlorinator

The last part of sewage treatment in which chlorine is added to the water to kill disease causing organisms.

78%

The percent of nitrogen in the air.

20%

The percent of oxygen in the air.

Surface Tension

The result of an inward pull among the molecules of a liquid that brings the molecules on the surface closer together; causes the surface to act as if it has a thin skin and allows things to float on it, such as needles.

5 days at 20 degrees C

The standard conditions for the BOD5 test.

4 Degrees C

The temperature at which water is most dense; usually the temperature of the water at the bottom of a lake.

Solids, Liquids (bleach and alcohol), Gases (carbon dioxide)

The three categories or types of pollutants.

Secondary Treatment

The treatment after the primary treatment in which wastewater is treated biologically to decompose organic material and reduce BOD.

Epilimnion

The upper layer of a lake with warmer water and high levels of dissolved oxygen; carbon dioxide and hydrates are found in this layer.

Groundwater Pollution

The water beneath the surface of the ground that has been poluted by agriculture, industry, urbanization, and natural disasters; hard to pinpoint the source of the pollution.

Algal Blooms

These are when algal cells exceed 500 cells/mL and deplete oxygen which kills fish in eutrophic lakes.

True

True or False: Animal wastes and plant residues from Agriculture have high BOD.

False (DO decreases as BOD increases)

True or False: As BOD increases, DO increases.

False (they dissolve as diatomic elements)

True or False: Both nitrogen and oxygen are diatomic elements but they break apart before dissolving.

True

True or False: Cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen than warm water.

False (Different pollutants)

True or False: Different industries generate the same pollutants.

False (High BOD)

True or False: Food processing plants produce low BOD.

True

True or False: In the US most municipal water supplies are treated.

True

True or False: Paper mills produce high BOD and toxic compounds

True

True or False: Polar pollutants dissolve in polar solvents while non-polar pollutants will not.

True

True or False: The infectious organisms that cause diseases originate in the wastes of infected individuals.

True

True or False: The release of wastewater (including human wastes, soaps, and detergents) from drains or sewers causes serous environmental problems.

Non-Point Source Pollution

Type of water pollution in which the pollutants cannot be traced back to a single entry point and instead enter bodies of water over large areas; examples are runoff from agricultural fields and parking lots.

Point Source Pollution

Type of water pollution in which the pollution can be traced back to a specific origin; examples are pipes and ditches.

ppm

Unit of measurement of pollutants and particles; stands for parts of (particle) per one million parts water.

4 or 5 ppm

Water is considered polluted if the DO level drops to this.

Fecal Coliform Test

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

Turn Over

When the temperatures change in the lake and the bottom layer rises to the top producing strong smells due to the compounds found in it.

Reservoirs (Lake Worth, Eagle Mountain Lake, Benbrook Lake, Ceder Creek Reservoir, Richland-Chambers Reservoir, Lake Bridgeport)

Where does Fort Worth get its drinking water?