Fresh Water Systems: Evaluating Water System’s Health You will be able to determine the health of a fresh water system using bio and physical indicators

Rank the pictures in terms of the healthiest water A B CD

Understanding Water’s Health 2 Main Indicators Physical Indicators- the presence or absence of chemicals or the clarity of the water Bio-Indicator- Using life forms to determine the health of a water system

Physical Indicators: 5 Types Temperature: heat gained or lost by water Dissolved Oxygen: as temperature goes up levels go down drastically pH: how acidic (H+) or basic water (OH-)is scale 7.0 “perfect” for fresh water / for salt water Turbidity (Clarity): sediment or algae in water Hardness- amount of metal dissolved in the water (Mg or Ca)

What causes changes in Physical Indicators? Temperature- affected by global warming and cooling events; also algae blooms Dissolved Oxygen- most affected by temperature increase, as temp goes up levels go down quickly pH- acid rain created by air pollution (both natural and man made) makes pH levels drop; decay of organic matter also causes this, water hardness goes up Turbidity- caused by increase of sediment or algae in water: blocks sunlight and kills. Fertilizer Run-Off a BIG PROBLEM!

What’s so bad about Fertilizer Run- off? Addition of fertilizers releases Nitrates directly into water and causes Algae Blooms Algae blooms can be deadly with RED TIDE (dinoflagallate)! Algae grows so quickly and rapidly it (1)blocks sunlight and (2)removes all oxygen in water and (3)releases toxins in water

Bio-Indicators The use of living organisms to determine the health of a Water System. Ecologist use “fragile” or sensitive organism to best determine health of system: trout would be used over catfish since trout are more delicate and live in all zones of the water; catfish live on bottom so not accurate in determining health of system

Determining Pollution Sources 2 Types Pollutant- any chemical, compound, or organism (microbe) not naturally found in the environment Point Source Pollution Problem- You can clearly find where pollution is coming from Non Point Source Pollution: You can not clearly state where problem is from. Chemical, Compound, or organism (microbe) too widely spread or too commonly found.

Point or Non Point Source 1. Oil tanker in Ocean 2. Insecticide in River 3. E.Coli in Water from sewer 4. Mercury in soil and groundwater 5. High nitrate levels in River 6. High Temperature Water from power plant 7. Muddy Water from Construction Site 8. Plastic bags drifting in Ocean 9. Low pH levels in lakes 10. High CO 2 in Air 1. Point Source 2. Non Point Source 3. Point Source 4. Non Point Source 5. Non Point Source 6. Point Source 7. Point Source 8. Non Point Source 9. Non point Source 10. Non Point Source

Closing Agree or Disagree “All pollution comes from a source. Therefore, there is no such thing as Non Point Pollution”