WATER POLLUTION
WATER POLLUTION Introduction of any chemical, physical, or biological agent into water that degrades the quality of water and affects organisms that depend on it Clean water act 1972…restore & maintain the chemical, physical, & biological integrity of the country’s water
CAUSES AGRICULTURE… LEADING CAUSE INDUSTRY MINING HUMAN POPULATION EXPLOSION
TYPES OF POLLUTANTS TOXIC CHEMICALS SEDIMENTS ORGANIC CHEMICALS…PESTICIDES/HERBICIDES/OIL/PETROLEUM HEAVY METALS…LEAD/MERCURY/ARSENIC INORGANIC CHEMICALS…ACIDS/BASES/SALTS SEDIMENTS HEAT (THERMAL POLLUTION)…REDUCES ABILITY OF WATER TO HOLD OXYGEN…comes from power plants & industries along rivers OXYGEN DEMANDING WASTES…HUMAN/ANIMAL SEWAGE (nourishes growth of microorganisms…increases decomposition…which requires oxygen--bod: BIOCHEMICAL Oxygen Demand) NUTRIENT POLLUTANTS…nitrates & phosphates…fertilizers (eutrophication) PATHOGENS…disease causing organisms (over 500+ types); untreated wastewater
BIOMAGNIFICATION Pollutants in water Become more concentrated as it moves up the food chain Greater impact on top consumers EX: eagles, pelicans
ARTIFICIAL (CULTURAL) EUTROPHICATION Overload of nutrients in water systems Cause algal blooms Use up the oxygen Other organisms in water die from lack of oxygen
SOURCE OF POLLUTION CLEAN WATER ACT 1977… POINT SOURCE NON-POINT SOURCE COMES FROM MANY SOURCES Ex: PESTICIDES, FERTILIZERS, OIL LEAKING FROM CAR, ANIMAL FECES, SALT ON ROADS TO MELT ICE REACHES WATER THROUGH STREET & STORMS SEWERS DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY/CONTROL/REGULATE DISCHARGED FROM A SINGLE SOURCE Ex: FACTORY SEWER PIPE, WASTER WATER TREATMENT DISCHARGE, OIL TANKER EASY TO IDENTIFY/CONTROL/REGULATE CLEAN WATER ACT 1977… addressed point source pollution