By: Nicole Neilson Fresh Water Contamination

Water In British Columbia  Without a steady supply of fresh and clean water, all life would not exist  Water in BC is often taken for granted  Canada contains 1/5 of the world’s fresh water  Average daily use of fresh water in BC is 500 liters per person

Uses of Water in British Columbia  Water has been used since the very beginning  Water is used to power our homes, for drinking, for agriculture, to sustain wildlife, to transport goods, hydro-electric power, fisheries, and for everyday use

Importance of Water  Obviously, water is necessary to survive  Water is critical in many other resources such as fisheries, transportation for lumber, dams in hydro-electric power, water for agriculture, drinking water, etc  Water was how the fur trade was able to happen, as they travelled along rivers to their destinations  As early as 5000 BC irrigation has been used to increase crop production

Importance of Watersheds  British Columbia contains one of the most important fresh watersheds, the Fraser river  There are 291,000 other watersheds in BC including Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam reservoirs  Watersheds are areas that store all the water that flows in from the surrounding streams and rivers  Water in the watersheds is used for all of the previously listed things

Water pollution  BC contains some of the cleanest water in the world, but still our everyday life is beginning to affect the quality of water  Water can be contaminated by pollutants such as herbicides, pesticides, oil, and manure from agriculture  Chemicals such as oil, gas and metals are washed into storm drains which drain into streams  Toxic substances are often washed down household drains and feed into streams and marine bays  Untreated sewage is often emptied into lakes

Sources of water pollution  Other ways fresh water can be contaminated are..  Tanks, pipelines or sewer lines that have leaked  Industrial chemical spills  Livestock wastes and municipal landfills  Contaminants in the rain, snow or atmospheric fallout

Water pollution (different side of view)  Although many of these things pollute the water, on the other hand the only positive thing is that these industries provide jobs for people and as well as economic benefits  There is not really a positive side to pollution

Question  What effect or effects is pollution having on our fresh water supply?

Effects of pollution  Excess nitrates and phosphates in the water can cause algae growth to speed up and create algae blooms which kill aquatic plants by preventing them from getting enough sun to survive  Construction/logging in an area can cause erosion which contaminates streams with extra sediment

Effects of pollution in clean water  Extra sediments reduce the effectiveness of water purification so its harder to obtain clean drinking water  Any chemicals in the water kill any fish and also make it unsafe to drink and use for farming to grow crops

Pollution on a global level  Most other countries in the world have a form of pollution in their water, most other countries are much worse compared to Canada  840,000 people die each year from water related diseases  Contaminated water is the world’s biggest health risk and 750 million people lack access to clean water  Some countries with the most polluted water include India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil and the United States

Pollution situations similar to BC  A country with similar pollution situations to BC is France  Pollution is a problem due to accumulation of industrial contaminants, agricultural nitrates, and waste from the nation's cities  France uses 73% of its fresh water for industrial purposes and 12% for farming  Similar to BC, France’s forests are affected by acid rain and other contaminants  France is working on creating protection laws and licensing approved dump spots

How to reduce pollution  First possible solution would be to reduce the amount of waste and chemicals that enters water  This is not always possible, so we should try and treat the waste in treatment plants before it enters the water so it is less harmful  Make sure to follow all rules to do with dumping wastes. For example watershed protection and clean water acts

How to deal with pollution already in water  There are a few methods of removing already existing pollution from water  One method is air stripping  Air stripping involves pumping out the dirty water, heating it up so the contaminants evaporate, and then re-injecting the clean water back into the ground.  Other ways are using granular activated carbon and advanced oxidation

Sources "Freshwater | WWF-Canada Conservation." Freshwater. Web. 23 May "PAN Europe - Issues." PAN Europe - Issues. Web. 23 May "Encyclopedia of the Nations." Environment. Web. 23 May "Water." Government of Canada, Environment Canada. Web. 19 May "Freshwater." David Suzuki. Web. 21 May 2015.

Sources "Anne Murray: Fresh Water Is B.C.'s Greatest Resource." Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 22 Mar Web. 21 May "Capital Regional District." Our Environment. Web. 22 May "Water Crisis." Water. Web. 22 May "Living Water Smart." : B.C.'s Water Plan. Web. 21 May "Water Pollution Freshwater." Pollution Issues. Web. 21 May 2015.