Lesson 16: Freshwater Stress: Part II – Water Pollution Amy Duray EVPP April 2010

Water Quality Alterations Point-source versus non-point source pollution pH Eutrophication and Nutrient Load Minerals, Metals and Toxic Substances

Drivers Increasing Human populations, especially in historically occupied river basins and coastal enclaves Increasing globalization in world economy Natural Hydrologic processes

Pressures Agricultural expansion Urbanization Increasing industrial (point source) pollution Increasing agricultural (non-point source) pollution Reduced hydrologic flow – concentrates pollution and makes it more difficult to flush or dilute pollution once it is in the water source. Changes in precipitation/Increasing variability especially with respect to monsoons. (Urban storm- water events)

State and Trends – (1 of 2) Increasing nutrient loads Increasing pollutant loads Groundwater pollution

State and Trends (2 of 2) StateTrends ESI Country Names (alphabetical order) Dissolved oxygen concentration (mg/L) Electrical conductivity (microSiemens/c m) Phosphor us concentrat ion (mg/L) Suspend ed solids(m g/L) Industrial organic water pollutant (BOD) emissions per available freshwater (T/km3) Fertilizer consumption per hectare of arable land (100g/Ha) Pesticide consumption per hectare of arable land (kg/Ha) China Japan Mongolia North Korea South Korea Taiwan Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Thailand Viet Nam

Impacts Eutrophication Fish kills Impacts to human health Decreased availability of potable water

China: Pressures Increasing agricultural inputs of fertilizer and pesticide Increasing urbanization means increasing storm water inputs, and larger pollutant load Industrial discharges Increasing production of hazardous wastes, with poor disposal/sequestration protocols Increased damming for hydropower leading to reduced flow volume Increasing irrigation withdraws leading to reduced flow volume Lack of adequate enforcement of National environmental policies regarding waste water

China: State and Trends Aquifers below 90% of China’s cities are polluted The Chinese Government has reported that 30% of river water throughout the country is unfit for use in agriculture or industry 700 Million people drink water contaminated with animal and human wastes

China: Impacts World Bank links water contamination as the leading cause of death among children under age 5. 11% of gastrointestinal cancers in China are linked to water pollutants Every year, an estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study The health burden has an economic price. The cost of cancer treatment has reached almost 100 billion yuan a year ($14.6 billion), accounting for 20 percent of China's medical expenditure, according to Chinese media. Widespread lotic habitat destruction

China – The Huai River

The Huai River Most densely populated area of China Water utilization exceed 70% Heavily impounded: 5,600 reservoirs Industries: paper-making, brewing, chemical production, tanning, and tobacco and food processing Between 1981 and 2003, the population grew by 30 percent

Pollutants in the Huai Ineffective/inadequate wastewater treatment 50% - industrial pollutants Wheat straw

Quick Chronology of the Huai 1853 – Major Hydrologic changes to the Yellow river leave Huai with no outlet to the sea 1917 – China seeks partnership with both Canada and US engineers to relieve flooding 1950 – Disastrous flooding: Mao creates Huai River Conservancy 1974 – major pollution release 1975 – collapse of two dams kills 250, , 1996 – major seasonal flooding 1998 – Zero Hour Operation - plan to clean the river – River runs dry in the dry season 2001 – Additional flooding – 38 Billion Gallons 2004 – Further flooding – 500 million tons of polluted water after a rainfall

Flooding in the Huai River Valley

Difficulties in implementing controls Four provinces Size-based standards Unrealistically high targets for reduction Inadequate enforcement Impounding water makes it difficult to control contamination created by flood events

Response - Green GDP ngle/en/ ngle/en/ g&feature=related g&feature=related