Water Sources & Pollutants FS Unit 5 FCS-FS-5: Students will discuss why water and pH are important factors in food preparation and preservation. C. List common sources of water and common contaminants.

Point Source Pollution  Any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged. Examples: Ditches, pipes, ship or factory smokestacks. * Defined by the EPA

Point Source Pollution  Common types of point source pollutants  Factories  Sewage Treatment Plants (oil refineries, pulp and paper mills, chemical, electronics and automobile manufacturers. Effluents – one or more pollutants discharged into water.

Point Source Pollution  Some factories discharge their effluents directly into a body of water  Other factories treat the material before it is released into the body of water.  Sewage treatment plants treat human waste and send the effluent to a stream or river.

Point Source Pollution  Sometime sewage plants will mix waste with materials in combined sewage systems.  Runoff – storm water that flows over surfaces like driveways and lawns.  As runoff crosses these surfaces it picks up chemicals and pollutants.  This is untreated and goes into the sewer system.

Point Source Pollution  Large farms are often point source pollutants  Untreated animal waste may enter nearby water bodies as untreated sewage.  These can contaminate drinking water and can restrict activities like fishing and swimming.  These are known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s)

Controlling Point Source Pollution The Clean Water Act established the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) - Factories, Sewage treatment plants and other point sources must obtain a permit from the state the EPA before they can discharge their waste or effluents into any body of water.

Controlling Point Source Pollution  Before Discharge: they must use the latest technologies available to treat its effluents and reduce the level of pollutants  If necessary a second more stringent set of controls can be placed on a point source to protect a specific water body.

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground.  As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal water and even our underground sources of drinking water.

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Pollutants Include…  Excess Fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas  Oil grease and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production  Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands and eroding stream banks.  Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines  Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes and faulty septic systems.

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Caused from a wide variety of human activities on land  Leading cause of remaining water quality problems  Can’t always be fully assessed  Harmful affects on drinking water, recreation, fisheries and wildlife..

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Prevention  Reduce Soil Erosion  Legislation to govern mining and logging and protect groundwater.  Zoning or erosion control ordinances  Individuals can participate in conservation practices.

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Atmospheric Deposition - Gases and particulates released to the atmosphere from combustion sources such as motor vehicle emissions, slash burning, and industrial sources, contain nitrogen, sulphur, and metal compounds, which eventually settle to the ground as dust or fall to the earth in rain and snow.

Nonpoint Source Pollution  Hydromodification – Encompasses the systematic response to alterations to riverine and non-riverine water bodies such as coastal waters (estuaries and bays) and lakes.