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Chapter 20
Nonpoint sources
Biological oxygen demand
Water Quality
Good
Do (ppm) at 20C
8-9
Water quality
Slightly polluted
6.7-8
4.5-6.7 Below 4.5 Below 4
Moderately polluted
Heavily polluted Gravely polluted
Pg. 535
Rural homes
Urban streets
Cropland
Animal feedlot
Suburban development POINT SOURCES
Factory
Water pollution
Bacteria,Viruses,Protozoa, Parasitic worms Oxygen demanding substances Inorganic plant nutrients Organic chemicals Sediment or suspended matter Thermal pollution Genetic pollution
Biological Magnification
Water 0.000002 ppm Herring gull 124 ppm Phytoplankton 0.0025 ppm
Pollution of Streams
Fig. 20-5
Pollution of Lakes
Eutrophication
Discharge of untreated municipal sewage (nitrates and phosphates) Nitrogen compounds produced by cars and factories
Natural runoff (nitrates and phosphates Manure runoff From feedlots (nitrates and Phosphates, ammonia)
Runoff from streets, lawns, and construction Lake ecosystem lots (nitrates and nutrient overload phosphates) and breakdown of chemical cycling Runoff and erosion Dissolving of (from from cultivation, nitrogen oxides mining, construction, (from internal combustion and poor land use) engines and furnaces)
Discharge of treated municipal sewage (primary and secondary treatment: nitrates and phosphates)
Drainage Area Management Plans Agriculture plots 1987 Water Quality Act
Leaking tank
Water table
Groundwater flow Free gasoline dissolves in Gasoline groundwater leakage plume (dissolved (liquid phase) phase)
Water well
Fig. 20-12
Accidental spills
Fig. 20-11
Industry Nitrogen oxides from autos and smokestacks, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals in effluents flow into bays and estuaries.
Cities Toxic metals and oil from streets and parking lots pollute waters;
Urban sprawl Bacteria and viruses from sewers and septic tanks contaminate shellfish beds
Construction sites Sediments are washed into waterways, choking fish and plants, clouding waters, and blocking sunlight.
Farms Runoff of pesticides, manure, and fertilizers adds toxins and excess nitrogen and phosphorus.
Red tides Excess nitrogen causes explosive growth of toxicmicroscopic algae, poisoning fish and marine mammals.
Toxic sediments Chemicals and toxic metals contaminate shellfish beds, kill spawning fish, and accumulate in the tissues of bottom feeders. Oxygen-depleted zone Sedimentation and algae overgrowth reduce sunlight, kill beneficial sea grasses, use up oxygen, and degrade habitat. Healthy zone Clear, oxygen-rich waters promote growth of plankton and sea grasses, and support fish. 21-10, p. 505 Fig.
Fig. 20-15
Treated water
Water in many of central China's rivers are greenish black from uncontrolled pollution by thousands of factories.
Figure 20-7
Religious beliefs, cultural traditions, poverty, and a large population interact to cause severe pollution of the Ganges River in India.
Very
little of the sewage is treated. Hindu believe in cremating the dead to free the soul and throwing the ashes in the holy Ganges.
Some
are too poor to afford the wood to fully cremate. Decomposing bodies promote disease and depletes DO.
Daily, more than 1 million Hindus in India bathe, drink from, or carry out religious ceremonies in the highly polluted Ganges River.
Some bottled water is not as pure as tap water and costs much more.
1.4
million metric tons of plastic bottles are thrown away. Fossil fuels are used to make plastic bottles.
The
oil used to produce plastic bottles in the U.S. each year would fuel 100,000 cars.
The U.N. estimates that 5.6 million Americans drink water that does not meet EPA standards. 1 in 5 Americans drinks water from a treatment plant that violated one or more safety standard.
What Can You Do? Water Pollution Fertilize garden and yard plants with manure or compost instead of commercial inorganic fertilizer. Minimize your use of pesticides. Do not apply fertilizer or pesticides near a body of water. Grow or buy organic foods. Do not drink bottled water unless tests show that your tap water is contaminated. Merely refill and reuse plastic bottles with tap water. Compost your food wastes. Do not use water fresheners in toilets. Do not flush unwanted medicines down the toilet. Do not pour pesticides, paints, solvents, oil, antifreeze, or other products containing harmful chemicals down the drain or onto the ground.
Roger Rosenblatt
It is a hard truth to swallow, but nature does not care if we live or die. We cannot survive without the oceans, for example, but they can do just fine without us. End chapter 20