Water Pollution

Big Idea
Increased Population = Increased Pollution
Point Source Pollution
Comes from specific source
Con be monitored and controlled
Non-Point source pollution (NPS)
Associated with storm water and runoff
Cannot be traced to direct point
Examples: oil, fertilizer, animal waste, litter, household
products, and sewage
Leads to: commercial fishing, wildlife, recreation, and
drinking
Pollutant Transport Mechanisms
NPS build up on surfaces during dry weather
o Atmospheric deposition
o Fertilizer applications
o Animal waste
o Automotive exhaust/fluid leaks
Washed off surface during rain events and flows to
lakes and streams
Impervious Cover

Roads, rooftop, and parking lot

Predominant American vegetation
Provides surface for accumulation of pollutants
Leads to increased runoff and flooding

Why are pollutants so important?

 Sediment reduces light penetration in stream, clogs

gills of fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Nutrients act as fertilizer for algae & aquatic plants
which can cause highly varying dissolved oxygen levels
Toxics can impact life and contaminate drinking water
supplies.
Bacteria/Pathogens are an indicator of possible viruses
present in the system.
Inefficient Irrigation
Flood irrigation
o Wasteful
Center pivot, low pressure sprinkler
Low-energy, precision application sprinklers
Drip or trickle irrigation, micro irrigation
o Costly; less water waste
Eutrophication
MOST water comes from organic matter
Eutrophication When slow moving water contains too
much nutrients
Eutrophication= build-up of organic matter in water
causing algal blooms
Outcomes:
o Decreased sunlight
o Decaying matter uses oxygen
o Suffocation/Fish Kills
Artificial Eutrophication
o Humans add excess nutrients to soil
o Caused by runoff and fertilizers
POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER

 No degradable wastes (toxic lead, arsenic, fluoride) are

there permanently.
Slowly degradable wastes (such as DDT) are there for
decades.
Groundwater has low flow rates, few bacteria, & cold
temps - all slow down recovery time
Avg. recycling time for groundwater = 1400 years
No bacterial breakdown (takes hundreds of years)
Sources to groundwater pollution:
o landfills
o leaky underground storage tanks
o mines
o septic tanks
o hazardous waste - deep well injection
o any pollutant in runoff that percolates
Laws to help:
Clean Water Act surface water
o 1972 make water swimmable and fishable by
regulating point sources
o 1977-1987 storm water runoff
o Section 404 requires permit for draining,
dredging, filling wetlands
Mitigation banking
Safe Drinking Water Act (1974) monitors levels of
contaminants in groundwater