organisms that are not used to the warmer

temperature. As a result, food chains of

the old and new environments may be
compromised. Some fish species will
avoid stream segments or coastal areas
adjacent to a thermal discharge.
Biodiversity can be decreased as a
result.[6]:415–17[7]:340

High temperature limits oxygen dispersion

into deeper waters, contributing to
anaerobic conditions. This can lead to
increased bacteria levels when there is
ample food supply. Many aquatic species
will fail to reproduce at elevated
temperatures.[5]:179–80
Primary producers (e.g. plants,
cyanobacteria) are affected by warm water
because higher water temperature
increases plant growth rates, resulting in a
shorter lifespan and species
overpopulation. The increased
temperature can also change the balance
of microbial growth, including the rate of
algae blooms which reduce dissolved
oxygen concentrations.[8]

Temperature changes of even one to two

degrees Celsius can cause significant
changes in organism metabolism and
other adverse cellular biology effects.
Principal adverse changes can include
rendering cell walls less permeable to
necessary osmosis, coagulation of cell
proteins, and alteration of enzyme
metabolism. These cellular level effects
can adversely affect mortality and
reproduction.

A large increase in temperature can lead to

the denaturing of life-supporting enzymes
by breaking down hydrogen- and
disulphide bonds within the quaternary
structure of the enzymes. Decreased
enzyme activity in aquatic organisms can
cause problems such as the inability to
break down lipids, which leads to
malnutrition. Increased water temperature
can also increase the solubility and
kinetics of metals, which can increase the
uptake of heavy metals by aquatic
organisms. This can lead to toxic
outcomes for these species, as well as
build up of heavy metals in higher trophic
levels in the food chain, increasing human
exposures via dietary ingestion. [8]

In limited cases, warm water has little

deleterious effect and may even lead to
improved function of the receiving aquatic
ecosystem. This phenomenon is seen
especially in seasonal waters and is
known as thermal enrichment. An extreme
case is derived from the aggregational
habits of the manatee, which often uses
power plant discharge sites during winter.
Projections suggest that manatee
populations would decline upon the
removal of these discharges.

Cold water

Releases of unnaturally cold water from

reservoirs can dramatically change the fish
and macroinvertebrate fauna of rivers, and
reduce river productivity. In Australia,
where many rivers have warmer
temperature regimes, native fish species
have been eliminated, and
macroinvertebrate fauna have been
drastically altered. This may be mitigated
by designing the dam to release warmer
surface waters instead of the colder water
at the bottom of the reservoir.[9]

Thermal shock

When a power plant first opens or shuts

down for repair or other causes, fish and
other organisms adapted to particular
temperature range can be killed by the
abrupt change in water temperature, either
an increase or decrease, known as
"thermal shock".[7]:208[10]:478

Sources and control of

thermal pollution

Cooling tower at Gustav Knepper Power Station,

Dortmund, Germany

Industrial wastewater

In the United States, about 75 to 82

percent of thermal pollution is generated
by power plants.[7]:335 The remainder is
from industrial sources such as petroleum
refineries, pulp and paper mills, chemical
plants, steel mills and smelters.[11][12]
Heated water from these sources may be
controlled with:

cooling ponds, man-made bodies of

water designed for cooling by
evaporation, convection, and radiation
cooling towers, which transfer waste
heat to the atmosphere through
evaporation and/or heat transfer
cogeneration, a process where waste
heat is recycled for domestic and/or
industrial heating purposes.[13]

Some facilities use once-through cooling

(OTC) systems which do not reduce
temperature as effectively as the above
systems. For example, the Potrero
Generating Station in San Francisco
(closed in 2011), used OTC and
discharged water to San Francisco Bay
approximately 10 °C (20 °F) above the
ambient bay temperature.[14]

A bioretention cell for treating urban runoff in

California

Urban runoff
During warm weather, urban runoff can
have significant thermal impacts on small
streams, as storm water passes over hot
parking lots, roads and sidewalks. Storm
water management facilities that absorb
runoff or direct it into groundwater, such
as bioretention systems and infiltration
basins, can reduce these thermal effects.
These related systems for managing
runoff are components of an expanding
urban design approach commonly called
green infrastructure.[15]

Retention basins (stormwater ponds) tend

to be less effective at reducing runoff
temperature, as the water may be heated
by the sun before being discharged to a
receiving stream.[16]

See also

Book: Pollution

Water cooling
Water pollution
Water quality

References
1. "Brayton Point Station: Final NPDES
Permit" . NPDES Permits in New
England. U.S. Environmental
 Protection Agency (EPA), Boston, MA.
2014. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
2. Finucane, Martin (2017-06-01). "Mass.
says goodbye to coal power
generation" . Boston Globe.
3. Selna, Robert (2009). "Power plant has
no plans to stop killing fish." San
Francisco Chronicle, January 2, 2009.
4. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. "Potrero
Power Plant: Site Overview."
Accessed 2012-07-17.
5. Goel, P.K. (2006). Water Pollution -
Causes, Effects and Control. New
Delhi: New Age International.
ISBN 978-81-224-1839-2.
6. Kennish, Michael J. (1992). Ecology of
Estuaries: Anthropogenic Effects.
Marine Science Series. Boca Raton,
Florida: CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8493-
8041-9.
7. Laws, Edward A. (2000). Aquatic
Pollution: An Introductory Text. New
York: John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-
0-471-34875-7.
 8. Vallero, D.A. in (2019). Letcher, T.M.;
Vallero, D.A. (eds.). ”Thermal Pollution”
pp. 381-388 in Waste: A Handbook for
Management. Amsterdam,
Netherlands and Boston MA, Print
Book: Elsevier Academic Press.
ISBN 9780128150603. 804 pages.}}
9. Mollyo, Fran (15 September 2015). "A
happier environment for fish" .
Phys.org. Retrieved 15 September
2015.
10. Chiras, Daniel D. (2012). Environmental
Science. Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett. ISBN 9781449614867.
11. EPA, Washington, D.C. (May 2014).
"Technical Development Document for
the Final Section 316(b) Existing
Facilities Rule." Document No. EPA
821-R-14-002. p 4-2.
12. EPA (June 2006). "Technical
Development Document for the Final
Section 316(b) Phase III Rule."
Document No. EPA 821-R-06-003.
Chapter 2.
13. EPA (1997). "Profile of the Fossil Fuel
Electric Power Generation Industry"
(PDF). Office of Compliance, Sector
Notebook Project. p. 24. Archived from
the original on 2011-02-03. Document
No. EPA/310-R-97-007.
14. California Environmental Protection
Agency. San Francisco Bay Regional
Water Quality Control Board. "Waste
Discharge Requirements for Mirant
Potrero, LLC, Potrero Power Plant."
Archived 2011-06-16 at the Wayback
Machine Order No. R2-2006-0032;
NPDES Permit No. CA0005657. May
10, 2006.
15. "What is Green Infrastructure?" . EPA.
2015-11-02.
16. EPA (August 1999). "Preliminary Data
Summary of Urban Storm Water Best
Management Practices." Document
No. EPA-821-R-99-012. p. 5-58.
Langford, Terry E.L. (1990). Ecological effects
of thermal discharges . Pollution Monitoring
Series. London: Elsevier Applied Science.
ISBN 1-85166-451-3.
Hogan, Michael; Patmore, Leda C.; Seidman,
Harry (August 1973). Statistical Prediction of
Dynamic Thermal Equilibrium Temperatures
using Standard Meteorological Data Bases .
Washington, D.C.: EPA. EPA-660/2-73-003.
 Thackston, E.L.; Parker, F.L. (March 1971).
Effect of Geographical Location on Cooling
Pond Requirements . Water Pollution Control
Research Series. Washington, D.C.: EPA. EPA-
830-R-71-001.
Edinger, J.E.; Geyer, J.C (1965). "Heat
Exchange in the Environment". New York:
Edison Electric Institute.

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