Science Second Edition by Gilbert M. Masters Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science by Davis and Masten Principles of Environmental Science by Cunningham and Cunningham RA 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 Water Resources Sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Water is so common and we take it for granted. After all, it covers nearly three-fourths of the surface of the earth. And we probably think it is much like any other liquid, but it is not. In fact, nearly every physical and chemical property of water is unusual when compared with other liquids, and these differences are essential to life as we know it. Water Resources The hydrologic cycle constantly redistributes water
Renewable water supplies are resources that
are replenished regularly e.g., surface waters and shallow groundwater
Agriculture is the greatest water user
Water Resources Industry uses about one-fourth of water withdrawals (taken from a water body)
Domestic or household water use accounts for
only about 6% of world water use
Water shortages prevent agriculture, industry
and other developments Distribution of Earths Water What is Water Pollution? Is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater.
Occurs when pollutants are discharged directly
or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. What is Water Pollution? Affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water.
In almost all cases the effect is damaging not
only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities. Point Sources refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable, and specific source or location, such as a pipe, sewer outfalls, or ditch
are discrete and identifiable and easy to monitor
and regulate Point Sources possible to divert effluent from the waste streams of these sources and treat it before it enters the environment
Examples of sources in this category include
discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, a storm drain, power plants, underground coal mines and oil wells Non-point Sources refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete source
are diffuse, having no specific location where
they discharge into a particular body of water
is often the cumulative effect of small amounts
of contaminants gathered from a large area. Non-point Sources Much harder to monitor and regulate than point sources because their origins are hard to identify
Include runoff from farm fields, feedlots, golf
courses, lawns and gardens, construction sites, logging areas, roads, street (episodes of rainfalls may flush gasoline, lead, oil, rubber residues, etc. off city streets) Non-point Sources may also come from atmospheric deposition of contaminants carried by air currents and precipitated into water sheds or directly into surface waters
A common example is the leaching out of
nitrogen compounds from fertilized agriculture lands. Water Pollutants Water that has been withdrawn, used for some purpose, and then returned will be polluted in one way or another. Agricultural return water contains pesticides, fertilizers, and salts; municipal return water carries human sewage; power plants discharge water that is elevated in temperature; industry contributes a wide range of chemical pollutants and organic wastes. Oxygen-demanding Wastes Are substances that oxidize the receiving body of water. As bacteria decompose these wastes, they utilize oxygen dissolved in the water, which reduces the remaining amount of DO (dissolved oxygen). As DO drops, fish and other aquatic life are threatened and, in the extreme case, killed. Are usually biodegradable organic substances contained in municipal wastewaters or in effluents from certain industries, such as food processing and paper production. Nutrients Are chemicals that are essential to the growth of living things. In terms of water quality, they are considered as pollutants when their concentrations are sufficient to allow excessive growth of aquatic plants, particularly algae. excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous and other nutrients disturb the food web causing some organisms to proliferate at the expense of others Nutrients When nutrients stimulate the growth of algae, the attractiveness of the body of the water for recreational uses, as a drinking water supply, and as a viable habitat for other living things can be adversely affected. Major sources of nutrients are phosphorous- based detergents, food processing wastes and animal and human excrement Pathogens Are disease causing organisms that grow and multiply within the host.
The resulting growth of microorganisms in a
host is called an infection.
Examples of pathogens associated with water
include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, helminths or parasitic worms. Pathogens When discharged to surface waters, make water unfit for drinking (non-potable)
Increase toxicity levels in shellfish
Suspended Solids are organic and inorganic particles and includes eroded soil carried by water
Organic suspended solids exert oxygen demand
Sediments -solids that settle at the bottom of
water bodies Colloidal particles those that do not settle readily Suspended Solids Organic and inorganic suspended solids Effects: cause turbidity, decrease light penetration, destroy habitat for many aquatic (benthic) organisms Salts When the concentration is increased natural population of plants and animals is threatened. water is no longer useful for water public supplies or irrigation. results to crop damage or soil poisoning. Heavy Metals It is often used to refer to metals with specific gravity greater than about 4 or 5. in terms of their environmental impacts, the most important heavy metals are mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic.
They may be inhaled, as is often the case with lead,
for example, and they may be ingested. How well they are absorbed in the body depends somewhat on the particular metal in question and the particular form that exists in. Toxic Metals and Organic Compounds incompatible with the natural ecosystem and many human users
Agricultural runoff contains pesticides and
herbicides
Urban runoff contains zinc from tire wear
Toxic Metals and Organic Compounds Industrial wastewaters contain either toxic metals or toxic organic/inorganic substances
Oil pollution from marine transport
Discarded plastics polystyrene foam
containers or polyethylene packing materials
These toxic compounds are concentrated in the
food web making fish and shellfish unsafe for human consumption Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals or EDCs include polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly used pesticides such as atrazine and other triazine chemicals and the thalates EDCs can mimic estrogens, androgens, or thyroid hormones, or their antagonists EDCs interfere with the regulation of reproductive and developmental processes in mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals or EDCs EDCs can alter the normal physiological functions of the endocrine system and can affect then synthesis of hormones in the body
EDCs need close monitoring and surveillance
studies for characterization and evaluation of potential environmental effects Pesticides Is used to cover a range of chemicals that kill organisms that humans consider undesirable. Pesticide use raises a number of environmental concerns. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, including non-target species, air, water and soil. Pesticides Pesticide drift occurs when pesticides suspended in the air as particles are carried by wind to other areas, potentially contaminating them. Pesticides are one of the causes of water pollution and some pesticides are persistent organic pollutants and contribute to soil contamination Arsenic naturally occurring element in the environment e.g. in ground water as a result of minerals dissolving naturally from weathered rocks and soils (from iron oxides and sulfide minerals) Arsenic Arsenic poisoning have health effects ranging from circulatory disorders, gastrointestinal upsets, diabetes, peripheral neuropathies and skin lesions
Arsenic contaminated drinking water may result
to skin cancer, internal cancers of liver, bladder, kidney and lungs Thermal Pollution(Heat) A large steam-electric power plant requires an enormous amount of cooling water. A typical nuclear plant for example warms about 150,000 m3/hr of cooling water by 10C as it passes through the plants condenser. If that heat is released into a local river or lake, the resulting rise in temperature can adversely affect life in the vicinity of the thermal plume. As water temperature increases, two factors combine to make it more difficult for aquatic life to get sufficient oxygen from the water. Thermal Pollution(Heat) Effluent from cooling systems of power plants and other industries
May have both positive and negative effects on the
receiving water depending on the requirement of organisms
High temperatures cause abnormalities in development
of some aquatic species, increase the rate of oxygen depletion in areas where oxygen demanding wastes are present, hence deterioration of water quality Volatile Organic Compounds Are among the most commonly found contaminants in groundwater. They are often used as solvents in industrial processes, and a number of them are either known or suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Their volatility means they are not often found in concentrations above in surface waters, but in groundwater their concentrations can be hundreds or thousands of times higher. Water Pollution Control Cheapest and most effective way to reduce pollution is to avoid producing it or releasing it in the first place Eliminating lead from gasoline Careful handling of oil and petroleum products during usage or transport and distribution Banning of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and PCBs (Persistent chlorinated biphenyls) Water Pollution Control Industries can reduce pollution by recycling or reclaiming materials that otherwise might be discarded in the waste stream Waste Water Treatment
Primary Treatment removal of solids from waste
streams with screens and settling tanks Waste Water Treatment Secondary Treatment removal of pathogens and organics Aeration of effluent with sprayers or in an aeration tank Stand in sewage lagoons where sunlight, algae and air process waste more cheaply Effluent from secondary treatment process is usually disinfected with chlorine, UV light, or ozone to kill harmful bacteria before release into nearby waterway Waste Water Treatment Tertiary Treatment removal of dissolved metals and nutrients especially nitrates and phosphates from secondary effluent Use of chemicals to bind and precipitate nutrients Remediation cleaning up contaminated sites
environmental engineering solutions
Containment methods addition of chemicals to
precipitate, immobilize or solidify contaminants
Physical methods stripping off the solvents and other
volatile organic compounds from solution by aeration and then burned in an incinerator (result: air pollution) Bio-remediation use of living organisms to clean up contaminated water Some plants take up heavy metals and organic contaminants Duckweed covering eutrophic ponds can remove large amounts of organic nutrients from water (duckweeds can be harvested and used as feed, fuel or fertilizer) Philippine Environmental Legislation Related to Water Pollution