Introduction

 Pollution can be defined as the change of physical, che

mical and biological properties of water, restricting or
preventing its use in the various applications.
 . Water is polluted artificially by human activities or na
turally due to salt water intrusion and others without h
uman intervention. In the new reclaimed lands, agricu
ltural and industrial activities may create different sou
rces of pollution.
 . Groundwater pollution is mainly influenced by sever
al factors which are summarized as follows:
1. Chemical and biochemical factors, comprising propert
ies of the soils and pollutants.
2. Mechanical factor, including aquifer velocities, densiti
es and viscosities of pollutants, patterns of waste dispo
sals, duration and areas of contact between pollutant s
ources and water.
3. Geological, structural and geographical factors, includi
ng subsurface geology, stratification, types of aquifers,
climatic and hydrologic conditions which may vary in t
ime and space.
Agricultural impacts on water qua
lity
 Tillage/ploughing
Impacts on Surface water: Sediment/turbidity: sediments
carry phosphorus and pesticides adsorbed to sediment part
icles; siltation of river beds and loss of habitat, spawning gr
ound, etc.
 Fertilizing
Impacts on Surface water: Runoff of nutrients, especially p
hosphorus, leading to eutrophication causing taste and od
our in public water supply, excess algae growth leading to d
eoxygenation of water and fish kills.
Impacts on GroundWater: Leaching of nitrate to groundw
ater; excessive levels are a threat to public health.
 Manure spreading
Impacts on Surface water: Carried out as a fertilizer activity; spreading on f
rozen ground results in high levels of contamination of receiving water
s by pathogens, metals, phosphorus and nitrogen leading to eutrophica
tion and potential contamination.
Impacts on Groundwater: Contamination of ground-water, especially b
y nitrogen.
 Pesticides
Impacts on Surface water: Runoff of pesticides leads to contamination
of surface water and biota; dysfunction of ecological system in surface
waters by loss of top predators due to growth inhibition and reproducti
ve failure; public health impacts from eating contaminated fish. Pestici
des are carried as dust by wind over very long distances and contaminat
e aquatic systems 1000s of miles away (e.g. tropical/subtropical pesticid
es found in Arctic mammals).
Impacts on Groundwater: Some pesticides may leach into groundwater causing
human health problems from contaminated wells.
 Irrigation
 Impacts on Surface water: Erosion of land, leading to hig
h levels of turbidity in rivers, siltation of bottom habitat, et
c. Disruption and change of hydrologic regime, often with l
oss of perennial streams; causes public health problems du
e to loss of potable water
 Impacts on Groundwater: Enrichment of groundwater wi
th salts, nutrients (especially nitrate).
 These are the main groundwater contaminants which
are found in agricultural areas:
 Pesticides
 Nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus)
 Microorganisms (Pathogens)
 Organic Matter
How Pesticides Get Into Ground
water
 Practices of users
 Water (or lack of) on site surfaces
 Chemical nature of pesticide
 Type of soil at release site
 Location of groundwater
 distance from surface
 geological formation above it
Groundwater Contaminations Due t
o Practices of Pesticide Users
 Not following label directions
 Overdosing (it’s illegal!)
 Application method
 Back-siphoning
 Storage close to water*
 Mixing/cleaning sites*
 Improper disposal
Groundwater Contamination
Due to Pesticide Factors
 Solubility

 Adsorption

 Persistence
Advantages of Pesticides
 Save human lives (malaria, bubonic plague, typhoid fe
ver)
 Increase food supplies (even now 55% of world’s poten
tial food supply is ‘lost’ to other species)
 Increase profit for farmers
 They work fast
Disadvantages of Pesticides
 They accelerate the development of genetic resista
nce to pesticides by pest organisms
 They can put farmers on a financial treadmill
 Some kill natural predators and parasites that cont
rol ‘pests’
 They don’t stay put
—only 0.1 to 2% of stuff applied reaches target insect, 5% reaches
target plant—the rest—into air, water, humans, wildlife
Nutrients
 Farmers apply nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen
, and potassium in the form of chemical fertilizers, ma
nure, and sludge.
 The risk of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus
reaching groundwater depends on the nutrient and th
e type of soil
 Phosphorus is not very soluble in water and rarely reac
hes groundwater
Ground Water Pollution by Nitrogen Compunds

 Nitrogen is used by plants: NO3- (nitrate), NH4+ (amm

onium cation) used as fertilizers

 As per IS 10500:1991, the permissible limit for nitrate (NO3) co

ncentration in drinking water is 45 mg/L

 Uncontaminated groundwater = 2 ppm nitrate

 9% of shallow aquifers have > 10 ppm nitrate
 Cities usually use deep aquifers which are less contaminated
 Rural wells in shallow aquifers often face nitrate problem

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  Sources of nitrate
 Fertilized farmland
 Unfertilized farmland still produces nitrate due to high plant a
nd microorganism activity

 In the past 50 years, the use of N-fertilizers was increased treme

ndously in the country, from 58,700 tones in 1951-52 to 1,55,92,7
00 tones in 2009-2010, while the use of other fertilizers (P and K)
was relatively less
 Punjab and Haryana All India Nitrate pollution >45mg/L
are consuming >10 Assam was also found in Gujarat,
0 kg/ha N fertilisers Goa
and have highest nit Orissa Maharashtra, and Orissa
rate pollution. Rajasthan
Kerala MP, AP, WB, Karnataka,
M.P. Bihar are prone to NO3 po
H.P. llution due to increasing tr
Mahara.
J&K end in fertiliser use.
Karnataka
Gujarat
W.B.
Bihar
T.N.
NO3 (1990) U.P.
A.P. 1999-00
Haryana 1990-91
Punjab
Pondi.
Delhi

100 50 0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

NO3 concentration (mg/L) Fertiliser consumption (kg/ha)
Nitrate Health Risks
 Methemoglobinemia = “blue baby syndrome”
 NO2- combines with Hemoglobin, blocking oxygen tra
nsport (thus the blue color)
 brain damage and eventually death can result from suff
ocation due to lack of oxygen
 Most adults have enzymes that return the Hemoglobin t
o a useful state
 gastric, intestinal cancer, etc.
 Largely a rural problem, as is nitrate pollution

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Removal of Nitrogen
 Ammonium ion removal
 Ammonium cation is converted to ammonia gas and re
moved by aeration
NH4+ + OH- ----> NH3 + H2O
 Ion exchange works because ammonium is a cation

 Nitrate removal
 Denitrification = bacteria can turn NO3- into N2 gas

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Phosphorus
 Fertilizers usually contain Phosphorus in the form Ph
osphate.
 Other sources of Phosphate producing can be animal
manure, detergents and some other natural sources.
 Phosphorus is not very soluble in water and rarely reac
hes groundwater except in areas with sandy, clay-free s
oil.
 Ground water pollution due to Phosphorus is not very
important.
Major points on groundwater pollution
 Ignored until about 1980 (out of site, out of mind)
 Has been used increasingly as drinking water
 Can’t be cleaned up easily like surface water can:
 Pump-and-treat: continuous process, very expensive

 Groundwater Pollution by Organics

 Organic Compounds in Groundwater
 Landfills
 Industrial Sites
 Agricultural Land
 1940—1980 was the age of groundwater pollution

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Organic Compounds in Groundwater
 Typical contaminants
 Most organic surface pollutants are broken down in the s
oil by bacteria, light, or oxidation. Only a few aren’t.
H Cl
 THM’s like CHCl3 C C
Cl Cl
 C2HCl3 = trichloroethene
 More dense than water, so collects at the bottom of
CH
aquifer
C
H3 3

H
C
 BTX Hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene)
3

 Source is gasoline (steel tanks corrode and leak)

 Fairly soluble in water, rest of gasoline is not CH3
 Less dense than water, so floats on top of aquifer H3C O C CH3

 MTBE = methyl t-butyl ether gas additive also in this layer CH3

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