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8/2/2019 Mitigation Strategies and Solutions (Final)-Will-Williamson
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 1
Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource
Sustainability
William Williamson
University of Phoenix
AAEV0I70O4; SCI 275
Lyle Henson
July 28th, 2009
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 2
The issues that I believe is in most need of solving is the pollution that is dumped or spilled in
our oceans as well as what runs off from land causing damaging effects in which destroy many
valuable aspects of our environment. Water pollution has become an increasingly high dilemma
in which if not taken care of and prevented we as a world could lose our most valuable and
abundant resource. This issue originated from the dumping and spills of materials when in
transport from one side to another within the earth. The many individuals that dump even one
single object into the ocean adds up when considering a world population that is so vast as ours
drastically multiplies the number of objects thrown into the ocean per day.
In fact, half the country's population depends on groundwater for drinking. Annual
withdrawals of drinking water have more than doubled since 1950. [1] The demand for water
grows at an estimated rate of 2.4% per year since 70s in which agriculture is responsible for
70% of the worldwide water withdraws, however, on a smaller geographic scale this figure
ranges from as high as 90% in the lowest-income developing countries to less than 50% in some
developed countries. But the demand for water for industrial and municipal use is expected to
double in the next 25 years, leading to growing competition with agricultural water needs.
Agriculture's share may decline as a result. [3]
The total water resource available to us is 97% oceanic type waters, which are too salty for
any productive uses in which two-thirds happen to be locked up in polar icecaps and the like.
The remainder of our water resources is found in rivers and lakes in which is less than 100,000
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 3
ck, which is the major contributor of the usable supply of water. Spokesman James T. B. Tripp
of the Environmental Defense Fund Inc. stated, The evidence of increasing groundwater
contamination requires a federal response. He cites the relationship of surface and groundwater
and the interstate nature of many of the larger aquifers as reasons for developing a national
groundwater protection strategy. [1]
The major issue that surround water resources have been being ignored for decades while
many continue to spill and dump waste, materials and chemicals into our waters, which causes
many significant issues among many oceanic life as well as the healthiness of our water
resources which directly affect our species as well. Many animals as well as plants within the
oceans that are beginning to suffer and decrease in population, which over fishing and other
harvesting of materials like oil and minerals directly affect all living things within its
surroundings by decreasing food, shelter and polluting the surroundings.
In fact, within a half-century after WWII irrigation spread massively spanning from 90
million hectares to 270 million hectares in which an annual compound growth rate of over
2.5%. Most of the irrigated land is in the developing countries; over halfis in Asia. [3]
Irrigation is beneficial in many ways by providing us with more wealth, lower food pricing and
further the developing progress of our economical as well as agricultural environment; however
despite the benefits of irrigation it can also cause many serious issues within our environment.
Irrigation development has led to social and environmental problems such as salinization of soils,
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 4
pollution of aquifers by agrochemicals, loss of wildlife habitats, and the forced resettlement of
those previously living in areas submerged by reservoirs. [3]
Positive or negative human impacts affect all bodies of water in which water contamination
naturally occurs, which does not
affect our resources as it is
minimal contamination; however
the way humans live causes much
damage as water run-off as well
as littering and dumping causes
much contamination in which
destroys the surrounding life as it
becomes unusable or unhealthy
for all living organisms. In many
aspects water pollution has a severe impact on land and in the sea in which the EPA stated, The
Coastal environments are strongly influenced by upstream sources of pollution and freshwater
inflow. Marine debris, solid material directly or indirectly deposited into an aquatic environment
is a major problem, according to EPA. The debris can be detergent bottles, plastic, hazardous
medical wastes, and other materials. 50% of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of the
coasts."[4]
Farmers of 10 use chemicals to hinder buginfestations or other diseases from damaging orruining their crops. They may also use chemicals to
enhance the growth of their crops. Either way,
these chemicals seep into the ground water or runoff into lakes, creeks, or rivers, causing water
pollution. [5]
Industrial processes produce toxic wastecontaining heavy metals. When heavy metals filter
into water, they are fatal to marine life.[5]
The construction industry is also at fault forcontaminating our water resources with cement,
lubricants, plastics and metals.Rivers and lakes are
also polluted from heavy silt or sediment run-off
from construction sites. [5]
Table 1.1- Contamination List
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 5
Many Europeans rivers around highly populated areas had significantly lower amounts of
dissolved oxygen, which limits the life of fish and other resources and in many cases with high
contamination the dissolved oxygen level reached zero, which sustains no life. For instance, the
Rhine River (basin area 220,000 km2), with O2 below 3 mg/L between 1955 and 1975 and BOD5
(the amount of dissolved oxygen in water consumed in 5 days by the decomposition of organic
matter) up to 10 mg/L, saw a spectacular increase in the mid-1970s. [2] The table below shows
a few of the many causes of water pollution in which leads to this massive and devastating issue.
The current sustainability strategies and solutions are inefficient and ineffective as it only
applies the most minimal actions to solve the issue in which only allows for the issue to be
sustained instead of solving the issue and sustaining the resource itself. There are many
organizations that have made major efforts to sustain and manage the water resources that we
currently possess; however the government has only tried to ignore or deny the issue which at
times many individuals have noticed in the past 10 years with the factual evidence that these
issues are present and in need of solving to allow our species as well as other species to
sustainably-live. Below are two of the effective actions that the United State has taken, which
have helped water pollution issues decrease, but has not solved the issue in which has become
more difficult to maintain as a result this causes many oversights as well as inaccurate
inspections and reviews.
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 6
The Clean Water Act is a U.S. federal law that regulates the discharge of pollutants intothe nation's surface waters, including lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and coastal areas.
Passed in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987, the Clean Water Act was originally
known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The Clean Water Act is administered
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets water quality standards,
handles enforcement, and helps state and local governments develop their own pollution
control plans. [6]
The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 represents an important step in improving thequality of public water supply in the United States. However, it fails to address two
important problems: (1) The 1970 Public Health Service Community Water Supply
Survey revealed that small public water supply systems often deliver poor quality water.
The Act does not assure that these supplies will now receive appropriate attention;
furthermore, the Act does flat address the needs of the 50 million people not now served
by public water systems; (2) About one-third of our population draws its drinking waters
from polluted sources. The decisions to use these low cost sources were made
generations ago when consumers could be protected from water-borne infectious
disease. [7]
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 7
The Water Sustainability and Conservation Action Plan consists of many actions in which
provide many options to countries to better their water sustainability by providing them with the
support and technology to better protect the waters around them. In the placing of sensors,
creating outposts and sensors that will allow us to patrol and monitor our oceans. The main
actions, which support this plan are; the initiatives in which reward people for the retrieval of
waste and foreign materials from our oceans as well as rivers, the harsh consequences of
polluting the waters and labeling all the products that are transferred across the oceans and rivers.
The creation of pacts with other countries to do the same can also benefit everyone as it can
provide a greater impact overall. The actions in which support this plan in its purpose to clean
and increase the population of our sea life.
The first of six action in which will help track the many that pollute and destroy theoceanic environment by providing labeling and tracking of products that each ship
transfers or produces. This also allows many to pinpoint the sources of pollutants as well
as waste or toxic dumping.
The first action supports the second action in which supplies sensors as well as posts thatlaw personnel can patrol creating new work for many who are unemployed.
The third action will provide still consequences for polluting or dumping foreign materialin to our oceans or rivers costing them money as well as after habitual offenses their
property( boat seizer).
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 8
The fourth action creates an incentive on pollutants and foreign material retrieval fromour oceans and rivers, the more dangerous to our water the more they are paid in which
also creates more work for boatmen allowing many to take seasonal breaks from fishing
resulting in an increase in fish population.
The fifth and sixth actions are relational as without one the other will not work in whichcreating a pact with all countries to become more environmentally safe as well as provide
them with the technology to do so as well as create an incentives for them to create
patrols to enforce the policies of their countries surrounding waters.
The initial time line of my plan is a 10 year span in which revision is advised to ensure
maximum positive impact starting with action one to six the starts the timeline resulting in major
reduction of pollution in our water and increase in oceanic wildlife. The span of these action
each last two years in which the last year the fifth and sixth action would be initiated allowing
one year to create pacts with other countries to do the same and help with the technology to do
so. The actions in which this starts is the placement of oceanic sensors to provide important
information to allow for the tracking of pollutants that are spilled or dumped as well as labeling
the products that are being transported across the oceans or rivers.
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 9
The benefits and challenges are quite vast as this plan allows for complete sustainability in
which providing two year for each step to be fully initiated is the most appropriate timeline as
within the first 10 years of this plan will provide much needed information and economical
impacts that will benefit every aspect of our planet. The water pollution reduction plan will
provide cleaner and more natural water resource in which many of our natural sea life will begin
to prosper and replenish our sea population. The plan consist of six actions which will provide an
increase in sea life as well as cleaner and more sustainable water resource within a time line of
10 years in which the plan can then be revised to further the impact our environment.
I will require minimal government help limited to public support, funding for initiatives as well as
policy changes in which will allow the plan to effectively process throughout its plan of action. The
support of the community and individual companies will be greatly needed to ensure productive labeling
of transported objects to better record and penalize dumpers and salvage loose debris. Many individuals
will view this plan provides many aspects to combat the issue with water pollution centered on
point source pollution in our oceans and in our rivers. Many will see some actions to be quite big
in which providing sensors and patrolling our oceans is a difficult and costly job. In scope there
will be many that could oppose this plan as it will cost as well as be difficult to do alone in which
is the reason that we should create pacts with other countries to ensure we care for the polluted
waters that surround our globe as well as protect the water that is clean.
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 10
References
ENVIRONMENT - A Host of Pollutants Threaten Drinking Water from Underground, NationalJournal Magazine, Saturday, Aug. 16, 1980, Retrieved on July 18th, 2009 from:http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_19800816_4.php
Water-Quality Trends, Michel H. Meybeck, The Oxford Companion to Global Change, Ed.
David Cuff and Andrew Goudie, Oxford University Press, 2009, Oxford Reference Online,
Oxford University Press. Apollo Group; retrieved on 28 July 2009 from:
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t265.e240
Irrigation, The Oxford Companion to Global Change; Randolph Barker, David Seckler, Ed.David Cuff and Andrew Goudie; Oxford University Press, 2009, Oxford Reference Online,
Oxford University Press, Apollo Group; retrieved on July 28th
, 2009 from:
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t265.e139
Ocean Pollution Causes & Effects NOAA Lists Nonpoint Water Pollution Sources, Bernard P.
Nelson, Dec 13, 2008, retrieved on July 13th
, 2009 from: http://pollution-
control.suite101.com/article.cfm/ocean_pollution_facts
Effects of Water Pollution, Nelson (2009), http://scipeeps.com, retrieved on July 13th, 2009 from:
http://pollution-control.suite101.com/article.cfm/ocean_pollution_facts
Clean Water Act. (2002), In Kevin Hillstrom & Laurie Collier Hillstrom (Eds.); Encyclopedia of
Small Business, Vol. 1 (2nd ed., 199-200). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved July 30, 2009; from GaleVirtual Reference
Library via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentSet=EBKS&type=retriev
e&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3404300111&source=gale&userGroupName=uphoe
nix&version=1.0
Drinking Water for the Future, Okun; American Journal of Public Health; Jul76, Vol. 66 Issue 7,p639, 5p, Apollo Library, Retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from:
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=107&sid=b532eb1
d-7a43-4a97-96a6-fb596fe1c266%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=tfh&AN=
5667150#db=tfh&AN=5667150#db=tfh&AN=5667150
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Mitigation Strategies and Solutions for Water Resource Sustainability 11
Tables
1. Table 1.1 - Contamination List