Water Pollution

Mr. Distasio

1) Resource Extraction

Coal Mining

The “rock spoil” or “Overburden”, the material that must be removed in order to reach the coal seam, may contain PYRITE (fool’s gold).

When the pyrite is exposed to air and water, Acid and Iron are released into the environment.

Pyrite + O2 + H2O = H2SO4 + FeOH

The iron is leached out, oxidized and precipitates out as “Yellow Boy” (AMD)

Oil & Natural Gas Extraction

Then … Now…

Edwin Drake, 1859, Titusville PA For every 1 barrel of useful oil that is extracted, 10 barrels of “brine” is produced.

2) AgricultureProblems

MANURE FERTILIZER

STEAMBANK EROSION

SILTATION

PESTICIDES

1) Creation of a Riparian ZoneVegetative “Buffer” (200’)

Potential Solutions:

2) Stream-bank Fencing

3) Terracing

4) No-Till Farming

5) Manure Management

6) Fertilizer Reduction

7) Pesticide Reduction

3) Municipal SourcesExamples:• Trash• Hazardous, Near Hazardous Waste• Landfills• Sewage

Types of Source Pollutants

• Two main types of source pollutants1) Nonpoint source pollutants

2) Point source pollutants

Point and Nonpoint Sources

NONPOINT SOURCES

Urban streets

Suburban development

Wastewater treatment plant

Rural homes

Cropland

Factory

Animal feedlot

POINT SOURCES

Fig. 22-4 p. 494

Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollutants

• Definition: pollutants that are carried far from their sources by rain and melting snow and are eventually deposited in soil or into freshwater and groundwater systems

Pollution of Lakes

Fig. 22-7 p. 499

Water Pollution• In developed nations…

– Potable drinking water is readily accessible– Water used in households is treated to

remove dangerous pollutants– Pollutants enter water supplies several ways

• Example: pollution from precipitation• Example: pollution from irrigation runoff

Water Pollution• Common waterway pollutants

– Sediments– Nutrients

• These substances wash into waterways from farmlands, animal feeding facilities, construction sites, and other areas where the ground is disturbed

Point Source (PS) Pollutants

• Definition: contaminants that are discharged or emitted from an identifiable source

Point Source (PS) Pollutants

• In 1996, Pennsylvania was one of the top ten states in the nation for point source emissions.

• Common point source pollutants• Factory pipes, leaking landfills, wastes from food

processing plants and slaughterhouses, domestic sewage, and factory smokestacks

Effluent• Definition: wastewater from factories and

refineries that is released directly into urban water supplies