Water Quantity and Quality. What is Water Pollution? any physical (temperature, oxygen), chemical (mercury), or biological (disease, sewage) change to

Water

Quantity and Quality

What is Water Pollution?

any physical (temperature, oxygen), chemical (mercury), or biological

(disease, sewage) change to water that adversely effects its use by living

things

Cuyahoga River, Ohio

November 1952

Some river! Chocolate-brown, oily, bubbling with subsurface gases, it oozes rather than flows. "Anyone

who falls into the Cuyahoga does not drown," Cleveland's

citizens joke grimly. "He decays.” Time Magazine,

August 1969

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Groundwater Pollution

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (LZW) decompressor




Types of Water Pollution

1. Biological2. Chemical3. Physical

Measured in:Percent (%)Parts per thousand (‰)Parts per million (ppm)Parts per billion (ppb)

Biological Water Pollution

1. Infectious Disease(Pathogens)

2. Oxygen-Demanding Waste

Direct (microbes in water):Typhoid, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis…



Entamoeba histolytica




Indirect(Water breeding carriers):malaria, yellow fever,west nile virus…

Treehole mosquito(carried La Crosse ensephalitis)



Water Borne Disease



U.S. Water Borne Disease



Coliform Test



Detection: Solutions:• Sewage treatment• Immunization




Dissolved Oxygen

Added by: turbulent water and photosynthesis

Removed by: Increased temperature (exsolution) and respiration/decomposition

Good: > 6 ppm (mosquitoes can survive in 1 ppm)(also measured in % of maximum - Good = 60-80%)

Dissolved Carbon Dioxide

Added by: respiration/decomposition & weathered rock

Removed by: Increased temperature (exsolution) and photosynthesis

Good: 1-10 ppm (usually about 1 ppm)

Oxygen Sag

Measuring DO and other chemical properties











Chemical Water Pollution

3. Nutrients (Fertilizers)4. Toxic Inorganic

Materials5. Persistent Organic

Pollutants (POP’s)



Nitrogen, phosphorous

Eutrophication



Dissolved inorganic nitrogen in Baltic Sea



& Blue Baby Syndrome

Nitrates

• Typically: 0.1-4 ppm• Unpolluted usually below 1 ppm• Sewage pollution increase up to 20 ppm







1. Heavy metals mercury,lead, tin…

2. Super Toxic Elements Arsenic, selenium…

3. Acids, salts, chlorine4. Radioactive Isotopes

Arsenic in U.S. Waters



Some We Will MeasureCopper• natural, fungicides, insecticides, copper pipes• can be lethal to some at 0.1 ppb, algae – 1-10 ppb, fish 500ppb• water standard 0.3 ppm

Acidity (pH)• 6.5-8.2 normal (rainwater is usually a little acidic)• >9 – harmful to fish (inc. salmon)• <5.5 releases metals in seds, bacteria die and organics don’t decay• <5 insects die and fish eggs don’t hatch• <4 lethal to adult salmon

Some We Will MeasureSalinity• Saltwater 3.5%• Freshwater 1-500 ppm• usually >100 ppm is bad for freshwater organisms• >250 ppm tastes salty (max for drinking water)

Total Dissolved Solids• (Ca,Mg,Hco3, NH4, NO3, PO4, SO4, Na, Cl, Na, K)• from dissolved rock, fertilizer, urban runoff,

irrigation, acid rainfall• “watchdog” – high numbers or rapid changes may

indicate problem• typically 50-250 ppm• Drinking water must be below 500 ppm







Artificial Chemicals





The Dirty Dozen



Physical Water Pollution

6. Sediment7. Thermal Pollution8. Solid Waste



Chattahoochee River, GA



Yellow River, China

Measured in:

NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units)

• Normal levels: 1-50 NTU• Drinking Water: 0.5-1

NTU• Visible: >5 NTU• Higher during storms




are needed to see this picture.QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor


Causes: industry dams removal of vegetation

Optimum – Fish 5-20°C (salmon <12°C)





Pollution Sources:Point Source

1. Sewage pipes2. Leaky gas tanks3. Industrial sites4. Injection wells

Pollution Sources:Nonpoint Source









1. Agriculture (soil, fertilizer,pesticides)2. Urban runoff (from pavement)3. Construction sites4. Air Pollution

Controlling Water Quality

What can we do?

Solutions

1. Legislation2. Source Reduction3. Improved Land Use

Practices4. Remediation5. Sewage Treatment









Clean Water Act 1972



1. Established water quality standards2. System for ID’ing point sources3. Pretreatment for industry4. Federal funding for sewage treatment5. Provided for enforcement

Worked well for point sources Nonpoint sources still a problem

Solutions







1. Remove lead from gasoline2. Reduce road salting3. Decrease erosion4. Banning phosphates in detergents5. Reduce fertilizer use, etc.

Solutions







1. Stormwater treatment2. Reduce clearcutting3. Preserve wetlands4. Better construction practices

Solutions





Solutions





Water hyacinths absorb arsenic

Solutions





West Point Treatment Plant, Seattle

Sewage in King County



Documents

Water Quantity and Quality. What is Water Pollution? any physical (temperature, oxygen), chemical (mercury), or biological (disease, sewage) change to