Transcript WATER QUALITY WHAT FACTORS DOES THE STATE OF NORTH

QUOTE FOR THE DAY
"If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't
be called research, would it?"
Albert Einstein
"I sometimes go to my own little world, but
that's okay, they know me there."
Joel Hodgson
WATER QUALITY
WHAT FACTORS DOES THE STATE OF NORTH
CAROLINA USE TO DETERMINE THE QUALITY
OF SURFACE WATERS?
WATER QUALITY
WHAT FACTORS DOES THE STATE OF NORTH
CAROLINA USE TO DETERMINE THE QUALITY
OF SURFACE WATERS?
-SEDIMENT
-FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA
-NUTRIENTS
-OXYGEN-CONSUMING WASTES
-TOXIC SUBSTANCES
-COLOR
SEDIMENT: DIRT SWEPT INTO A STREAM OR
LAKE DUE TO FLOODS OR EROSION.
SEDIMENT ENTERS A STREAM WHEN RAINS
OCCUR.
HOW MUCH SEDIMENT ENTERS THE STREAM
DEPENDS ON THE VELOCITY OF THE RUN
OFF AND THE CONDITION OF THE SOIL.
A STREAM HAS ONLY A FINITE CAPACTIY TO
CARRY SEDIMENT. AS MORE SEDIMENT
ENTERS THE STREAM, SOME WILL SETTLE
OUT. AS THE FLOW SLOWS, SEDIMENT WILL
SETTLE OUT.
AS STREAMS ENTER LAKES, THE FLOW
SLOWS.
OVER TIME, IF A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF
SEDIMENT ENTERS THE STREAM, THE LAKE
CAN FILL WITH SEDIMENT.
BUILDING ALONG STREAMS CAN CONTRIBUTE
TO SEDIMENT BUILDUP - ANYTHING THAT
REMOVES PROTECTIVE VEGETATION.
URBAN AREAS CONTRIBUTE TO SEDIMENT, AS
WATER FLOWS VERY RAPIDLY OFF PAVED
AREAS.
WHEN HIGH SEDIMENT CONCENTRATIONS
ARE PRESENT FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME,
SUSPENDED SEDIMENTS CAN CLOG THE
GILLS OF FISH.
NORTH CAROLINA DOES NOT HAVE A
NUMERIC WATER QUALITY STANDARD FOR
SEDIMENT, BUT THE FEDERAL STANDARD IS
AS FOLLOWS:
30 mg/l FOR TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS
20 mg/l FOR HIGH QUALITY WATERS SUCH AS
TROUT STREAMS OR PRIMARY NURSERY
AREAS
NORTH CAROLINA RECOMMENDS CERTAIN
PRACTICES RELATING TO STREAM BOUNDARIES
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM:
STREAMBED - WOODY DEBRIS SLOWS
VELOCITY OF WATER AND IMPROVES
HABITAT
ZONE 1 - UNDISTURBED FOREST
ZONE 2 - MANAGED FOREST
ZONE 3 - GRASS
ZONE 4 - URBAN/SURBURBAN DEVELOPED
OR FARMLAND
FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA: THEY ARE
EXCRETED IN THE SOLID WASTE OF HUMANS
AND OTHER MAMMALS.
THEY ARE NOT DANGEROUS THEMSELVES,
BUT THEY ARE AN INDICATOR OF HOW MUCH
FECAL MATTER HAS ENTERED A STREAM OR
LAKE.
BACTERIA ASSOCIATED WITH FECAL
COLIFORM BACTERIA CAN CAUSE DIARRHEA,
DYSENTERY, CHOLERA, AND TYPHOID FEVER
IN HUMANS.
SOME BACTERIA CAN CAUSE INFECTIONS IN
OPEN WOUNDS.
HIGH LEVELS OF FECAL COLIFORM CAN
INDICATE UNACCEPTABLY HIGH LEVELS
OF SEWAGE OR ANIMAL WASTES.
THIS WOULD MAKE THE WATER UNSAFE
FOR DRINKING, HUMAN CONTACT
(SWIMMING), OR SHELLFISH
HARVESTING.
REDUCING FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA
REQUIRES THE USE OF CHLORINE OR
OTHER DISINFECTANT CHEMICALS.
THESE CHEMICALS WOULD ALSO KILL
OTHER ORGANISMS.
ONE COW PRODUCES APPROXIMATELY 5.4
BILLION FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA PER DAY.
FENCING SHOULD BE USED TO KEEP ANIMALS
AWAY FROM STREAMS.
THE NORTH CAROLINA FECAL COLIFORM
STANDARD FOR FRESHWATER IS 200 COLONIES
PER 100 ml BASED ON FIVE CONSECUTIVE
SAMPLES TAKEN DURING A 30 DAY PERIOD.
OTHER BACTERIA THAT ARE ESPECIALLY
DANGEROUS ARE GIARDIA, CRYPTOSPORIDIUM,
SHIGELLA, AND CHOLERA..
Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) is a diarrheal
illness caused by Giardia intestinalis (also known
as Giardia lamblia), a one-celled, microscopic
parasite that lives in the intestine of people and
animals. The parasite is passed in the stool of an
infected person or animal. The parasite is
protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive
outside the body and in the environment for long
periods of time. During the past 2 decades, Giardia
has become recognized as one of the most
common causes of waterborne disease (drinking
and recreational) in humans in the United States.
The parasite is found in every region of the United
States and throughout the world.
Giardia lamblia
Cryptosporidiosis (krip-toe-spo-rid-e-o-sis), is a
diarrheal disease caused by a microscopic parasite,
Cryptosporidium parvum. It can live in the intestine
of humans and animals and is passed in the stool of
an infected person or animal. Both the disease and
the parasite are also known as "Crypto." The
parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it
to survive outside the body for long periods of time
and makes it very resistant to chlorine disinfection.
During the past two decades, Crypto has become
recognized as one of the most common causes of
waterborne disease (drinking and recreational) in
humans in the United States. The parasite is found
in every region of the United States and throughout
the world.
Cryptosporidium lining a turkey trachea
Shigella are Gram-negative, nonmotile,
nonsporeforming rod-shaped bacteria. The illness
caused by Shigella (shigellosis) accounts for less
than 10% of the reported outbreaks of foodborne
illness in this country. Shigella rarely occurs in
animals; principally a disease of humans except
other primates such as monkeys and
chimpanzees. The organism is frequently found
in water polluted with human feces.
AS FEW AS 10 TO 100 CELLS CAN CAUSE
ILLNESS. YET, IT IS EASILY KILLED BY HEAT
OF DISENFECTANT.
What is cholera?
Cholera is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by
infection of the intestine with the bacterium
Vibrio cholerae. The infection is often mild or
without symptoms, but sometimes it can be
severe. Approximately one in 20 infected
persons has severe disease characterized by
profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg
cramps. In these persons, rapid loss of body
fluids leads to dehydration and shock. Without
treatment, death can occur within hours.
Since 1961, V. cholerae has spread from
Indonesia through most of Asia into
Eastern Europe and Africa, and from North
Africa to the Iberian Peninsula. In 1991, an
extensive epidemic began in Peru and
spread to neighboring countries in the
Western Hemisphere. In 2001, nearly
185,000 cases from 58 countries were
reported to the WHO.
CHOLERA BACTERIUM
WHY DO WE TEST FOR FECAL COLIFORM
BACTERIA RATHER THAN THE OTHER
ORGANISMS THAT ARE MUCH MORE
DANGEROUS?
FECAL COLIFORM BACTERIA ARE VERY EASY
TO DETECT. TESTS ARE QUICK. THEY ARE AN
INDICATOR OF RAW SEWAGE IN WATER.
IN RURAL AREAS, WHERE SEWAGE
TREATMENT PLANTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE,
SEPTIC TANKS ARE USED.
MANY PEOPLE DO NOT MAINTAIN THEIR
SEPTIC TANKS PROPERLY.
VIRGINIA HAS ADOPTED AN
ORDANANCE REQUIRING ALL SPETIC
TANKS TO BE PUMPED AT LEAST ONCE
EVERY FIVE YEARS.
NORTH CAROLINA HAS NO SUCH
ORDINANCE.
NORTH CAROLINA DOES HAVE AN
ANIMAL WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
NUTRIENTS: REFERS TO THE ELEMENTS
NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS, WHICH ARE
COMMON COMPONENTS OF FERTILIZERS,
ANIMAL AND HUMAN WASTES,
VEGATATION, AND SOME INDUSTRIAL
PROCESSES.
NUTRIENTS CAN COME FROM BOTH POINT
AND NONPOINT SOURCES.
POINT SOURCE - WATER DISCHARGED
FROM A SINGLE SOURCE SUCH AS
DISCHARGE FROM A FACTORY.
NONPOINT SOURCE: WATER RUNNING OFF A
LARGE AREA SUCH AS STORM WATER FROM A
DOWNTOWN AREA, SUBDIVISION, OR FARM
FIELDS.
NUTRIENTS IN SMALL AMOUNTS ARE
NECESSARY FOR AQUATIC LIFE.
IN LARGE AMOUNTS, THEY CAN CAUSE ALGAL
BLOOMS AND PLANT GROWTH.
THROUGH RESPIRATION AND
DECOMPOSITION, THEY CAN DEPLETE WATER
OF OXYGEN AND CAUSE SERIOUS WATER
QUALITY PROBLEMS.
NORTH CAROLINA MEASURES CHLOROPHYL
a AS AN INDICATOR OF ALGAL BIOMASS.
THE STANDARD FOR LAKES, RESERVOIRS
AND SLOW MOVING RIVERS IS 40 ug/l.
ON JANUARY 1988, NC PASSED A LAW
LIMITING PHOSPHATE IN HOUSEHOLD
LAUNDRY DETERGENT TO 0.5 %.
THIS REDUCED THE PHOSPHATE BEING
DISCHARGED BY WASTEWATER TREATMENT
PLANTS BY 33%
OXYGEN CONSUMING WASTES: WASTES
FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS,
WASTES FROM AGRICULTURE, DEAD
PLANTS AND LEAVES.
BACTERIAL DECOMPOSITION OF THESE
MATERIALS CAN QUICKLY DEPLETE
OXYGEN FROM LAKES AND SLOW MOVING
STREAMS.
THE DISSOLVED OXYGEN STANDARD FOR
MOST WATERS IN NC IS 5.0 mg/l. FOR
TROUT STREAMS, IT IS 6.0 mg/l.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES: ANY SUBSTANCE THAT
HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE DEATH,
DISEASE, BEHAVIORAL ABNORMALITIES,
CANCER, GENETIC MUTATIONS, OR PHYSICAL
DEFORMATIES.
THESE INCLUDE:
CHLORINE
AMMONIA
HYDROCARBONS AND PESTICIDES
HEAVY METALS
pH
pH - A MEASURE OF THE AMOUNT OF ACID
OR BASE IN WATER.
pH OF 7 - PURE WATER
pH LESS THAN 7 - ACID - THE LOWER THE
NUMBER, THE MORE ACID
pH GREATER THAN 7 - BASE - THE HIGHER
THE NUMBER, THE MORE BASE
ACID CAN COME FROM COMBUSTION OF
FOSSIL FUELS OR FROM INDUSTRY.
HEAVY METALS - EXAMPLES INCLUDE
LEAD AND MERCURY.
CAN WORK THEIR WAY UP THE FOOD
CHAIN
SOURCES INCLUDE INDUSTRY AND
COMBUSTION OF FOSSIL FUELS,
ESPECIALLY COAL