Transcript Water Pollution

Morgan Fagan
Oxygen Demanding Waste
 Organic matter that enters water ways and feeds the
growth of microbial decomposers
 Affects
 Increases biological oxygen demand of water way
 Places strain on larger organisms
 Creates dead zones
 Examples
 Sewage
 Feedlot runoff
Nutrient Release
 Nutrients entering the water way through runoff of
farms
 Affects
 Eutrophication
 Causes rapid growth of algae
 Algae dies and an increase in decomposing microbes increases
 Oxygen demand goes up
 Larger organisms suffer
 Examples
 Chesapeake Bay
 Mississippi River Dumping into the Gulf of Mexico
Disease Causing Organisms
 Bacteria, parasites, and viruses that cause disease in areas
where sanitation is not what practices
 Affects
 Cholera
 Claims thousands of lives worldwide yearly
 Typhoid fever
 Various types of stomach flue
 Hepatitis
 Common in places with substandard sanitation practices
 Malaria
 Indicator species of poor water quality
 Fecal coliform bacteria
Pharmaceuticals and Hormones
 Most waterways do not have a high enough
concentration to harm organisms (yet)
 Increased estrogen and cause male fish to grow eggs in
their testes
 Extent of hormones is really not known
Pesticides
 Bioaccumulate in the
environment and causes
harm to larger organisms
Oil and Other Petroleum Products
 Highly toxic to marine birds, mammals, fish,
microorganisms, and algae
 Approximately 5,000 offshore oil platforms in the US
 Examples
 2010 BP oil leak

206 million gallons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico
 1989 Exxon Valdez



11 million gallons spilled of the coast of Alaska
Most species have rebounded
Not all oil has been cleaned up
Oil and Other Petroleum Products
Oil and Other Petroleum Products
 Remediating Oil Spills
 Surface oil



Contain oil and suck it off the top
Apply chemicals that breaks up oil
 Prevents oil from causing issues on the shoreline
 Toxic
Genetically modified bacteria
 Microbes that obtain their energy by consuming oil
 Under water oil (plumes)

No agreed upon method to remove
Solid Waste
 Discarded materials from houses and industries
 1997 Scientists discovered a large area of floating garbage in
the North Pacific gyre
 Size of Texas
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUM58LIU2Lo
 Dumping of garbage by cruise ships
 1970 – 1980
 Coal sludge
 Mercury
 Arsenic
 Lead
 “Special Waste” – not regulated
Sediment Pollution
 Sand, silt, and clay carried into waterways through
runoff
 Construction
 Plowed agriculture fields
 Removal of vegetation found on the bank
 Domestic livestock entering and leaving streams
 Affects
 Decreased sunlight
 Clog gills
Thermal Pollution
 Increased water temperatures decrease the amount of
dissolved oxygen available
 Cool water used to absorb heat in industrial processes
and returned to the source too warm
Noise Pollution
 Sounds emitted from ships and submarines interfere
with animal communication
 Cases of beached whales in Bahamas, Canary Islands,
and Gulf of California
 2003
 Navy was rejected on their request to install detecting
systems
 2008 U.S. Supreme court ruled Navy was exempt from
environmental laws
Water Treatment
 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/water-
treatment-improving-water-quality.html#lesson
Clean Water Act
 1972
 Supports the “protection and propagation of fish,
shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the
water” by maintaining and, when necessary, restoring
the chemical, physical, and biological properties of
natural water
 Over time more and more categories of pollutants have
been added



Feedlots
Storm runoff
Municipal sewer systems
Safe Drinking Water Act
 1974, 1986, 1996
 EPA established maximum contaminant levels for 77
different elements or substances in both surface water
and groundwater.



Microorganisms
Disinfectants
Organic chemicals
Inorganic chemicals

 http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-clean-water-act-safe-drinking-water-actlegislation-for-clean-water.html#lesson