Transcript Water Quality Project

Water Quality Project
Josh, Jacob, Drayden
Our Pond: (JOSH)
 A healthy pond includes a pH level of 7.0
 Organisms in a healthy pond include fish, crayfish, tadpoles, ducks and insects.
 The nutrients needed in a healthy pond are carbon, oxygen, nitrogen,
phosphorus.
 Our pond is in a warm area with very little wind
Our Factory: Lead Smelting (JACOB)
 Our factory smelts lead ore to make lead
 If our factory produces a large amount of phosphorus or nitrogen, then algae
may begin to grow on our pond
 Dead Organic Matter becomes food for the bacteria that decompose it
 Since there is more food available these bacteria strive and use up more
dissolved oxygen
 Since nitrogen is being released into the air this may cause acid rain, if acid rain
occurs in the area our pond is in then the pH level will increase
(DRAYDEN)
 If acid rain continues then acid deposits could build up
 Acid build up will cause Spring Acid Shock and this will seriously affect our
organisms in the pond
 We will be monitoring pH level, plant nutrients and dissolved oxygen
Transport Of Materials (JOSH)
 Contaminants:
 When Smelting metal of any kind the product is produced but along with it
comes a solid waste product called slag.
 The slag is also emitted into the air and is a major cause of pollution
 The majority of the pollution is caused by air emissions
 The smelting produces sulfur dioxide gas and is emitted into the atmosphere
 The sulfur dioxide reacts with the atmosphere and sulfuric acid mist is produced
which can fall as acid rain later
 Major cause of acidity in water
(JACOB)
 Improper Disposal:
 The improper disposal of any type of substance could and will affect the species
living in our pond both by creating new substances and harming the species food
source and environment in general
 - In most cases the slag is properly recycled to reduce contamination and to
reduce harm to people
(DRAYDEN)
 Contamination of Our Pond
 The main contamination of our pond is the sulfur dioxide that is released into the air
when lead is smelted and slag is produced
 They have affected our pond by polluting our water harming our organisms and plants.
 The sulfur dioxide reacts with the atmosphere to create acidic rain and when that rain
falls it can contaminate our water and harm both the animals and plants in the water and
surrounding area.
 -This Lowers the pH level making our pond more acidic the material is in gas form and is
transported through the air, where it reacts with the atmosphere to create a liquid (acid
rain) which then falls from the sky.
(JOSH)
 Transportation of Contaminants
 The Contaminants travel through the air into the sky which create acid rain
 If any Slag ever seeped through the ground it could seriously affect the ground
water the soil
 Sulfur dioxide released into the air can cause serious health affects including
respiratory problems
 Once the acid rain is created and falls it can acidify the soil around the pound and
travel down to the ground water contaminating it.
Introduction Of Chemicals and Changes in Concentration
(JACOB)
 There are other ways that our pond could be polluted including over fertilization
of nearby fields and dumping of garbage in or near out pond.
 Another way our pond could be polluted is if farmers burn garbage, tires, or
plastic nearby.
 The concentration of any pollutant will rise (bio magnification) after a while the
concentration would have risen because if the pollutant infects a plant and an
animal eats that plant then that animal is eaten the pollutant will be passed up
the food chain growing as it goes.
 When people start to notice that our pond is in danger we can use several
measures to clean our pond and surrounding area.
 We can use Dilution to raise the pH Level in our pond we can do that by adding
pure distilled water to our pond a neutral substance to balance out the acid from
the rain raising the pH level.
(DRAYDEN)
 Any substance or partials in the soil will be biodegrading (it will be broken down
by earth worms, bacteria etc.)
 A great way to clean the area around our pond is to use Phytoremediation which
is the process of planting plants around our pond these plants will grow
absorbing any unusually large amounts of metals this is helpful if there were ever
a lead spill or someone dumped metal by our pond.
 We could petition for rules for the nearby factory such as Production Rate Limit,
material restrictions, and a law where factories cannot set up within 5km of a
water body.
(JOSH)
 We must also remind the public to help by, not pouring grease, oil or fat down
the drain which would pollute the water. Another way is to remind the public not
to burn garbage, or dump in water bodies, we can also remind them to properly
dispose of chemicals and waste recycling is also a critical part of reducing
pollution.
 Committee is formed
 When the committee is formed, they will decide which practices are safe and
which are not from past experiences and other cases where rules and regulations
had to be made to keep the environment safe.
 They would also look at what they know scientifically and deem which practices
are safe and which are not by how they affect the environment.
(JACOB)
 They come up with a several rules:
1.Limit production in a day
2.Burn less fossil fuels by using natural sources of energy
3.No duping of any substances
4.Reduce Sulfur Monoxide production
5.Safe disposal
6.Use safe materials
(DRAYDEN)
 When implementing new regulations, the committee must consider the following
1.Where people are located
2.How the environment will be affected in both good and bad ways
3.How workers will be affected
4.How consumers will be affected
5.How the owners will be affected?
6.How the suppliers will be affected?
7.How the economy will be affected?
Hazardous Household Chemicals (JOSH)
 Hazardous chemicals include:
1.Household cleaners
2.Personal hygiene products
3.Pet care products
4.Paint and paint by products
5.Pesticides and fertilizers
6.Automotive Fluids
(JACOB)
 These products can harm the environment and people in cities and near
factories.
 In the average north American household there is 12-40L of hazardous products
 Improper disposal or transport of these products can cause serious health issues
affecting heart, kidneys, and lung alignment, can also cause cancer, burns and
death
 There are government regulations for chemicals including mandatory labels, and
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) these sheets provide information about the
product and precautions and instructions for the product.
(DRAYDEN)
 The government must also approve products before companies are allowed to sell them
 The companies must also test the product and give the government a detailed
description including what is in the product, how it works and what it is meant to do
 There are also very detailed instructions on how to store chemicals that have different
properties and different warning labels.
 When disposing of chemicals do not put down drains or into soils this can harm the
environment and the animals in that area.
 Waste collection sites are all over the place use them!
 There are also rule for solid waste such as paint cans
Testing Results (JOSH)
Year One
 Lower pH (more Acidic because of increased Acid Rain) caused by sulfur dioxide
 More salts in the soil because of increased sulfur in the air
 The plants in the area now have less nutrients because of the pollutants in the air
and the ever worsening water quality both in the pond and the groundwater, the
nutrient level in the water is also lower because of pollutants.
(JACOB)
Year 2
 The pH reading is lower than year one because of increased acid rain an
pollutants
 Plants in the area have lower nutrients than year one because of worsening
condition of the water and soil in the area due to acid rain and dumping of
garbage in our pond by the factory
 The increased level of sulfur and garbage in the water and area increases the salt
count in the soil.
(DRAYDEN)
Year 3
 pH level lower than ever committee is formed because of concern for pond
health
 Nutrients for plants and animals are decreasing because of salt count and
garbage in the area the acid rain has also damaged plants.
 Lots of salt in water and ground. Salt in water is harming fresh water organisms
(JOSH)
Year 4
 Committee decides to uses strategies such as placing worms and bacteria in that
area to commence biodegradation which will breakdown minerals and garbage in
the soil.
 The committee decides to place plants the area to grow and absorb metals and
minerals in the soil cleaning the soil
 They also chose to use dilution to reduce the acidity of the water they did this by
adding pure distilled water which neutralized the acid.
(JACOB)
Year Five
 Our pond is on its way to a full recovery slowly but surely.
 As the plants grow they continue to take the unwanted metals out of the soil.
 The pure water that we added and continue to add is raising the pH level.
 And the bacteria and worms have helped decompose the garbage and waste that
the cleaning crew that was hired could not clean up. Making the soil healthy
once again.