Water Pollution

Dr.Kedar Karki
Water Pollution defined:

A Physical, Chemical, or Biological

Change in water quality that:

 Adversely affects living organisms

Or
 Makes water unsuitable for desired uses
Natural vs. Unnatural
Sources
There are natural sources.

We will focus on Human caused issues.

Two types of water pollution
Sources:

Point Source
Nonpoint Source
Point Source Pollution
 Discharge from a specific location, YOU
CAN point at it and say, look, pollution!
Examples of Point Source
Pollution
 Drain pipes
 Ditches
 Sewer outfalls

Pros:
 Easy to monitor and regulate
 Possible to treat before entering the
environment
Nonpoint Source Pollution
Sources are scattered or diffuse, having so
specific location.
Examples of Nonpoint Source
Pollution
Runoff from:
 farm fields
 Golf courses
 Gardens
 Construction sites
 Logging areas
 Roads, streets, parking lots

Atmospheric deposition of contaminants!

 Contaminants carried by wind and rain!

HIGHLY EPISODIC: tough to regulate!

Types and Effects of Water
Pollution
We will group these pollutants into two categories:

 Those that cause health problems

 Those that cause ecosystem disruption

Let’s tackle each group separately.

See chart page 450 for some ideas!
Those that cause health
problems:

 Infectious agents
 Organic chemicals
 Inorganic chemicals
 Radioactive materials
Infectious agents
Pathogenic organisms

There are three types:

Bacteria (test for coliform bacteria)
Viruses
Protists

These are found in excrement.

Bad Stuff:
People suffer and die from horrible diseases
that could be prevented by good sanitation
practices.
Organic chemicals
Pesticides, plastics, detergents, oil

Sources:
 Runoff from farms and households
 industrial and household chemicals not
disposed of properly
Bad Stuff:
 Birth defects
 Genetic disorders
 Cancer
 Chemicals persist, don’t break down
 Contaminate ground and surface water
sources for human consumption
Inorganic chemicals
Acids, Caustics, Metals, salts

These can be released naturally through

weathering and erosion.

Human activities can speed that up:

Mining, processing, using, and discarding
minerals.
Bad Stuff:
Metals
Mental health issues, brain damage

Salts
Radioactive materials
Uranium, thorium, cesium, iodine, radon

Sources:
 Mining and processing of ores
 Power plants
 Weapons production
 Natural sources
Bad Stuff:
 DNA and RNA gets modified….
Those that cause ecosystem
disruption:
 Sediment
 Plant nutrients
 Oxygen demanding wastes
 Thermal
Sediment
Soil and silt resulting from erosion

Land erodes. This just happens.

This can be accelerated by activities of
humans: vehicle use, road building,
mining, foliage removal…
Bad Stuff:
These sediments:
 Fill lakes and reservoirs
 Obstruct shipping channels
 Clogs hydroelectric turbines
 Makes purifying of drinking water more costly
 Smother gravel beds where insects and fish lay
eggs
 Sunlight is blocked: photosynthesis drops,
oxygen levels decline
 Murky water is less attractive.
Plant nutrients
Nitrates & Phosphates (fertilizers and
excretion)
Ammonium (excretion)

Sources:
Sewage, fertilizers, manure
Bad Stuff:
Define oligotrophic lakes and eutrophic lakes

Cultural eutrophication:
When biological productivity and ecosystem
succession is caused by human activities.
This causes algae bloom, fish die, bacteria
take over, and the area dies.
Oxygen demanding wastes
Animal manure and plant residues

Sources:
Sewage, agricultural runoff, paper mills, and
food processing
Bad Stuff:
BOD: Biological Oxygen Demand
DO: Dissolved Oxygen
Several factors determine the BOD of an area:
 Volume
 Flow
 Temperature
 Aeration

Oxygen sag:
Thermal
Heat energy changes the temperature of the
water.

Power plants, industrial cooling

Bad Stuff:
Water quality drops
Plants and animal balance changes
As temp goes up, DO drops

What to do:
Make artificial ponds to cool the water down
before discharge.