Water Pollution

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Author:	Alex Livanos
Written:	December 22, 2008
Class:	Environmental Science

Description of Water Pollution:

There are two types of water on Earth. Fresh water—the water that people can drink which contains little salt, and salt water—the water in oceans, which contains a higher concentration of salt. Water pollution is the introduction of chemical, physical, or biological agents into water that degrade water quality and adversely affect the organisms that depend on the water.

Effect on Biodiversity:

Water can cause many problems in our ecosystems. Toxic chemicals spilled directly into a river can kill nearly all living things for miles. Many chemicals do not decompose quickly and therefore, accumulate in the environment. An entire ecosystem can be threatened when pollutant levels increase. Biomagnification is the accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain. Humans may become effected when the levels of the food chain have become unbalanced and the number of fish are limited due to pollutants. Humans sometimes rely on fish for food, however, by water ecosystems being polluted, it may also effect us by using water for many other purposes, such as hygiene, suitable drinking water, and other necessities.

Processes to Control Pollution:

There are three main ways to control pollution in bodies of water.

The first is sewage treatment. The most efficient sewage treatment plants use three processes. The first and second treatment can remove up to 95 percent of the waste in sewage. The third treatment removes even more impurities. Many plants use the first and second processes, and some use the third process as well. However, most treated sewage still contains nutrients and toxic chemicals because secondary processes cannot remove them all.

The second way to control pollution is known as pre-treatment of wastes. Industries can reduce pollution by treating wastes to remove harmful chemicals before dumping the wastes into water. Using manufacturing processes that recover and reuse polluting chemicals can also reduce industrial wastes.

Lastly, is ocean pollution control. Pollutants enter the ocean through accidents, carelessness, and the deliberate dumping of wastes. The ocean provides us with many necessities, and it helps keep our environment healthful. It is therefore extremely important that we work to control ocean pollution.
Oil is a major source of ocean pollution. Most oil pollution enters the ocean from oil spills on land or in rivers used to transport petroleum. Oil also seeps into the ocean naturally from cracks in the sea floor. Oil tanker and oil well accidents at sea account for only a small portion of ocean oil pollution, but their effects may be disastrous.

The world's largest accidental oil spill occurred in June 1979, when an oil well blew out, off the east coast of Mexico and spilled about 130 million gallons of oil.
The world's worst tanker oil spill occurred in March 1978, when a tanker ran aground off the coast of France, spilling 68 million gallons of oil.
The worst oil spill in the United States occurred in March 1989, when a tanker ran aground off Alaska and leaked nearly 11 million gallons of oil.
The world's largest oil spill occurred when Iraq deliberately released about 465 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

In water, much of the oil forms tar-like lumps, which litter beaches and other coastal areas. Oil also coats fish, birds, and marine mammals, killing many of them.

Scientists and engineers have devised several methods to clean up oil spills. One method involves placing a ring of floating devices around the spill to prevent it from spreading. Pumps or skimming devices then collect the oil, which floats on the surface of the water. Oil may also be recovered by placing sheets or particles of floating, oil-absorbing material on the ocean surface. Burning the oil cleans a spill, but it produces air pollution. Detergents help break up spills, but they may cause additional harm to marine life.

Efforts to Control Pollution:

Even though water at home is used much less than water for agriculture or industry, there are still many things you can do to help make a significant contribution in conserving water. This can be done by changing daily habits and using only the necessary amount of water needed.

What You Can Do:

Take shorter showers, and avoid taking baths unless you keep the water level low.
Install a low-flow shower head in your shower.
Install inexpensive, low-flow aerators in your water faucets at home.
Purchase a modern, low-flow toilet, install a water-saving device in your toilet, or simply place a water-filled bottle inside your toilet tank to reduce the water used for each flush.
Do not let the water run while you are brushing your teeth.
Fill up the sink basin rather than letting the water run when you are shaving, washing your hands or face, or washing dishes.
Wash only full loads in your dishwasher and washing machine.
Water your lawn sparingly. If you have sprinkler systems, you would want to take them off a timer by shutting it down manually if it is raining outside. You should also know if there are any rules and limitations to your community that state you can only water your lawn a certain amount of days per week, or a number of hours per day. This may help reduce an unnecessary waste of water.

United States Federal Laws:

1972 Clean Water Act: The CWA set a national goal of making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983 and banned pollutant discharge into surface water after 1985. The act also required that metals be removed from wastewater.
1972 Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, amended 1988: This act empowered the EPA to control the dumping of sewage wastes and toxic chemicals in U.S. waters.
1975 Safe Drinking Water Act, amended 1996: This act introduced programs to protect groundwater and surface water from pollution. The act emphasized sound science and risk-based standards for water quality. The act also empowered communities in the protection of source water, strengthened public right-to-know laws, and provided water system infrastructure assistance.
1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act: This act is also know as the Superfund Act. The act makes owners, operators, and customers of hazardous waste sites responsible for the cleanup of the sites. The act has reduced the pollution of groundwater by toxic substances leached from hazardous waste dumps.
1987 Water Quality Act: This act was written to support state and local efforts to clean polluted runoff. It also established loan funds to pay for new wastewater treatment plants and created programs to protect major estuaries.
1990 Oil Pollution Act: This act attempts to protect U.S. waterways from oil pollution by requiring that oil tankers in U.S. waters be double-hulled by 2015.

Drinking Water Treatment:

First Filtration:
The source water supply is filtered to remove large organisms and trash.

Coagulation:
Alum is rapidly mixed into the water and forms sticky globs called flocs. Bacteria and other impurities cling to the flocs, which settle to the bottom of a tank.

Second Filtration:
Layers of sand, gravel, and hard coal filter the remaining impurities.

Chlorination:
Chlorine is added to prevent bacteria from growing in the water.

Aeration:
Air is forced through the water to release unwanted gases, which reduces odor and improves taste.

Additional Treatment:
In some communities, fluoride may be added to prevent tooth decay. Sodium compounds or lime may also be added to soften hard water. Treated water is then pumped from storage tanks to homes and businesses.

Fun Facts:

Europe is the only continent that uses more water for industry than for agriculture.
The Amazon River dolphin is one of the world's few freshwater dolphin species. The dolphins are almost completely blind, but they can easily navigate through the silty waters of the Amazon by using sonar.
From 1950 to 1980, Israel reduced the amount of water loss in agriculture from 83 percent to 5 percent, mainly by switching from overhead sprinklers to water-saving methods such as drip irrigation.
In 1993, a pathogen called Cryptosporidium parvum contaminated the municipal water supply of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The waterborne parasite caused more than 100 deaths, and 400,000 people experienced a flu-like illness. Cryptosporidium is found in animal feces, but the parasite usually occurs in low levels in water supplies. The outbreak in Milwaukee was probably caused by an unusual combination of heavy rainfall and agricultural runoff that overburdened the city's water treatment plants.
In an effort to limit artificial eutrophication, some states have either banned phosphate detergents or limited the amount of phosphates in detergents.