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Jazmine Ibarra
Geneva Clark
Environmental Science
Fire Cohort
30 May 2021

Case Study: Water Pollution

Introduction: Adapted from Water Pollution by Chris Woodward March 24, 2019
Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; Less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's
population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water
resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human
activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poor water quality indicates
water pollution.

We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the
planet's history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with
their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, the problem of
pollution has spread with it. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution
would ever present a serious problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big
to pollute. Today, with around 7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are
limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits.

How serious is the problem? According to the environmental campaign organization WWF: "Pollution
from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics
to the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated."

Part 1: “Water” We Need To Know?

Water Pollution Recorded Lecture
Read and listen to the recorded google slide lecture and answer the following questions below. Thanks
for tuning in!

Lecture Questions:

Questions
1. How would you define water pollution?
2. What are the main types of water pollution
and how are they different? Provide one example they are point source pollution and nonpoint
of each.
3. What kind of methods can be used for
measuring water quality?
4. How might a “red tide” event lead to a “dead
zone”?
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My answer
I would define water pollution as any foreign
substances that pollute and/or decrease the
health of our oceans. This can include marine
debris, or trash that makes their way into our
oceans, or something much bigger such as oil
spills, and more. Water pollution causes damage
to the health of any bodies of water which makes
it very harmful to not only its inhabitants, but
also people who eat food or spend time in the
water.
There are two main types of water pollution and
source pollution. While point source pollution
originates from one source, such as drain pipes,
nonpoint source pollution is more broad as they
can come from multiple sources and “cannot be
traced from a single source” (Clark). Moreover,
they do not affect their surroundings like point
source pollution does. Instead, nonpoint source
pollution impacts distant areas because they
come from agricultural or industrial runoff. This
runoff can include chemicals such as pesticides
that are used to keep animals or bugs away from
crops, but leak into waterways and eventually
into our oceans, which is not good at all.
To measure water quality, one can use methods
such as chemical indicators, or biological
indicators. Chemical indicators, such as pH
strips, can help to measure the acidity or
alkalinity of a liquid substance. Biological
indicators would entail “examining the
biodiversity within a given body of water, and
the relative quantity of life that is being
supported” (Clark). This can be in the form of
checking what specific microorganisms are in
the water. This can determine how clean or how
dirty/polluted the water is.
A “red tide” comes from the use of nutrients for
agriculture. The usage of chemical fertilizers,
such as nitrogen and phosphorus, “can get
washed away and eventually end up in the
greater bodies of water” which leads to “a huge

5. What was the biggest recorded tanker oil spill
in the U.S.?
6. How long does it take for a plastic water bottle
to decompose in the ocean?
7. Approximately how much plastic makes its
way into the ocean each year?
8. List the major causes of water pollution.
9. What becomes affected by water pollution?
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increase in the growth of algae or plankton”
(Clark). This big increase in the growth of algae
and/or plankton is called a red tide. This surge
of algae and/or plankton is capable of removing
all the oxygen in bodies of water leading to the
deaths of other marine animals and
microorganisms, making that body of water into
a dead zone.
The biggest recorded tanker oil spill in the U.S.
occurred in 1989. “According to the International
Maritime Organization, in 1989 the Exxon Valdez
tanker released 12 million gallons of oil in
Alaskan waters killing as many as: 2,800 sea
otters, 250,000 seabirds, billions of fish eggs”
(Clark).
Majority of plastic bottles or any type of plastic
that is manufactured DOES NOT biodegrade. “A
plastic bottle can survive an estimated 450 years
in the ocean” (Clark).
“8 million tons of new plastic are dumped into
the ocean each year” (Clark).
It is important to note that water pollution
doesn’t begin in the water. It begins on the land
and makes its way into bodies of water. One of
the major causes of water pollution is sewage,
namely raw sewage waste. Most of the waste is
capable of decomposing on its own, but other
things that are flushed down the toilet, such as
plastics or any other non-biodegradable
materials, do not or take years to decompose.
Other major causes of water pollution include
nutrients for agriculture, urban-industrial waste
water, heavy metals, radioactive waste, oil spills,
plastics, and thermal/heat (ex. Heat from
factories or power plants).
Everything becomes affected by water pollution.
Once it happens, the condition of life and our
resources are very apparent. More specifically,
water pollution affects our health and the health
of the inhabitants of these bodies of water. Water
pollution does not affect our bodies
immediately, but in the long-term, it can.
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Drinking dirty water is not good for us and just as

it is not good for us, it is not good for the
animals, coral, and more that live in those
bodies of water. Apart from health, water
pollution affects the economy and our
environment. It takes millions, billions, maybe
even trillions of dollars to clean up all the waste.
Even then, it is not always possible to restore the
water to the quality that it once was before, or
make it better, which is incredibly sad and awful.

10. Which laws were created in the U.S. to help Two laws were created in the U.S. to help
eliminate water pollution? eliminate water pollution. These laws are: 1) U.S.
Clean Water Act (1972) and U.S. Safe Drinking
Water Act (1974).

11. Identify one solution you can do to eliminate
water pollution.
I think all of the ideas mentioned on Slide 16 of
the presentation were very helpful. I will
highlight one solution that I can do to help
eliminate water pollution.
● Reduce your water footprint. Conserve
water by turning off the tap between
rinses.
● Be careful about what you throw down
the sink or toilet.
● Take great care not to overuse
household or agricultural chemicals.
● Add more native plants to your property
to reduce flow of water runoff.
● Don’t litter in public, and pick up litter if
you see it (even if it’s not yours!)
Remember to wash your hands
thoroughly and use gloves when
performing this action.

Part 2: Finding Solutions: How You Can Eliminate Water Pollution

For this final section of the case study you will choose to examine only 1 out of the 2 solutions
provided, document your findings, and respond to its corresponding questions. I recommend
choosing the solution that works best for your daily routine with the idea that you can continue
practicing this solution in the future. In other words, go with your flow.

Solution 1: Repurpose With A Purpose

Repurposing is the use of something for a purpose other than its original intended use. Repurposing
an item can be done by modifying it to fit a new use, or by using the item as is in a new way. The
process of repurposing materials has immeasurable benefits. There are instinctive, economic, esthetic,
philosophical, and even political reasons to recycle, and the creation of visual art can also be a very
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big part of this process. For this option you will select and repurpose materials you may typically throw
away and create a form of visual art or an alternative product that you can reuse in your own
residence. These items can range from magazine clippings, plastics, cardboard, aluminium, glassware,
or essentially whatever you can find that would get typically thrown out. What you decide to create is
only limited to your imagination (and available materials), but you can definitely research some ideas!

(Art Example) (Repurposed Products Example)

Follow Up Questions:

1. Upload a picture of your repurposed product or visual art and include yourself in
the photo for full credit. You can include the picture into this document or attach the
picture with your case study when you submit.

<<<
Knorr Chicken
Bouillon Powder
Container
<<<

2. What materials did you use?

Materials I used:
● Knorr Chicken Bouillon Powder Container
● Soap
● Hot water
● Towel
● Hamster food
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3. What inspired you to repurpose your materials in the way that you did, and what new
purpose does it now serve? If you created an art piece, what is its overall theme or
message that it conveys?
I was inspired to repurpose the chicken bouillon powder container because I needed a
sealable container to hold my hamster’s (Mochi) food. Before it held chicken bouillon powder for
cooking, but since it was done being used in the kitchen, I cleaned it, dried it, and poured hamster
food in it.

-OR-

Solution 2: What’s good in the neighborhood?

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/stormfilm/
There are current practices and projects that individuals and communities have created in California to
steward our watersheds and slow the flow of stormwater, one of the largest contributors of pollution
into our waterways. The projects and approaches highlighted are very low-tech, green,
habitat-enhancing, and beautiful – making a good argument for kicking back and not raking the leaves
or watering the lawn. For this option you will go for either a 10 minute or 1 mile walk around your
neighborhood so that you can observe and take photo documentation of which highlighted practices
that are currently being used in your community. See if you can identify & document at least 1 of
these practices below. *Make sure to include yourself in the photo for full credit

Highlighted Sustainable Water Resource Practices

(Refer to the video links to get a better idea of what these look like)

● Lawn Removal (example of a swale)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8iBX5fz3R0
Disconnected Down/Drainage Spouts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HebbdgUXN0I
● Rainwater Barrels/Collectors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3EarTOMNL0
● Permeable Pavements
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4t_n-Jipyg
● Swales/Rain Gardens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAY5jixv0Gc
● Native Plant Garden (you can also download iNaturalist for free to confirm the identity
and the native region)
https://www.pinterest.com/bonnierosecliff/san-diego-native-plants/

Follow Up Questions:

1. Upload a picture of at least one highlighted sustainable water resource practice you
found in your neighborhood and include yourself in the photo for full credit. You can
include the picture into this document or attach the picture with your case study when you
submit.

2. Which highlighted sustainable water resource practice did you identify in your picture?

3. How many other different practices did you observe in your neighborhood and what were
they?

4. Do you, your family, or place of residence currently use one of these sustainable water
resource practices? If so, what are they?

5. Out of the highlighted sustainable water resource practices listed, which one would you
recommend to a friend or family member, and why?

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