Water

Pollution
Point and Non-Point
Source
Point Source Pollution
• comes from a specific
source, like a pipe
• factories, industry,
municipal treatment plants
• can be monitored and
controlled by a permit
system
Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Nonpoint Source (NPS)
Pollution is pollution associated
with storm water or runoff
• NPS pollution cannot be traced
to a direct discharge point such
as a wastewater treatment
facility
Examples of NPS
• oil & grease from • sewage & cleaners
cars from boats
• fertilizers • household cleaning
• animal waste products
• grass clippings • litter

• septic systems
Pollutant Transport Mechanisms
• NPS pollutants build up on land surfaces during dry weather
Atmospheric deposition
Fertilizer applications
Animal waste
Automotive exhaust/fluid leaks
• Pollutants are washed off land surfaces during precipitation
events (storm water runoff)
• Storm water runoff will flow to lakes and streams
Pollutant build-up and wash off are
affected by land use.
 Imperviousness increases runoff
 Land use changes impact build up
Linking Land Use to Water Quality

• More Imperviousness = More Water

Impervious Cover
• roads, rooftops, parking lots, and other
hard surfaces that do not allow storm
water to soak into the ground
• “predominant American vegetation”
Impervious Cover
• provides a surface for
accumulation of pollutants
• leads to increased polluted
runoff and flooding
• inhibits recharge of
groundwater
Impact of Nonpoint Source Pollution
• fish and wildlife
• recreational water
activities
• commercial fishing
• tourism
• drinking water
quality
Pollutants Present in Runoff

Sediment Biochemical Debris

• Soil particles Oxygen Demand • Litter and illegal
transported from • Oxygen depleting dumping
their source material like leaves
and organic material
Pollutants Present in Runoff

Bacteria/ Pathogens Thermal Stress

Originating from: Heated runoff, removal of
● Pets streamside vegetation
● Waterfowl
● Failing septic systems
Pollutants Present in Runoff

Toxics Nutrients
● Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides, ● Various types of materials that become
Insecticides dissolved and suspended in water
● Metals (naturally occurring in soil, (commonly found in fertilizer and plant
automotive emissions/ tires) – Lead, Zinc, material):
Mercury Nitrogen (N)
● Petroleum Hydrocarbons (automotive Phosphorus (P)
exhaust and fuel/oil)
Potential Sources of Pollutants
Found in Residential Areas
• Nutrients: Fertilizers and septic
systems
• Pathogens: Pet waste and septic
systems
• Sediment: Construction, road sand,
soil erosion
• Toxic: Pesticides, household products
• Debris: Litter and illegal dumping
• Thermal: heated runoff, removal of
streamside vegetation
Pollutants from Agriculture
• Sediment
• Nutrients
• Pathogens
• Pesticides
• Sediment reduces light penetration
in stream, clogs gills of fish and
aquatic invertebrates.
• Nutrients act as fertilizer for algae &
aquatic plants which can cause
highly varying dissolved oxygen
levels. At low DO levels, the aquatic
life has the potential to be harmed.
• Toxics can impact life and
contaminate drinking water
supplies.
• Bacteria/Pathogens are an indicator
of possible viruses present in the
system.
 Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health
1. CHOLERA
- illness caused by ingestion of the bacterium Vibrio Cholera.
Characterized by intense diarrhea which results rapidly in massive
fluid depletion and death in a very large percentage of untreated
patients.
 Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health
2. SCISTOSOMIASIS
-group of diseases-caused by infections with one of 3 related types of
worms. Much more difficult than for a disease such as cholera because unlike
cholera, it is cause of much chronic as well as acute disease.
-Mode of transmission is water supplies contaminated with the feces of
infected individuals.
 Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health
3. COLIFORMS
-Bacteria present in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded
animals. Therefore, the concentration of coliforms in a water supply is a
measure of the amount of fecal contamination, not a direct measure of the
disease-causing microorganisms.
 Effects of Water Pollution on Human Health
4. RED TIDE
-The water discoloration arises from the abnormal
development of large population of a group of organisms called
dinoflagellates.
DINOFLAGELLATES-group of pigmented, photosynthetic plants
called algae which frequently live in aquatic habitats.