Chapter 4 Water Pollution

Mark Edward S. Paulo, Ph.D.

Associate Professor IV
 Chapter 4
Water Pollution
 Overview
o Types of Water Pollution
• Sewage
• Disease-causing agents
• Sediment pollution
• Inorganic plant and algal nutrients
• Organic compounds
• Inorganic chemicals
• Thermal pollution
o Water Quality Today
o Improving Water Quality
o Laws Controlling Water Pollution
 Types of Water Pollution

o Water pollution
• Any physical or chemical change in water that
adversely affects the health of humans and other
organisms
• Varies in magnitude by location
o Major water pollution issue globally
• Lack of disease-free water
o Eight categories
• Sewage, disease-causing agents, sediment pollution,
inorganic plant and algal nutrients, organic
compounds, inorganic chemicals, radioactive
substances, and thermal pollution
o WATER
POLLUTION is the o POINT SOURCE-
physical or chemical source that discharges
change in surface pollutants into bodies
water or ground water of water at a specific
that can adversely location.
affect living organisms

o NON-POINT
SOURCE- one of
many widely scattered
sources that discharge
over a large area.
 Sewage
o The release of wastewater from drains or sewers
• Includes human wastes, soaps, and detergents
o Causes 2 serious environmental problems:
• Enrichment
• Fertilization of a body of water by high levels of plant and
algal nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
• Increase in Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Amount of oxygen needed by microorganisms to decompose
biological wastes
• As BOD increases Dissolve Oxygen (DO) decreases
 Sewage- Eutrophication
o Oligotrophic
• Unenriched, clear water that supports
small populations of aquatic organisms
 Sewage- Eutrophication
o Eutrophic-
• Slow-flowing stream, lake or estuary enriched
by inorganic plant and algal nutrients such as
phosphorus
• Often due to fertilizer or sewage runoff
 Coral Bleaching
o Coral bleaching is the
loss of intracellular
endosymbionts
(Symbiodinium, also
known as zooxanthellae)
through either expulsion
or loss of algal
pigmentation
o Acidification of salt
water
 Disease-causing Agents
o Infectious organisms that
cause diseases
• Originate in the wastes of
infected individuals
o Common bacterial or viral
diseases:
• Typhoid, cholera, bacterial
dysentery, polio, and
infectious hepatitis
 Disease-causing Agents
o Monitored by testing for presence of E. coli in the
water via a fecal coliform test
• Indicates the presence of pathogenic organisms
 Sediment Pollution
o Excessive amounts of suspended soil particles
• Originates from erosion of agricultural lands, forest
soils exposed by logging, degraded stream banks,
overgrazed rangelands, strip mines, and construction
o Problems
• Limits light penetration
• Covers aquatic animals and plants
• Brings insoluble toxins into waterways
 Inorganic Plant and Algal
Nutrients
o Chemicals such as nitrogen and phosphorus that
stimulate the growth of plants and algae
• Harmful in large concentrations
o Sources:
• Human and animal wastes, plant residues, atmospheric
deposition, and fertilizer runoff
o Causes:
• Enrichment, bad odors, and a high BOD
 Organic Compounds
o Chemicals that contain carbon atoms
• Natural examples: sugars, amino acids, and oils
• Human-made examples: pesticides, solvents, industrial
chemicals, and plastics
 Inorganic Chemicals
o Contaminants that contain elements other than
carbon
• Examples: acids, salts, and heavy metals
o Do not degrade easily
o Lead
• Found in old paint, industrial pollutants, leaded
gasoline
o Mercury
• Mercury bioaccumulates in the muscles of top
predators of the open ocean
 Radioactive Substances
o Contain atoms of unstable isotopes that
spontaneously emit radiation
o Sources
• Mining
• Processing radioactive materials
• Nuclear power plants
• Natural sources
 Thermal Pollution
o Occurs when heated water
produced during industrial
processes is released into
waterways
o Organisms affected
• Temperature affects
reproductive cycles,
digestion rates, and
respiration rates
• Warm water holds less DO
than cold water
 Water Quality Today
o Two Types of Water Pollution
o -Point Source Pollution
• water pollution that can be traced to a specific origin
• Discharge via pipes, sewage, and ditches
o -Non-point Source Pollution
• Pollutants that enter bodies of water over large areas
rather than being concentrated at a single point of
entry
• Diffuse, but its cumulative effect is very large
• Ex: runoff from agricultural fields or parking lots
 Water Pollution from Agriculture

o Agriculture is leading source of water pollution

• Animal wastes and plants residues have high BOD
• Chemical pesticides can leach into groundwater
o Almost all streams and rivers are polluted with
agricultural pesticides
Groundwater Pollution
 Water Pollution in Other Countries
o Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela
• 10,000 oil wells tap lake bottom
• Leak oil into lake
• Agricultural
wastes from local
fields
• Unit recently raw
human waste
polluted the lake
 Water Pollution in Other Countries
o Po River, Italy
• Similar to Mississippi River
• Pollutants: Sewage, industrial wastes, sediment
• >16 million Italians depend on the river for drinking
water
• Pollution is high
• Swimming and fishing prohibited
• Cleanup will require a national management plan and
may take decades
 Water Pollution in Other Countries
o Ganges River, India
• Used for bathing and washing
clothing
• Sewage and industrial waste
discharged into river
• Ganga Action Plan initiated by
government
• Construction of 29 sewage
treatment plants
Environmental Health and Toxicology

Worms, flukes and Intestinal Parasites

 Dracunculus medinesis (Guinea Worms)
o Transmission:
Contaminated water
with the free-
swimming larvae
o Rural Areas (water)
o India and Central
Africa
o After a year of migrating
through the body, adult (1
meter long) emerges to
lay eggs.
o Signs and Symptoms:
fever, pain, and
INTENSE PAIN as the
worm travels down to the
lower leg. Hence the
name, FIERY SERPENT
o Prevention: Drink water
from underground
sources.
o Fine mesh cloth to filter
the water when drinking
o Infected people must not
be allowed to go to ponds
and other bodies of water.
o The use of larvicides in
water infected areas.
o Tx: no treatment available.
o Mechanical removal
o Not fatal
o Analgesic (pain)
o Antibiotic for secondary
bacterial infection from
wound.
o Metronidazole (would
cause worms to migrate to
other parts of the body)
 Minamata Disease
o Symptoms
include ataxia, numbness in the
hands and feet, general muscle
weakness, narrowing of the field
of vision and damage
to hearing and speech.
o Caused by Mercury poisoning
 Improving Water Quality-
Purification of Drinking Water
o In US most
municipal water
supplies are treated
o Collected from water
or reservoir
o Treated
 Improving Water Quality-
Purification of Drinking Water
o Treated water
distributed to
customers
o Sewer lines bring
sewage to treatment
plant
o Sewage treated at
sewage treatment plant
 Purification of Drinking Water
o Chlorine Dilemma
• Chlorine kills disease causing organisms
• Chlorine byproducts are linked to numerous cancers,
miscarriages and birth defects
• Peru stopped using chlorine
• 1991- huge cholera epidemic that infected 300,000 people
o Fluoridation
• Prevents tooth decay
• Linked to cancer, kidney disease
o LAND POLLUTION-
the presence of land in
any solid waste in such
quantity, of such nature
and duration, and under
such conditions that
would be injurious to
human health or
welfare, animal or plant
life, or property
1.People Cut forest for furniture.
2.Plastic is the main source of land pollution (and sea).
3.People throw house garbage on roads.
4.Some industries throw their waste on land.
1.People should not cut trees for making furniture.
2.People should not throw garbage on land.
3.Plastic bags should be avoided for prevention of land
pollution.
4.Industries should not throw there waste on land.