THE HYDROSPHERE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE HUMAN IMPACTS WASTEWATER TREATMENT

THE HYDROSPHERE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE, HUMAN IMPACTS, WASTEWATER TREATMENT CHAPTER 12

TOPIC OVERVIEW: • HYDROLOGIC CYCLE • SOURCES AND USES OF WATER • COMMON WATER POLLUTANTS • EUTROPHICATION: NATURAL AND CULTURAL • WASTEWATER TREATMENT

SOURCES OF WATER AND THE WATER CYCLE THINK ABOUT THIS: 1. HOW IS WATER RENEWED ON EARTH’S SURFACE? 2. 3. HOW MUCH WATER IS AVAILABLE TO DRINK? HOW DOES THE WATER CYCLE CONNECT AQUATIC SYSTEMS? DO NOW: FOLD IN A PIECE OF PAPER TO CONSTRUCT 3 COLUMNS LENGTHWISE IN NOTES. HEADINGS ARE: WATER INPUTS, WATER OUTPUTS, LESSENING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS. BRAINSTORM AND FILL IN FIRST 2 COLUMNS.

AT YOUR TABLES: • CONSTRUCT A CHART ON LARGE WHITE PAPER USING THE INFORMATION IN YOUR TEXT (P 260 -265) AND NOTES DESCRIBING THE FOLLOWING: Water Inputs or Source Water Outputs or use (designate consumptive or nonconsumptive) Impact on Environment Solution or lessening the impact See page 260 See page 261 See pages 261 - See pages 264265

• WHERE DO WE GET OUR DRINKING WATER FROM? WATER MAY SEEM ABUNDANT, BUT DRINKABLE WATER IS RARE • FRESH WATER: RELATIVELY PURE, WITH FEW DISSOLVED SALTS • MOST IS TIED UP IN GLACIERS, ICE CAPS, AND AQUIFERS

HOW IS WATER RENEWED AND RECYCLED? • WATER IS RENEWED AND RECYCLED BY THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE • PRECIPITATION FORMS RIVERS, WHICH CARRY WATER TO OCEANS AND LAKES • RIVERS INTERACT WITH PONDS, WETLANDS, AND COASTAL SYSTEMS • GROUNDWATER EXCHANGES WATER WITH SURFACE SOURCES • THE WATER CYCLE CREATES A WEB OF INTERCONNECTED AQUATIC SYSTEMS • EXCHANGES WATER, ORGANISMS, SEDIMENT, POLLUTANTS • WHAT HAPPENS IN ONE SYSTEM AFFECTS OTHER SYSTEMS

THE WATER CYCLE: INPUTS OR SOURCES

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GROUNDWATER? • GROUNDWATER: WATER BENEATH THE SURFACE HELD IN PORES IN SOIL OR ROCK • 20% OF THE EARTH’S SUPPLY OF FRESH WATER • AQUIFERS: POROUS, SPONGELIKE FORMATIONS OF ROCK, SAND, OR GRAVEL THAT HOLD WATER – THIS IS WHERE WE GET OUR WELL WATER FROM (DRINKING WATER) • IN GROUND IT IS FOUND BETWEEN THESE LAYERS: • ZONE OF AERATION: PORE SPACES ARE PARTLY FILLED WITH WATER • ZONE OF SATURATION: SPACES ARE FILLED WITH WATER • WATER TABLE: BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE TWO ZONES

A TYPICAL AQUIFER

THE OGALLALA AQUIFER • THE WORLD’S LARGEST KNOWN AQUIFER • IT UNDERLIES THE GREAT PLAINS OF THE U. S. • UNSUSTAINABLE WITHDRAWALS ARE THREATENING THE AQUIFER Its water has allowed farmers to create the most bountiful grainproducing region in the world

OTHER SOURCES INCLUDE RIVERS AND STREAMS (SURFACE WATER) • SURFACE WATER: ON EARTH’S SURFACE • 1% OF FRESHWATER • IS VITAL FOR OUR SURVIVAL AND ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS • BECOMES GROUNDWATER BY INFILTRATION • RUNOFF: WATER THAT FLOWS OVER LAND • WATER MERGES IN RIVERS AND ENDS UP IN A LAKE OR OCEAN • TRIBUTARY: A SMALLER RIVER FLOWING INTO A LARGER ONE • WATERSHED: THE AREA OF LAND DRAINED BY A RIVER AND ITS TRIBUTARIES

PONDS AND LAKES CHANGE OVER TIME (SURFACE WATER) • OLIGOTROPHIC LAKES AND PONDS: HAVE LOW-NUTRIENT AND HIGH-OXYGEN CONDITIONS • THEY CAN TRANSFORM INTO … • EUTROPHIC LAKES AND PONDS: HAVE HIGH-NUTRIENT AND LOWOXYGEN CONDITIONS • EVENTUALLY, WATER BODIES FILL IN COMPLETELY THROUGH THE PROCESS OF AQUATIC SUCCESSION(SEE NOTES FROM EARLIER) • EUTROPHICATION CAN ALSO RESULT FROM HUMAN-CAUSED NUTRIENT POLLUTION (RECALL WE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE FALL)

WETLANDS ARE VALUABLEWHERE THE SEA MEETS THE LAND… • WETLANDS ARE EXTREMELY VALUABLE FOR WILDLIFE • THEY PROVIDE IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: • THEY SLOW RUNOFF, REDUCE FLOODING, RECHARGE AQUIFERS, AND FILTER POLLUTANTS • PEOPLE HAVE DRAINED WETLANDS, MOSTLY FOR AGRICULTURE • PEOPLE DIVERT AND WITHDRAW WATER, CHANNELIZE RIVERS AND BUILD DAMS • THE U. S. HAS LOST OVER HALF OF ITS WETLANDS

WATER OUTPUTS OR USE-THINK OF SURF YOUR WATERSHED ACTIVITY • 70% OF OUR WATER USE IS FOR AGRICULTURE • CROP IRRIGATION, WATERING OF LIVESTOCK • 20% GOES TO INDUSTRY, 10% FOR RESIDENTIAL USE • CONSUMPTIVE USE: WATER IS REMOVED FROM AN AQUIFER OR SURFACE WATER BODY AND IS NOT RETURNED (E. G. , IRRIGATION) • NONCONSUMPTIVE USE: DOES NOT REMOVE, OR ONLY TEMPORARILY REMOVES, WATER • ELECTRICITY GENERATION AT HYDROELECTRIC DAMS

WHY DOES AGRICULTURE USE SO MUCH WATER? • RAPID POPULATION GROWTH REQUIRES MORE FOOD AND CLOTHES • WE USE 70% MORE IRRIGATION WATER THAN 50 YEARS AGO • IRRIGATION CAN DOUBLE CROP YIELDS • 18% OF LAND IS IRRIGATED BUT PRODUCES 40% OF OUR CROPS • IRRIGATION IS HIGHLY INEFFICIENT • WATER EVAPORATES IN “FLOOD AND FURROW” IRRIGATION • 15– 35% OF IRRIGATION WATER USE IS UNSUSTAINABLE • WATER MINING: WITHDRAWING WATER FASTER THAN IT IS REPLACED(POLAND SPRING AND MAINE) • SURFACE WATER IS PIPED IN FROM ELSEWHERE

WHAT IS OUR AFFECT WATERWAYS? • WATER IS A LIMITED, BUT RENEWABLE, RESOURCE • AS LONG AS WE USE IT SUSTAINABLY • PEOPLE ARE WITHDRAWING WATER AT UNSUSTAINABLE RATES • DEPLETING SURFACE AND GROUNDWATER • ONE-THIRD OF THE WORLD’S PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED BY SHORTAGES • PEOPLE ALSO ENGINEER WATERWAYS • DAMS, LEVEES, DIVERSION CANALS • FOR SUPPLIES, TRANSPORTATION, AND FLOOD CONTROL • WHAT WE DO IN ONE PART OF THE AQUATIC SYSTEM AFFECTS OTHER PARTS

WE BUILD DIKES AND LEVEES TO CONTROL FLOODS. BUT THIS CAUSES OTHER PROBLEMS… • Flooding: a normal, natural process where water spills over a river’s banks – Spreads nutrient-rich sediments over large areas • http: //www. chrisjord an. com/gallery/rtn/# car-keys Dikes and levees make floods worse by forcing water to stay in channels, which then overflow

WE HAVE ERECTED THOUSANDS OF DAMS • DAM: ANY OBSTRUCTION PLACED IN A RIVER OR STREAM TO BLOCK THE FLOW OF WATER • TO PREVENT FLOODS, PROVIDE DRINKING WATER, ALLOW IRRIGATION, AND GENERATE ELECTRICITY • 45, 000 LARGE DAMS HAVE BEEN ERECTED IN MORE THAN 140 NATIONS • ONLY A FEW MAJOR RIVERS REMAIN UNDAMMED • IN REMOTE REGIONS (CANADA, ALASKA, RUSSIA, AFRICA) • CHINA’S THREE GORGES DAM IS THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD • 385 MILE LONG RESERVOIR-WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THIS?

A TYPICAL DAM

SOME DAMS ARE BEING REMOVED • SOME FEEL THAT THE COSTS OF DAMS OUTWEIGH THEIR BENEFITS • THEY ARE PUSHING TO DISMANTLE DAMS • LETTING RIVERS FLOW FREE WILL: • RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS, REESTABLISH ECONOMICALLY VALUABLE FISHERIES, AND REVIVE RIVER RECREATION (FISHING, RAFTING) • OLD DAMS OR THOSE THAT ARE NO LONGER ECONOMICAL ARE CANDIDATES FOR REMOVAL • 400 DAMS HAVE BEEN REMOVED IN THE U. S. • 500 MORE MAY BE REMOVED

WE DIVERT SURFACE WATER FOR OUR NEEDS • People divert water from rivers and lakes – To farm fields, homes, and cities • The world’s largest diversion project is in China – To move water from water-rich north China to drier southern china’s farms and cities – 3 sets of massive aqueducts (1, 550 miles long) are being built • Critics say not enough water can be moved – The project will cause huge environmental damage – It will displace hundreds of thousands of people

WE ARE DRAINING RIVERS AND LAKES • IN MANY PLACES, WE ARE WITHDRAWING WATER AT UNSUSTAINABLE RATES • MAJOR RIVERS (E. G. , THE COLORADO) RUN DRY BEFORE REACHING THE SEA • REDUCED FLOW HAS DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES • DRASTICALLY CHANGES THE RIVER’S ECOLOGY AND PLANT COMMUNITY AND DESTROYS FISH AND INVERTEBRATES • THE ARAL SEA WAS ONCE THE WORLD’S FOURTH LARGEST SEA • IT LOST 80% OF ITS VOLUME IN 45 YEARS

THE ARAL SEA • THE TWO RIVERS LEADING INTO THE ARAL SEA WERE DIVERTED • TO IRRIGATE COTTON FIELDS • 60, 000 fishing jobs are gone • People are trying to save its northern part

CENTRAL CASE STUDY: STARVING THE LOUISIANA COAST OF SEDIMENT • LOUISIANA’S VITAL COASTAL WETLANDS • SUPPORT BIODIVERSITY • PROTECT THE COAST FROM STORMS • MISSISSIPPI RIVER SEDIMENTS: • KEEP SOIL LEVELS HIGH, WATER STABLE, AND PLANTS HEALTHY • WETLANDS ARE SHRINKING • DAMS STOP SEDIMENTATION • LEVEES PREVENT WATER FROM SPREADING INTO THE DELTA

WHY ARE LOUISIANA’S WETLANDS DISAPPEARING? • OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION PROMOTE WETLAND LOSSES • WITHDRAWAL COMPACTS LAND LOWERS SOIL LEVELS • CANALS FRAGMENT WETLANDS AND INCREASE EROSION • OIL SPILLS DESTROY VEGETATION • DIVERTING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER • CAN RESTORE THE WETLANDS • WILL COST MILLIONS

WE ARE DEPLETING GROUNDWATER • GROUNDWATER IS EASILY DEPLETED • AQUIFERS RECHARGE SLOWLY • WE ARE MINING AQUIFERS • AS AQUIFERS ARE MINED: • WATER TABLES DROP, AND FRESHWATER WETLANDS DRY UP • WATER BECOMES HARDER AND MORE EXPENSIVE TO GET • SALT WATER INTRUDES INTO COASTAL AQUIFERS • LAND CAN’T SUPPORT STRATA, AND THE SURFACE SINKS • COMPACTED SOIL LOSES POROSITY, MAKING RECHARGE HARDER

• HOW WILL THE UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WATER AFFECT US? WATER IS UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED IN SPACE AND TIME • DIFFERENT AREAS POSSESS DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF WATER • PEOPLE ARE NOT DISTRIBUTED ACCORDING TO FRESH WATER Climate change will worsen water conditions: changed precipitation patterns, melting glaciers, droughts, floods, etc.

IS IT BETTER IN A BOTTLE? • IN GROUPS PAIRS (WORK WITH SOMEONE NEW), READ OVER P 268 -269 IN TEXTBOOK. BRAINSTORM TO COMPLETE CHART BELOW ON WHITE PAPER. Bottle (+) Bottle (-) Tap (+) Tap (-)

BOTTLED WATER HAS HEAVY ECOLOGICAL COSTS • GROUNDWATER IS BEING WITHDRAWN FOR BOTTLED WATER • AN AVERAGE AMERICAN DRINKS 29 GALLONS/YEAR • PEOPLE DRINK BOTTLED WATER FOR PORTABILITY, CONVENIENCE • THEY THINK IT TASTES BETTER OR IS HEALTHIER • BOTTLED WATER IS NO BETTER THAN TAP WATER • ENERGY COSTS ARE 1, 000 TO 2000 TIMES MORE THAN TAP WATER • MANUFACTURING THE BOTTLE • TRANSPORTING THE PRODUCT • 75% OF BOTTLES (30– 40 BILLION/YR) ARE THROWN AWAY

WILL WE SEE A FUTURE OF WATER WARS? • FRESHWATER DEPLETION LEADS TO SHORTAGES, WHICH CAN LEAD TO CONFLICT • 261 MAJOR RIVERS CROSS NATIONAL BORDERS • TRANSBOUNDARY DISAGREEMENTS ARE COMMON • WATER IS A KEY ELEMENT IN HOSTILITIES AMONG ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS, AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES • GEORGIA, ALABAMA, AND FLORIDA ARE FEUDING OVER WATER • WATER DIVERSIONS THREATEN DOWNSTREAM SUPPLIES • MANY NATIONS HAVE COOPERATED TO RESOLVE DISPUTES • THEY SIGN WATER-SHARING TREATIES

SOLUTIONS CAN ADDRESS SUPPLY OR DEMAND • WE CAN EITHER INCREASE SUPPLY OR REDUCE DEMAND • DAMS HAVE INCREASED SUPPLIES • BUT MOST MAJOR RIVERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DAMMED • REDUCING DEMAND IS HARDER POLITICALLY • IT INVOLVES CHANGING BEHAVIORS • BUT OFFERS BETTER ECONOMIC RETURNS AND CAUSES LESS ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL DAMAGE • REDUCING DEMAND IS ALREADY PAYING OFF • FROM 1980 TO 2005, THE U. S. POPULATION GREW 31%, BUT WATER CONSUMPTION DECREASED 5%

AGRICULTURAL DEMAND CAN BE REDUCED • MOST WATER IS USED IN AGRICULTURE • “FLOOD AND FURROW” FLOODS FIELDS, BUT PLANTS USE ONLY 40% OF THE WATER APPLIED • USE EFFICIENT IRRIGATION METHODS • LOW-PRESSURE SPRAY IRRIGATION SPRAYS WATER DOWNWARD • DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEMS TARGET INDIVIDUAL PLANTS • MATCH CROPS TO LAND CLIMATE • DON’T GROW COTTON, RICE, OR ALFALFA IN ARID AREAS • USE SELECTIVE BREEDING AND GENETIC MODIFICATION TO PRODUCE CROPS THAT REQUIRE LESS WATER

REDUCING RESIDENTIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEMAND • IN RESIDENCES: INSTALL LOW-FLOW FAUCETS, SHOWERHEADS, WASHING MACHINES, AND TOILETS • CAPTURE AND STORE RAIN RUNOFF FROM ROOFS • XERISCAPING: REPLACING EXOTIC PLANTS WITH NATIVE PLANTS ADAPTED TO LOCAL PRECIPITATION PATTERNS • IN INDUSTRY: SHIFT TO PROCESSES THAT USE LESS WATER • RECYCLE WASTEWATER FOR IRRIGATION AND INDUSTRIAL USES • FIX LEAKY PIPES, AND RETROFIT HOMES WITH BETTER PLUMBING • AUDIT INDUSTRIES, AND PROMOTE CONSERVATION

FRESHWATER POLLUTION AND ITS CONTROL • PEOPLE AFFECT AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS BY: • WITHDRAWING TOO MUCH WATER • ADDING TOXIC SUBSTANCES OR DISEASE-CAUSING ORGANISMS • DEVELOPED NATIONS HAVE CLEANED UP WATER POLLUTION • STILL, HALF OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR RIVERS ARE SERIOUSLY DEPLETED AND POLLUTED • POISONING SURROUNDING ECOSYSTEMS • THREATENING THE HEALTH AND LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE • THE INVISIBLE POLLUTION OF GROUNDWATER HAS BEEN CALLED A “COVERT CRISIS”

POINT AND NONPOINT SOURCES OF POLLUTION • POLLUTION: THE RELEASE OF MATTER OR ENERGY THAT CAUSES: • UNDESIRABLE IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF HUMANS OR OTHER ORGANISMS • WATER POLLUTION HAS MANY FORMS AND CAN CAUSE DIVERSE IMPACTS ON AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH • POINT SOURCES: DISCRETE LOCATIONS OF WATER POLLUTION • FACTORIES, SEWER PIPES, OIL TANKER • ADDRESSED BY THE U. S. CLEAN WATER ACT • NON-POINT SOURCES: MULTIPLE INPUTS OF POLLUTION OVER LARGER AREAS (FARMS, CITY STREETS, NEIGHBORHOODS)

FRESHWATER POLLUTION SOURCES Non-point-source pollution is the major source of U. S. water pollution

INDICATORS OF WATER QUALITY • MOST FORMS OF WATER POLLUTION ARE NOT CONSPICUOUS • SCIENTISTS MEASURE PROPERTIES OF WATER AND ASSESS POLLUTANT IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS • CHEMICAL INDICATORS: PH, NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS, DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONCENTRATION • PHYSICAL INDICATORS: TEMPERATURE, TURBIDITY (DENSITY OF SUSPENDED PARTICLES IN WATER) • BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS: PRESENCE OF HARMFUL MICROORGANISMS, SPECIES DIVERSITY

NUTRIENT POLLUTION • NUTRIENT POLLUTION FROM FERTILIZERS, FARMS, SEWAGE, LAWNS, GOLF COURSES LEADS TO EUTROPHICATION AND HYPOXIA • EXCESS NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS IN WATER BOOSTS ALGAL AND AQUATIC PLANT GROWTH • SPREADING ALGAE COVER THE SURFACE, DECREASING SUNLIGHT • BACTERIA EAT DEAD PLANTS, REDUCING DISSOLVED OXYGEN • FISH AND SHELLFISH DIE • SOLUTIONS INCLUDE TREATING WASTEWATER, REDUCING FERTILIZER APPLICATION, AND USING PHOSPHATE-FREE DETERGENTS • PLANTING VEGETATION DECREASES NUTRIENT FLOW INTO WATER

EUTROPHICATION IS A NATURAL PROCESS, BUT… • HUMAN ACTIVITIES DRAMATICALLY INCREASE THE RATE AT WHICH IT OCCURS • HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (RED TIDES): EXCESSIVE NUTRIENTS INCREASE MARINE ALGAE, WHICH RELEASE POWERFUL TOXINS • KILL ORGANISMS AND PEOPLE, DECREASES TOURISM, FISHING

BIODEGRADABLE WASTES • BIODEGRADABLE MATERIALS DECREASE DISSOLVED OXYGEN IN WATER • HUMAN WASTE, ANIMAL MANURE, PAPER PULP, YARD WASTES (GRASS CLIPPINGS, LEAVES) • BACTERIAL DECOMPOSITION LOWERS DISSOLVED OXYGEN • WASTEWATER: HUMANS RELEASE BIODEGRADABLE WASTES • FROM TOILETS, SINKS, DISHWASHERS, WASHING MACHINES, INDUSTRIAL CLEANING PROCESSES, STORMWATER RUNOFF • DEVELOPED NATIONS TREAT WASTEWATER • MANY DEVELOPING NATIONS DON’T TREAT WASTEWATER

TOXIC CHEMICALS • PESTICIDES, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, SYNTHETIC CHEMICALS • TOXIC METALS (ARSENIC, LEAD, MERCURY), ACID RAIN, ACID DRAINAGE FROM MINES • EFFECTS INCLUDE POISONED ANIMALS AND PLANTS, ALTERED AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS, AND HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEMS • SOLUTIONS: • ISSUE AND ENFORCE MORE STRINGENT REGULATIONS OF INDUSTRY • MODIFY INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES • MODIFY OUR PURCHASING DECISIONS

SEDIMENT POLLUTION • SEDIMENT IN RIVERS CAN IMPAIR AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS • CLEAR-CUTTING, MINING, CLEARING LAND FOR HOUSING, AND CULTIVATING FARM FIELDS EXPOSE SOIL TO EROSION • IT DRAMATICALLY CHANGES AQUATIC HABITATS • IMPAIRS ORGANISM RESPIRATION • FISH MAY NOT SURVIVE • CLOUDY WATER BLOCKS SUN, KILLING ROOTED PLANTS • SOLUTIONS: ADOPTING BETTER SOIL PRACTICES • AVOID LARGE-SCALE DISTURBANCE OF VEGETATION • KEEP RIPARIAN VEGETATION TO TRAP SEDIMENTS

THERMAL POLLUTION • WATER THAT IS TOO WARM CAUSES PROBLEMS • WARMER WATER HOLDS LESS OXYGEN • COOLING AN INDUSTRIAL FACILITY WITH WATER HEATS WATER, WHICH HEATS A RIVER WHEN IT IS RELEASED • REMOVING STREAMSIDE COVER RAISES WATER TEMPERATURE • WATER THAT IS TOO COLD ALSO CAUSES PROBLEMS • WATER AT THE BOTTOM OF RESERVOIRS BEHIND DAMS IS COLDER • WHEN WATER IS RELEASED, DOWNSTREAM WATER TEMPERATURES DROP SUDDENLY, KILLING AQUATIC ORGANISMS

PATHOGENS AND WATERBORNE DISEASES • PATHOGENS ENTER WATER THROUGH INADEQUATELY TREATED SEWAGE AND ANIMAL WASTE FROM FEEDLOTS • BIOLOGICAL POLLUTION CAUSES MORE HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEMS THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF WATER POLLUTION • 1 BILLION DON’T HAVE SAFE WATER, 2. 6 BILLION DON’T HAVE ADEQUATE SEWER OR SANITATION FACILITIES • SOLUTIONS: • DISINFECTING DRINKING WATER AND TREATING WASTEWATER • PUBLIC EDUCATION TO ENCOURAGE PERSONAL HYGIENE • GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS PROTECTING FOOD

OIL POLLUTION • Large spills are infrequent but can be devastating • Other sources include: – Natural seepage, boat leakage, road and parking lot runoff – Spills during transport and leakage during extraction • In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded – Killing 11 – Spilling 1, 800 gallons/min – Polluting Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida

NETS AND PLASTIC DEBRIS • PLASTIC ITEMS DUMPED INTO THE SEA HARM OR KILL WILDLIFE • FISHING NETS, PLASTIC BAGS AND BOTTLES, FISHING LINE, BUCKETS, FLOATS • MAMMALS, SEABIRDS, AND SEA TURTLES EAT PLASTIC AND DIE • CONVERGING OCEAN CURRENTS ACCUMULATE PLASTIC TRASH • NORTH PACIFIC’S GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH • CONGRESS PASSED THE MARINE DEBRIS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND REDUCTION ACT IN 2006 • MINIMIZE THIS HARM BY REDUCING, REUSING, AND RECYCLING PLASTIC

OIL SPILLS HAVE DECREASED • DUE TO AN EMPHASIS ON SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE • THE U. S. OIL POLLUTION ACT OF 1990 • $1 BILLION PREVENTION AND CLEANUP FUND • ALL SHIPS MUST HAVE DOUBLE HULLS BY 2015

POLLUTANTS CONTAMINATE GROUNDWATER • GROUNDWATER POLLUTION IS HARD TO DETECT AND ADDRESS • IT RETAINS CONTAMINANTS FOR DECADES AND LONGER • IT TAKES LONGER FOR CONTAMINANTS TO BREAK DOWN BECAUSE OF LOWER SUNLIGHT, MICROBES, AND DISSOLVED OXYGEN • SOME TOXIC CHEMICALS OCCUR NATURALLY • ALUMINUM, FLUORIDE, SULFATES • POLLUTION FROM HUMAN ACTIVITIES LEACHES THROUGH SOILS • AGRICULTURAL NITRATES CAUSE “BLUE BABY SYNDROME” • BY LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS, IMPROPERLY DESIGNED WELLS, AND STORAGE OF HAZARDOUS WASTES

IT IS BEST TO PREVENT POLLUTION • IT IS FAR BETTER TO PREVENT POLLUTION THAN USE “END-OF-PIPE” TREATMENT AND CLEANUP • OTHER OPTIONS ARE NOT AS GOOD: • REMOVING JUST ONE HERBICIDE FROM WATER IN THE U. S. MIDWEST COSTS $400 MILLION/YEAR • PUMPING, TREATING, AND REINJECTING WATER TAKES TOO LONG • CONSUMERS CAN PURCHASE SUSTAINABLY MADE PRODUCTS • BECOME INVOLVED IN LOCAL “RIVERWATCH” PROJECTS • URGE GOVERNMENT TO PURSUE POLICIES TO FIGHT POLLUTION

LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS REDUCE POLLUTION • WATER POLLUTION WAS WORSE DECADES AGO • U. S. CITIZEN ACTIVISM AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSE RESULTED IN LEGISLATION DURING THE 1960 S AND 1970 S • THE FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT (1972) • RENAMED THE CLEAN WATER ACT IN 1977 • MADE IT ILLEGAL TO DISCHARGE POLLUTION WITHOUT A PERMIT • SET STANDARDS FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTEWATER • FUNDED BUILDING OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS • THE SITUATION IS MUCH BETTER NOW • THE GREAT LAKES ARE MUCH CLEANER BUT STILL HAVE ISSUES

ENFORCEMENT OF WATER QUALITY NEEDS MONEY • CONDITIONS IMPROVE WHEN CITIZENS PUSH THEIR GOVERNMENT TO TAKE ACTION • UNDERFUNDED AND UNDERSTAFFED STATE AND FEDERAL REGULATORY AGENCIES CANNOT INVESTIGATE VIOLATIONS • VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT HAVE RISEN • 10% OF AMERICANS ARE EXPOSED TO UNSAFE DRINKING WATER • THE NEW EPA ADMINISTRATOR HAS PROMISED IMPROVEMENT

WE TREAT OUR DRINKING WATER • TREATMENT OF DRINKING WATER IS WIDESPREAD AND SUCCESSFUL IN DEVELOPED NATIONS • BEFORE WATER REACHES THE USER, IT IS CHEMICALLY TREATED • THEN FILTERED AND DISINFECTED • THE EPA SETS STANDARDS FOR OVER 90 DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANTS • LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE WATER SUPPLIERS MUST MEET THESE STANDARDS • WATER TREATMENT HAS REDUCED DEATHS FROM DISEASES • IT IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ADVANCES OF MODERN TIMES

WE TREAT OUR WASTEWATER • BEFORE THE CLEAN WATER ACT, UNTREATED SEWAGE WAS RELEASED INTO WATERWAYS • CAUSED OXYGEN DEPLETION AND CONTAMINATION • SEPTIC SYSTEMS: THE MOST POPULAR METHOD OF WASTEWATER DISPOSAL IN RURAL AREAS • UNDERGROUND SEPTIC TANKS SEPARATE SOLIDS AND OILS FROM WATER • THE WATER DRAINS INTO A FIELD THROUGH PERFORATED PIPES • MICROBES DECOMPOSE POLLUTANTS IN THE WATER • SOLID WASTE IS PERIODICALLY PUMPED OUT AND LANDFILLED

MUNICIPAL SEWER SYSTEMS • IN POPULATED AREAS, MUNICIPAL SEWER SYSTEMS CARRY WASTEWATER TO WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS • PRIMARY TREATMENT: REMOVES SUSPENDED SOLIDS • SECONDARY TREATMENT: WATER IS STIRRED AND AERATED • AEROBIC BACTERIA DEGRADE ORGANIC POLLUTANTS • FURTHER TREATMENT MAY REMOVE PARTICULAR POLLUTANTS • CLARIFIED WATER TREATED WITH CHLORINE (OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT) • EFFLUENT: TREATED WASTEWATER • IS PIPED INTO RIVERS OR THE OCEAN • MAY BE USED FOR LAWNS, IRRIGATION, OR INDUSTRY

A TYPICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY • SLUDGE: SOLID MATERIAL RESULTING FROM TREATMENT • IS DECOMPOSED MICROBIALLY • THEN LANDFILLED, INCINERATED, OR USED AS FERTILIZER

ARTIFICIAL WETLANDS CLEAN WASTEWATER • MICROBES “POLISH” TREATED WASTEWATER • REMOVING PLANT NUTRIENTS • CLEANSED WATER IS RELEASED INTO WATERWAYS • OR PERCOLATES UNDERGROUND • THE U. S. HAS OVER 500 ARTIFICIAL OR RESTORED WETLANDS • RELEASING WASTEWATER EFFLUENT CAN HELP RESTORE MARSHES • NUTRIENTS INCREASE MARSH GRASS GROWTH • INCREASED ORGANIC MATTER OFFSETS NATURAL SOIL COMPACTION

CONCLUSION • EXPANDING POPULATION AND INCREASING WATER USAGE ARE STRAINING WATER SUPPLIES • AND AFFECTING SURFACE WATERS AND GROUNDWATER • WATER POLLUTION HARMS HEALTH AND ECOSYSTEM STABILITY • OVERHARVESTING THREATENS THE OCEAN’S BIODIVERSITY • EFFICIENCY CAN REDUCE DEMAND FOR WATER • BETTER REGULATION AND CONCERN HAVE IMPROVED WATER QUALITY • MARINE RESERVES GIVE HOPE FOR ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION AND THE FUTURE OF FISHERIES