WATER POLLUTION

Base-line information
-to compare data BACTRERIAL SHAPES
-assess it temporarily

WHATS IN YOUR WATER?

-major water inhabitants/pollutants

1. DISEASE-CAUSING AGENTS (PATHOGENS)

biological identities/ pathogenic microbes; Coccus Bacillus
density Spirillum
bacteria, viruses, protozoa,parasitic
worms
caliform bacteria Pleomorphic types if combined
- a water quality indicator; good
bacteria Complex virus (bacteriophage)
-if the inside body, good bacteria - measured in nanometres
-if externally, cause disentery -type of virus inflicting bacteria
-pro-biotics Protozoan (trypanosoma brucei,
-comes from feces causes African sleeping sickness)
-they aid and help absorbtion of -causes African sleeping sickness
nutrients
-once caliform is there, therell be BLOOD FLUKE
presence of pathogen microbes -parasitic worm
-clean water act -SCHISTOSOMA SP. Southeast
-solid waste management act (R.A. Asian blood fluke
9003) which is there should be -in BIO, we called Blood Worm
waste characterization -feeding habitats of worms
-climate change emits PARASITIC
greenhouse gases -requires 2 host
oxygen-demanding wastes (intermediate host, and
(dissolved oxygen) Biological definite host)
Oxygen Demand (BOD) oxygen FREE
needed by aerobic decomposers
-DISSOLVED OXYGEN; diffusing into
the water to support metabolic
activity 2. WATER-SOLUBLE INORGANIC
-if the dissolve oxygen is high, the CHEMICALS
water body is unhealthy -easily mixed with H2O
-fuel order indicates anoxic -include acids, salts, toxic materials
devoid with oxygen -make water unfit to drink, harm fish and
-there are organisms which can other awuatic life, lower crop yields,
tolerate unaerobic respiration accelerate corrosion of metals exposed to
- pollutants in water, dissolve water
oxygen, biological oxygen
demand 3. INORGANIC NUTRIENTSAND ORGANIC
CHEMICALS
Escherichiz Coli -nitrates and phosphates (inorganic
Streptococcus Pneumoniae and can lead to fish kill) limit the
(pneumonia is caused by growth of planktons (short-lived)
pathogenic microbes) -organic chemical (oil, gasoline,
plastics, pesticides, cleaning solvents,
and detergent)
 Limiting- limit the performance
of the organism
-once the planktons die,
decomposition setting will decline
-n and k are fertilizers
-planktons needs decomposition
4. OTHER MAJOR WATER POLLUTION
Sediment
-reduces photosynthesis
-disrupts food webs
-carries harmful substance
-destroys feeding and spawning
grounds
-clogs and fills lakes
Water-soluble radioactive
isotopes
-sources of nuclear energy
Headed water- thermal pollution
Introduction of non-native
species
-adapted to heat environment
industries
-thermal shock
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION (also
applicable to air)
1. Point Sources
-examples are dumping garbage into the
lake and oil spills
-visible that its really emitting something
unto the water body
-easily identified
-at specific places and are relatively easy
to identify, monitor and regulate
-factories
-sewage treatment plant (STP)
-active and abandoned underground
mines
-offshore oil wells (ships, boats)
-tankers
Clean Water Act (there is a
provision for establishment of
STP)
-the goal of sewage treatment
plant is to treat waste of water
being generated either from
municipal waste, household or
industrial wastes
-to further recycle the water by
STP
-and further recycle the water
2. Non-point sources
-very hard to distinguish and identify
-household from waters will go to septic
tanks/undergrounds, creek/river/stream
-cannot be traced to a single source of
discharge
-acid deposition
-runoff of chemicals into surface water
-seepage into the group from croplands:
57%-64% of total mass of pollutants
entering waters
-danger: sewage of water into the soil
PREVENTING AND REDUCING WATER
POLLUTION FROM NON-POINT
SOURCES
a. Reduce fertilizer runoff into surface
waters-synthetic fertilizers are harmful
-shifting to organic fertilizer use
b. Use agricultural methods using less
fertilizer
c. Improve vegetation buffer zones
-example, a mango industry (highly
exhausted when it comes to fertilizers)
d. Use biological control of pests
e. Reduce non-farm fertilizer use (golf
courses)
f. Control runoff from feedlots, etc.
(Feedlots-physical design that will
capture waste)
-highly applicable for raising industry;
not so much applicable to Cebu
setting
g. Reforest critical watersheds
PREVENTING AND REDUCING WATER
POLLUTION FROM POINT SOURCES
TECHNOLOGICAL APPROACH
a. Regular cleaning of rural and suburban
septic tanks
b. Separate urban sewage from surface
run-off
-water outside the septic tank is called
surface run-of
-water from households (from washed
clothes) is called sewage run-of
-more difficult to treat is the water
from the run-off
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
PURIFICATION LEVELS:
Primary
-mechanical removal of solids
Secondary
 -decomposition by aerobic
bacteria degradation
Tricking filters or activated
sludge process
Advanced sewage
treatment- chemical and
physical
The sludge will become part for the
use of reclamation
What to do with sewage sludge?
-dump in landfills as filling material or
incinerate, compost or apply to land (as
fertilizer)
-Sewage sludge must be treated to kill
harmful bacteria before its used as
fertilizer.
-NOTE: for a safer sludge, better to
prevent toxic and hazardous wastes from
reaching sewage treatment plants
Work with nature to treat sewage
-uses of artificial wetland (i.e. Arcata,
California)
-creating wetlands for part of its sewage
plan (i.e. Richmond Hill, Georgia)
Constructive wetlands are a creative
alternative to the traditional sewage
treatment plant (Richmond, GA.)
UP Lagoon- to contain the H2o and/or
temporary settling side
STREAM POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Streams can recover relatively quickly
from degradable, oxygen-demanding
wastes and excess heat natural
recovery depends on:
Dilution and bacterial decay as
long as there is no overloading of
pollutants, and flow is maintained
Decomposition of biodegradable waste
requires oxygen
Not easily polluted unlike lakes
pollutants dilute and temporary
Copepod host of Vibrio cholera (cholera)
LAKE POLLUTION PROBLEMS
Stratification of layers reduction of
dissolved oxygen (DO) levels as depth
increases
Sedimentation lakes are more
vulnerable to sediment & atmospheric
fallout
Acidification a result of acid rain in the
area
Stratification- cross section diagram of
the lake
thermal layering (stratification)
Factor determining the Stratification
level
1. DO levels (water from lake are from
underground spring or surface run-
of)
-hinay ang exchange of physicochemical
parameters
-especially to four season countries;
frozen, therefore no mixing will happen
-when season changes, there will be
overturn, then the surface water will
replenish then will go to the bottom and
the nutrient present in the bottom will go
to the surface, and thats mixing, in that
way therell be mixing that of dissolve
oxygen
2. Sedimentation rate
-can actually change the bathymetry (the
measurement of depth of water in
oceans, seas, or lakes) of the lake
-whenever therell be rainfall/strong
winds, topsoil will easily be carry and
these topsoil will go to the water and will
become part as run-off and later on
deposited to the lake, through time the
bathymetry of the lake will become
shallow because of the additional sheets
of the sediments. That will give you the
overview what will happen during
overturn.
THERMAL LAYERING (STRATIFICATION)
-In temperate-zone lakes, water can form -Contaminated groundwater slow to clean
distinct layers during summer due to slow movement and decomposition

THERMOCLINE- therell be no missing in the SOURCES OF GROUNDWATER

bottom parts. Example when we go to a CONTAMINATION
beach then especially the weather is cold, -oil spill
the temperature of the bottom and the -solid waste
surface is different. -biodiversity (dynamite fishing)
-underground storage tanks
SOLUTIONS TO LAKE POLLUTION -landfills
Cultural Eutrophication Prevention -abandoned hazardous waste dumps
-it is inevitable -liquid hazardous disposal in deep wells
-advanced waste treatment -livestock waste storage lagoons near
Removal of slods/wastes aquifers
Removal of n or k
-phosphate (phosphorus are natural in the HOW TO PROTECT GROUNDWATER
environment) limits or bans SINCE CLEAN-UPS ARE TOO EXPENSIVE
-soil conservation by protecting the Prevent contamination by:
topsoil -monitoring aquifers near landfills and
-land use control tanks
-mitigating erosion rates -putting in place leak detection
systems
-require underground tank liability
Clean up insurance
-dredge bottom sediments and remove -ban or strictly regulate hazardous
weeds waste disposal in deep injection wells
-dredge can be a good thing but it should or in landfills
be studied well -require above ground storage with
-land use control leak detectors
-pump in air
OCEAN POLLUTION
Dredging -oceans may dilute, disperse and degrade
-deposit material/soil/sludge into the large amounts of: raw sewage, sewage
water body sludge, oil and some industrial waste in
-H2O is not free-flowing deep-water areas
-but some marine life are less resilient to
THE ARAL SEA TRAGEDY (example of pollution
water pollution)
POLLUTANTS DUMPED INTO OCEANS
-An endorheic sea (no water flows out of it) -coastline industrial waste dumping already
-Fed by the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers stopped in the U.S., still occurs in other
to the east countries
-Diversions for irrigation (when still part of -barges and ships still dump dredge spoils
the USSR) have robbed the Aral Sea of its -sewage sludge dumping banned in U.S.,
water supply continues in other countries
-Once the 4th largest inland body of water in -agreements not to dump difficult to enforce
the world, now a series of connected saline (i.e. London Dumping Convention, 1972)
lakes (1/2 its original size)
-Uzbekistan (south) and Kazakhstan (north) Pfiesteria Piscicida (Dinoflagellate)-red
algae
GROUND WATER POLLUTION PROBLEMS Algal Bloom
-population explosion of
-Aquifers easy to deplete but slow to dinoflagellate
replenish -related to red tide
 -secretion of neuro toxin
-organisms/algae to grow FOOD
(temperature and oxygen)
Producers in aquatic area
Population explosions tied to
water pollution
Associated with large fish kills
Complicated life cycle
PROTECTION OF COASTAL WATERS
-separate sewage from storm runoff
-no ocean dumping of sludge and hazards
-require at least secondary treatment of
sewage
-require double hulled oil tankers
-recycle used oil
-improve oil spill clean-up capabilities
-reduce genetic pollution
-protect ecologically sensitive areas
-use ecological land-use planning
-regular clean up
-or use wetlands or environmentally
acceptable methods for clean-up
From Australias Great Barrier Reef, a
coral fragment washed up on Heron
Islands sandy shore