WATER

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WATER

• Our Water Resources

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Water Usage as of 2000
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Water

• Water is essential to life.
• You can go more than a month without food.
• You can only last a few days without water.
• People live longer today because water is cleaner
  today that it was 200 years ago.
• We have cleaner water to drink, bathe in, wash
  dishes with, and flush away sewage.
• Water is a RENEWABLE resource.

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Water

• The Earth is 70 water.
• Its estimated that the Earth and its atmosphere
  contain about 336,000,000 cubic miles of water.
• That is enough for every person to get 1 trillion
  gallons if it were divided up evenly.
• All this water, whats the problem?

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Water

• The problem is that 97 of the Earths water is
  salt water.
• That leaves us 3 freshwater that we can use.
• The next problem is that 77 of the freshwater is
  frozen solid in the polar ice caps.
• Do the math
• 336 million cu. Mi. 3 - 77 2.3 million
• Water we need comes from two sources Surface
  water and ground water.

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Surface Water

• SURFACE WATER is fresh water that is aboveground
  in lake, rivers, ponds, and streams.
• All rivers are a result of precipitation.
• Its a result of all the rain and snow that has
  fallen on square miles of land.
• The entire area of land that is drained by a
  river is know as its watershed.

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Watersheds
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Watersheds

• The amount of water that falls on a watershed
  varies from year to year.
• As a result it can be dangerous for communities
  to rely on these resources as they arent
  completely stable.
• Lakes can provide a more stable source of water.

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River Controversies

• Because they are in such high demand, many states
  within countries and even neighboring countries
  fight over rights to river waters.
• How much of a rivers water does a country
  upstream have the right to use?
• How much water will the country downstream
  receive?
• Who decides?

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Dams (no n)

• A DAM is a structure built across a river or
  stream that restricts the flow of the water
  moving downstream.
• The water that collects forms a reservoir, or
  artificial lake.
• Water from reservoirs can be used in times of
  need (ex. drought).
• They can provide flood control and electricity.
• They also destroy ecosystems. How?

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Groundwater

• Much of the precipitation that falls soaks into
  the ground.
• Some is used by plants.
• Water that seeps underground is called
  GROUNDWATER.
• Large amounts of groundwater are found in
  underground rock formations called AQUIFERS.
• They usually consist of rocks, sand, and gravel
  and lots of air spaces where water can collect.

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Aquifers

• They continuously receive water that percolates
  down from the surface.
• The process can take millions of years for large
  aquifers to form.
• The area of land where the groundwater originates
  from is called its recharge zone.
• Many areas of the US depend on aquifers as a
  water source.
• In some cases pumps are installed to get the
  water out.

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Aquifers are running low

• We are pumping water out faster than it is being
  replenished.
• We need to start conserving water or finding new
  ways to make water more drinkable..

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New Techniques
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Desalting the Sea

• Some countries are trying to remove salt from
  seawater in a process called desalinization.
• There are two techniques for doing this
• Distillation Heat is used to evaporate
  freshwater from salt water, leaving the salt
  behind.
• Reverse Osmosis Saltwater is pushed through a
  membrane that will not permit salt to pass.

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Towing Water

• Some countries are trying new ways to get water
  by towing chunks of icebergs from the poles.
• One example is Saudi Arabia, where water costs
  more than gasoline!
• Possible Problems?
• Icebergs melt the closer they get to the equator.
• Taking chunks of icebergs disrupts the ecosystems.

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Water Conservation

• Water takes time to complete its cycle, the more
  we save now, the more well have!
• Install low flow faucets!
• Turn the water off when you brush!
• Take shorter showers!
• Take a bath!
• Water plants and lawns at night when the water
  wont evaporate as fast!!

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Freshwater Pollution

• FACT In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so
  full of industrial chemicals and other pollutants
  that it caught on fire!!!

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Freshwater Pollution

• Water pollution is the introduction of chemical,
  physical, or biological agents into the water
  that degrades the quality of the water and
  effects the organisms that depend on it.
• There are two underlying causes
• Industrialization factories and such.
• Human population explosion too many people, too
  fast.

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Kinds of Pollutants

• Pathogens disease causing organisms such as
  bacteria.
• Untreated sewage and feces
• Organic Matter Biodegradable remains of animals
  and plants, including feces.
• Organic chemicals Pesticides, fertilizers,
  plastics, detergents, gasoline and oil, and other
  materials from man-made fossil fuels.

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Kinds of Pollutants

• Inorganic Chemicals Acids, salts, toxic metals.
• Physical Agents Heat and suspended solids such
  as soils.
• Radioactive Waste From power plants or nuclear
  processing and defense facilities.

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Types of Pollution

• There are two types (not to be confused with
  kinds) of pollution
• Point Pollution
• Non-point Pollution

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Point Pollution

• Point Pollution is pollution that is discharged
  from a single source.
• From a factory, oil tanker, power plant
• This is easier to control and regulate because
  the pollution can be identified and traced back
  to one place.

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Non-Point Pollution

• Non-Point Pollution is pollution that comes from
  many sources rather than from a specific site.
• From homes, farms, highways, streets, people
  littering, etc.
• Because it can enter bodies of water in various
  ways, it is harder to control.
• The accumulation of small amounts of pollution
  add up to a huge pollution problem.

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Wastewater Treatment Plants

• Most water you use goes through pipes to a
  wastewater treatment plant where it is treated
  before returning to a body of water.
• Most wastewater from homes is biodegradable.
• Unfortunately, much of the water from industries
  and storm runoffs is not.

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Wastewater Treatment Plants

• One of the products of wastewater treatment is
  sludge.
• It very hazerdous and is often incinerated
  (burned) and then buried in landfills.
• Ex. On 95 right after the Gerard Point Bridge
• If the chemicals can be removed from the sludge
  it could be used in better ways.
• Farmers use it as fertilizer.
• It can be combined with concrete to make certain
  bricks for buildings.

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Pathogens

• Pathogens can enter water supplies in untreated
  wastewater and animal feces.
• Cholera, hepatitis, and Typhoid are among many
  diseases people can catch by drinking untreated
  water.
• The major test of water is to look for E. coli.
• A common test is the fecal coliform test.

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How Pollution Effects Ecosystems

• An entire ecosystem can suffer the effects of
  water pollution.
• Consider toxins go in a river? the soil settles
  to the bottom? bottom feeding organisms eat this?
  one fish eats hundreds of these a day? 100 small
  fish are eaten by larger fish? an eagle eats some
  of the larger fish
• The toxins store in the flesh of each animal up
  the chain.
• The amount of toxin that passes on increases as
  it moves to each eater.
• The increase in concentration is called
  biological magnification.

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How Pollution Effects Ecosystems

• Water pollution can also cause immediate damage
  to an ecosystem.
• Toxic and oil spills in oceans, lakes, and rivers
  immediately harm the ecosystem around it.
• Water pollution can harm humans in more ways than
  one.
• Toxic water can cause cancer, birth defects, and
  damage the nervous system, liver, or kidneys.

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Artificial Eutrophication

• Lakes and slow moving bodies of water can become
  Eutrophic they have an abundance of nutrients.
• How it happens organisms die and decompose?
  decomposition uses up O2? plants take root in the
  nutrient rich soil and fill in the gaps?
  eventually the body of water becomes
  swampy/marshy.
• This is an example of secondary succession.

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Artificial Eutrophication

• When inorganic plant nutrients (Nitrogen and
  Sulfur) get added into a supply of water, it
  accelerates the natural process.
• Eutrophication caused by humans in this way is
  called Artificial Eutrophication.
• By adding chemicals to the water, we speed up the
  natural processes.
• Excess algae can form algae blooms which are
  large mats of algae.
• As the algae die and decompose, large amounts of
  O2 are dissolved and fish suffocate and die.

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Thermal Pollution

• Thermal Pollution occurs when excessive amounts
  of heat are added to a body of water.
• This occurs when nuclear plants and others use
  nearby water supplies as part of their cooling
  systems.
• It can cause massive fish kills.
• Warm water can hold as much O2 as cold water and
  so surrounding life is suffocated.

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Cleaning up Water Pollution

• List of Water Quality Legislation in the US
• 1. 1972 Clean Water Act (CWA) made a goal of
  cleaning all surface waters by 1983 and banning
  all pollution by 1985. Required that metals be
  removed by 1980s.
• 2. 1972 Marine Protection, Research, and
  Sanctuaries Act empowered the EPA to control
  the dumping of sewage wastes and toxic chemicals
  in the ocean.
• 3. 1975 Safe Drinking Water Act designed to
  protect both ground and surface water from
  pollution.

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Cleaning up Water Pollution

• List continued
• 4. 1980 Comprehensive Environmental response
  Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) makes
  owners, operators, and customers of hazardous
  waste sites responsible for their cleanup. It
  has reduced the pollution of groundwater.
• 5. 1987 Water Quality Act Formed to support
  state and local efforts to clean polluted runoff.
  Established funds to help pay for new wastewater
  treatment plants and created programs to protect
  major estuaries.

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Special Problem of Groundwater Pollution

• Groundwater pollution will plague us for
  centuries to come.
• The EPA has detected over 200 hazardous chemicals
  that can seep through the soil and into
  groundwater!!
• Remember, even if we stopped polluting now, it
  takes years for water to seep through the ground
  and collect

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Bottled Water

• Where does bottle water come from??
• WRONG!!!
• Most bottle water comes straight from a tap, then
  they treat it with different chemicals.
• In fact, although federally regulated, bottle
  water is tested for pollutants LESS than the
  water that comes into your home!!!!

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Ocean Pollution

• How Pollutants get into the ocean
• 85 of the oceans pollutants come from activities
  on land.
• Wastes enter rivers which are carried to the
  oceans.
• Most activities occur near the coasts where most
  of the population lives.
• Some are dumped directly into the ocean.
• Sludge from wastewater plants is dumped into the
  ocean.
• Planes and ocean liners dump their trash directly
  into the oceans.

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Ocean Pollution

• Accidental oil spills.
• Large oil spills are responsible for about 5 of
  the oil pollution.
• Most of it comes from small leaks in the ships
  and during filling and emptying of these vessels.
• Plastic is a significant problem because it does
  not break down easily.
• Animals can get caught in old fishing lines.
• Some mistake plastic bags as jelly fish and
  suffocate.
• Plastic rings from soda trap fish and other small
  animals.

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Preventing Ocean Pollution

• There are laws that prohibit or limit pollution
  of the seas.
• MARPOL prohibits the discharge of oil and the
  disposal or abandonment of plastics in ocean or
  costal waters.
• The 1974 Helsinki Convention fought to control
  land-based sources of ocean pollution.
• So far theyve banned dumping of DDT, Cadmium,
  and Mercury.

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Preventing Ocean Pollution

• The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
  Act makes laws to protect dumping.
• The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires all oil
  tankers arriving to the USA to have a double hull
  to prevent leaking.
• The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits an
  actions that could harm any endangered animals.

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???Who Owns the Oceans???

• The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of
  the Sea met between the years 1973 and 1982.
• Results The Law of the Sea Treaty.
• States that laws of a costal nation extend to 22
  km from its coastline, its territorial sea.
• The area that extends 370 km from land is called
  its exclusive economic zone.
• Nations have economical, environmental, and
  research control over these areas.
• The rest of the worlds oceans are designated as
  communal property to be controlled by the
  International Seabed Authority.