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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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When was the clean water act implemented. What environmental disaster in the US served as a catalyst for implementing this law?
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The Clean Water Act (CWA) was implemented in 1972. Cleveland’s very polluted Cuyahoga River caught on fire in 1969. The river had been catching fire for over a century and this led to a lot of public outrage and served as a catalyst for implementing the CWA.
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Are beaches getting cleaner or more contaminated in recent years? What percent of marine estuaries in the US have become contaminated to the level they no longer are able to function as fish nurseries?
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Beaches are getting more contaminated. About 51% of estuaries cannot function as fish nurseries.
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What are some of the common contaminants you might expect in local drinking water in Los Angeles?
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Common contaminants include: Rocket Fuel (perchlorate), lead, germs, arsenic, and pesticides.
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Why is perchlorate of concern? Where did this contaminant come from?
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Perchlorate has harmful effects for the thyroid gland and is a known carcinogen. It is a component of rocket fuel and is used in fireworks and explosives.
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How does thermal pollution affect fish life? Is this a direct effect of heat on the fish, or if not what changes in the water that causes problems to aquatic life?
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There is less oxygen being dissolved in warm water than cooler water in which affects the aquatic life. ( a fish ventilates its gills more frequently to obtain enough oxygen, it then stressed the fish as it tries to find oxygen. Also affects the reproductive cycle and respiration and digestion rates )
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How bad is water pollution in China? What are the two main sources of contamination?
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All of China’s waterways, and most of its aquifiers are polluted with chemicals, industrial wastes, and sewage. Three-fourths of China’s waterways can no longer sustain fish. (Still unsure if this answers how bad the water pollution is). Two sources of contamination: animal and human waste.
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What are the effects of sediment pollution?
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Restricted light penetration
Transport of toxic chemicals attached to them Suffocating marine organisms Filling in water ways |
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What is eutrophication and how is it caused? Is this largely due to non-point or point source pollution?
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Eutrophication happens when there are too many nutrients polluting a waterbody. This abundance of nutrients leads to algal blooms which lead to oxygen-depletion (hypoxia) and creates dead zones. Eutrophication is largely due to fertilizer runoff which is a form of non-point source pollution.
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How does sewage affect dissolved oxygen? What is the term used to describe the potential depletion of oxygen by elevated nutrients in water?
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Microorganisms decompose sewage and other organic materials into carbon dioxide, water, and similar inoffensive materials. This degradation process, known as cellular respiration, requires the presence of oxygen. When an aquatic ecosystem contains high levels of sewage, the decomposing microorganisms use up most of the dissolved oxygen.
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What is a dead zone? Is this a seasonal event? Why? Where do dead zones occur and with what types of countries (developed or developing) are they associated?
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A dead zone is a section of the ocean or a sea in which oxygen has been depleted to the point that most animals and bacteria cannot survive; often caused by runoff of chemical fertilizers or plant and animal wastes. Every spring, fertilizer from Midwestern fields and manure from livestock operations runoff into the Mississippi River, and from there into the Gulf of Mexico. Dead zones occur in coastal areas.
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What solutions have been suggested for dealing with dead zones?
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Reduction of fertilizer uasge on farms, usage of buffer strips to catch sediment and nutrients in runoff water , reconstructed wetlands along tributaries if the river, treating animal wastes in sewage treatment plants
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What is a fecal coliform test?
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Fecal coliforms are sampled and tested for in surface and ground water (drinking water, lakes, rivers, and ponds) as well as estuaries and ocean waters (shell fishing beds, beaches, boating areas). Both abundance and frequency of detection can be used as an indication of the level of contamination. Water quality test for the presence of fecal material, which indicates chance that pathogenic organism may present as well.
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True or false: The quality and purity of bottled water is more closely regulated than for tap water. (Also, consider your answer in relation to specific types of regulations and reporting requirements.)
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False. In the USA bottled water will be less regulated. Although in developing countries, bottled water may be cleaner it is still not regulated the way that tap water in the USA is.
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True or false, oil spills are relatively rare and do not threaten groundwater supplies.
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False. 1 gallon of oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water!
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How much water can be contaminated by a single gallon of gasoline?
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A million gallons of water
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Why are leaking underground storage tanks of concern for water quality?
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The containers which were supposed to last more than 50 years have been disintegrating hence polluting 12 million gallons of water for every 10 gallons of gas. Binzine causes cancer and is a component of gas. It costs lots of money to maintain
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Which river has the highest density of people living in its catchment (drainage) area. What are the major pollution concerns here and what environmental/health problems are associated with this pollution.
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Ganges River which recieves one billion gallons of raw sewage ber day along with untreated industrial wastes and partially burnt and unburnt corpses.
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How is cholera associated with poor sanitation? What is meant by the term cholera pandemic? Why is cholera still a concern if we have antibiotics?
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It is a mobile disease transmitter through ingestion of feces contaminated with the bacterium. A pandemic is when the whole world suffers from a disease. The concern with cholera and antibiotics is that the bacteria is becoming resistant to these.
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It is a mobile disease transmitter through ingestion of feces contaminated with the bacterium. A pandemic is when the whole world suffers from a disease. The concern with cholera and antibiotics is that the bacteria is becoming resistant to these.
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Target acceptable rate is 5 ppb.
It can cause skin sores that leads to cancers such as bladder, kidney, lung, and liver cancer. |
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Define the three different stages of waste water treatment. At what stage are pathogenic bacteria mostly removed?
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Primary treatment
Primary treatment removes the materials that can be easily collected from the raw wastewater and disposed of. In the mechanical treatment, the influent sewage water is strained to remove all large objects Sedimentation Many plants have a sedimentation stage where the sewage is allowed to pass slowly through large tanks, commonly called "primary clarifiers" or "primary sedimentation tanks". Secondary treatment is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the sewage such as are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent |
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Where does nitrate in drinking water come from?
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Mostly from non-point sources such as agricultural waste and runoff. Nitrate’s are highly mobile and will contaminate through runoff and leaching readily.
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What is sludge? How is it disposed? Is it legal to dump sludge in the oceans?
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Its objective is to produce a waste stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste or sludge suitable for discharge or reuse back into the environment. This material is often inadvertently contaminated with many toxic organic and inorganic compounds
primary, secondary and tertiary treatment |
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What is the “chlorine dilemma”?
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chlorine kills organisims, chlorine saved lifes
reduced chlorine because of chlorea epedemic in peru |
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How does the safe drinking water act differ from the clean water act?
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•Safe Drinking Water Act
set the maximum contaminant levels (MCL’s) for drinking water •Clean Water Act pertained to improving quality of rivers, lakes, aquifers, estuaries, and coastal waters |
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Difference between point and non point source
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Point source pollution: discharged into enviroment through pipes(specific sites)
non point source: caused b land polutants rather than single point These are two types of water pollution sources. Point source pollution is discharged into the environment through pipes, sewers, or ditches from specific sites such as factories or sewage treatment plants. Point source pollution is relatively easy to control legislatively, but accidents still occur. Nonpoint source pollution (aka: pulluted runoff) is caused by land pollutants that enter bodies of water over large areas rather than at a single point. Nonpoint source pollution occurs when precipitation moves over and through the soil, picking up and carrying away pollutants that are eventually deposited in lakes, rivers, wetlands, groundwater, estuaries, and the ocean. |
