Miller Chapter 21

Front 1

• Water pollution

Back 1

• Any chemical, biological, or physical change in water quality that has a harmful effect on living organisms or makes water suitable for desired uses.

Front 2

• Point source

Back 2

o Discharge pollutants at specific location such as drawn pipes or sewer lines into bodies of surface water.
• Oil spills, factories

Front 3

• Nonpoint sources

Back 3

o Are scattered and diffuse and cannot be traced to any single site of discharge.
• Deposition from the atmosphere
• Runoff of chemical and sediments into surface water fro, cropland, livestock feedlots, surface mines, urban streets, etc.
• Difficult to identify and control because it comes from so many sources

Front 4

• Major sources of water pollution

Back 4

o Agriculture is the leading cause of water pollution
• Sediment from farmland, pesticides, fertilizers, salts from soils, wastes.
o Industry
• Harmful organic and inorganic chemicals are released
o Mining
• Disturbs earth surface. Creates major source of runoff from eroded sediments and toxic chemicals.

Front 5

o Climate Change

Back 5

• Global warmer will cause more/less precipitation in some areas.
 This will cause downpours to flush chemicals and nutrients into waterways.
 Drought can reduce river flows that reduce waste and spread diseases.

Front 6

• Indicator species

Back 6

• Species that serve as pollution warnings.

Front 7

• Oxygen Sag curve

Back 7

• The breakdown of degradable waste by bacteria depletes oxygen. This reduces populations of organisms that need a lot of Oxygen.

Front 8

• Eutrophication

Back 8

• Name given to the natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake, or slow, moving stream.
o Caused by runoff o plant/land nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.

Front 9

• Oligotrophic lake

Back 9

• Low in nutrients with clear water. Some lakes become more eutrophic over time because of nutrients from surrounding watershed, and atmosphere from natural and human sources.

Front 10

• Cultural eutrophication

Back 10

• Near urban or agricultural areas, human activities can increase the rate of plant nutrients into a lake.
o This can come from sewage, farm runoff, mining sites, acid deposition, etc.
• 1/3 of large lakes in U.S. have some degree of this as do ¼ of lakes in China.

Front 11

• Algae blooms

Back 11

o During hot weather or drought, this overload will produce growths of Algae, cyanobacteria, and hyacinth plants. The density of this plant life reduces input of solar energy, and when they die, their decomposition causes aerobic bacteria to use a lot of oxygen. Thus depleting oxygen levels.

Front 12

• Plume

Back 12

• When contaminants reach an aquifer, the slowly moving groundwater can disperse the pollutant into a wide area. The pollutant can end up in drinking water or water used to irrigate crops.

Front 13

• Degradable wastes

Back 13

• Groundwater cannot be cleansed easily because it moves at about 1 foot a day so pollutants aren’t dispersed. There is usually let dissolved oxygen, and fewer decomposing bacteria, so the waste stays longer. Cold temperatures slow down reactions.

Front 14

• Nondegradable wastes

Back 14

• Lead, arsenic, fluoride

Front 15

• Slowly degradable wastes

Back 15

• Last for decades (DDT)

Front 16

Clean Water Act

Back 16

• Sets standards for water pollutant levels and requires discharge permits.

Front 17

• Septic Tank

Back 17

• Household sewage and wastewater is pumped into a tank where bacteria decomposes much of it. The resulting wastewater is drained to a field where it is filtered by soil and then decomposed further.

Front 18

• Primary sewage treatment

Back 18

• A physical proves that uses screens to remove large objects. Then the waste flows to a tank where organic compounds settle as a sludge. This does not remove pesticides, pathogens, viruses, nitrates or salts.

Front 19

• Secondary sewage treatment

Back 19

• A biological process where aerobic bacteria remove up to 90% of dissolved and biodegradable oxygen demanding wastes. A combination of both treatments results in 97% reduction of suspended solids and oxygen demanding organic wastes, 70% toxic metal compounds, 50% nitrogen, and 70% Phosphorus.

Front 20

• Advanced or tertiary sewage treatment

Back 20

• Uses specialized chemicals and processes to remove specific pollutants left in the water after primary and secondary treatment. Reduces phosphates and nitrates. It is bleached and disinfected. This clears it and removes disease bacteria and most viruses. This is done through chlorination. This can potentially form chlorinated hydrocarbons.

Front 21

• Sludge

Back 21

• Sewage treatment produces this mixture of solids and toxic chemicals. Usually has 60,000 toxic chemicals. It is either put in landfills or used as fertilizer.