WATER POLLUTION AND
HUMAN HEALTH
Water Quality Definitions
Contaminant - any constituent in the water
deleterious to a particular end use regardless of its
origin and whether it occurs in the watershed,
source or in a water supply system
Pollutant - any constituent in the water source
deleterious to a particular end use that is of
anthropogenic origin
Pollutant = subset of contaminant
Contaminants
Pollutants
Contaminants
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Degradable/Biodegradable
Degradable: That can be chemically decomposed: decomposable
plastic wastes
Photodegradable: that the product is decomposed (broken
down) by exposure to light
Biodegradable: Capable of being decomposed by biological
agents, especially bacteria: a biodegradable detergent
Water Pollution
Any chemical, biological and physical change
in water quality that has a harmful effect on living
organisms or makes it unusable for agriculture and
human consumption
The massive quantity of pollutants produced by > 8
billion humans, their machines, plants, animals
The limited supply of fresh liquid water into which
most water-destined pollutants are discharged
The growing number of ‘technological pollutants’
released into the environment, i.e. manufactured
synthetic materials
Sources of Pollution
• Point sources (e.g., factories, sewage treatment
plants, mines, oil wells, oil tankers)
• Nonpoint sources (e.g., acid deposition,
substances picked up in runoff, seepage into
groundwater)
• Agriculture is largest source of water pollution
in the U.S. (64% of pollutants into streams and
57% of pollutants entering lakes)
© Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP
NONPOINT SOURCES
Rural homes
Urban streets Cropland
Animal feedlot
Suburban POINT
development SOURCES
Factory
Wastewater
treatment
plant
Groundwater Pollution
• Greater threat to humans than much of more visible surface
water pollution
• Much groundwater is renewed slowly, so that pollution
lingers for long time
• Crude estimates indicate that up to 25% of usable
groundwater in the U.S. contaminated
• Extremely difficult to clean up contaminated groundwater;
prevention more effective
• Main approach: pump groundwater to surface, purifying
water, and returning to aquifer; costs high
Sources of Groundwater Pollution...
Landfills
Leaky underground storage tanks
Mining activity
Septic tanks
Hazardous waste - deep well injection
Any pollutant in runoff that percolates
Leaching
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Groundwater Pollution
Salt Water Intrusion
Extensive pumping in
coastal areas can cause
salt water to rise into
wells, forming a cone of
ascension
Groundwater Pollution: Causes
Hazardous waste injection well
Pesticides
Coal strip
De-icing Buried gasoline
mine runoff
road salt and solvent tank
Pumping Cesspool
well Gasoline septic tank
station
Waste lagoon Water pumping Sewer
well Landfill
Accidental Leakage from faulty
spills casing
uifer
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fre s a q Confined aquifer
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Fig. 20-11
Industry Cities Urban sprawl
Nitrogen oxides Toxic metals Bacteria and viruses Construction sites
from autos and and oil from from Sediments are washed into
smokestacks, streets and sewers and septic waterways, choking fish and
toxic chemicals, parking lots tanks contaminate plants, clouding waters, and
and heavy metals in pollute waters; shellfish beds blocking sunlight.
effluents flow into
bays and estuaries.
Farms
Runoff of pesticides, manure, and
fertilizers adds toxins and excess
nitrogen and phosphorus.
Red tides
Closed Excess nitrogen causes
shellfish beds explosive growth of
toxicmicroscopic algae,
Closed poisoning fish and
beach marine mammals.
Oxygen-depleted
zone
Toxic sediments
Chemicals and toxic
metals contaminate
shellfish beds, kill
spawning fish, and
accumulate in the tissues
of bottom feeders.
Oxygen-depleted zone Healthy zone
Sedimentation and algae Clear, oxygen-rich
overgrowth reduce sunlight, waters promote growth
kill beneficial sea grasses, use of plankton and sea grasses,
up oxygen, and degrade habitat. and support fish.
Fig. 21-10, p. 505
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount of dissolved
oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to
break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain
temperature over a specific time period.
Oxygen is removed from water when organic matter is consumed by
bacteria.
Low oxygen conditions may kill fish and other organisms.
Sources of organic matter
Natural inputs-- bogs, swamps, leaf fall, and vegetation aligning waterways.
Human inputs-- pulp and paper mills, meat-packing plants, food processing
industries, and wastewater treatment plants.
Nonpoint inputs-- runoff from urban areas, agricultural areas, and feedlots.
BOD Effects on Water Quality
All streams have some capability to degrade organic waste.
Problems occur when stream is overloaded with biochemical
oxygen-demanding waste.
Streams Self Purification
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) test is commonly
used to indirectly measure the amount of organic
compounds in water.
Most applications of COD determine the amount of
organic pollutants found in surface water (e.g. lakes and
rivers) or wastewater, making COD a useful measure of
water quality.
It is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L) also
referred to as ppm (parts per million), which indicates
the mass of oxygen consumed per liter of solution.
Heavy Metals
Metallic elements having a density greater than 5
g/cm3
Most are extremely toxic
Water soluble
Readily absorbed into plant or animal tissue
Bioconcentrate
Combine with biomolecules
Proteins
Nucleic acids
Sources of Heavy Metals
Natural
Redistributed by geologic and biologic
cycles
Industrial
Burning of fossil fuels
Acid Rain
Broad term used to describe several ways that
acids fall out of the atmosphere
Wet deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and snow.
Dry deposition refers to acidic gases and particles.
Causes of Acid Rain
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
nitrogen oxides (NOx)
In the US, about 2/3 of all SO2 and 1/4 of all NOx comes from
electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels like coal.
Measuring Acid Rain
Acid rain is measured using a "pH" scale.
The lower a substance's pH, the more acidic it
is.
Pure water has a pH of 7.0.
Normal rain is slightly acidic and has a pH of
about 5.5.
As of the year 2000, the most acidic rain
falling in the US has a pH of about 4.3.
Buffering Capacity
Acid rain primarily affects sensitive bodies of
water, which are located in watersheds whose
soils have a limited “buffering capacity”
Lakes and streams become acidic when the water
itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer the
acid rain enough to neutralize it
Effects on Wildlife
Generally, the young of most species are more
sensitive to environmental conditions than adults
At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch
At lower pH levels, some adult fish die
Acid lakes have no fish
Nutrients
Acidic water dissolves the nutrients and
helpful minerals in the soil and then washes
them away before trees and other plants can use
them to grow.
Acid rain also causes the release of substances
that are toxic to trees and plants, such as
aluminum, into the soil.
Eutrophication: Accelerated results with human input of nutrients to a lake
Erosion
• Sediment (clay, silt) is the #1 source of water pollution. Bare soil
easily washes into storm drains and streams, clouding the water
and suffocating aquatic life.
• Effects of Sediment Loading
• Destruction of spawning beds
• Adsorption and transport of other pollutants
• Reduced light penetration, aquatic vegetation
• Greater nutrients loadings, oxygen demand
• Interference with navigation
• Flood control, recreation, industry
Industrial Water Pollution
Thermal Pollution occurs when water is
withdrawn, used for cooling purposes, and then
heated water is returned to its original source
An increase in temperature, even a few degrees,
may significantly alter some aquatic ecosystems
Waste Heat
On national scale, industrial cooling waters is a first-order source
of heat
•Electric power generation uses 80% of cooling waters
•Nuclear plants - waste even higher proportion of heat than
fossil-fuel plants
Ocean Pollution
• Coastal areas most impacted – especially wetlands and estuaries,
coral reefs, and mangrove swamps
• Half of world's population lives within 100 km (60 miles) of
oceans and 14 of 15 largest cities coastal
• Ocean is the ultimate repository of waste
Main Types of Ocean Pollution
Petroleum (oil)
Sewage sludge
DDT and PCBs
Mercury
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Ocean Pollution: Petroleum
Oil spills can be
caused by:
Tanker accidents
Intentional dumping
Drilling/ pumping
operations
Effects of Oil Spills
• Volatile Organics Compounds
• immediately kill many of the aquatic organisms (especially plankton and
larvae) and contaminate fish
• Floating oil
• coats birds and ocean mammal; destroys natural insulation and buoyancy and
causes deaths
• Heavy oil
• sinks to ocean bottom and washes into estuaries where it contaminates crabs,
oysters, mussels, clams, etc.
• Oil slicks on beaches
• harm intertidal life and cause economic losses to tourism and fishing
industries
Sewage Sludge
Sewage sludge is the
semisolid material that
remains after sewage
treatment
Much sewage sludge is
dumped offshore
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Persistent organic pollutants are organic compounds that are
resistant to environmental degradation through chemical,
biological, and photolytic processes.
They have been observed to persist in the environment, to be
capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulation in human and
animal tissue, biomagnify in food chains, and to have potential
significant impacts on human health and the environment
Persistent Organic
Pollutants
POP’s are currently or were in the past used as pesticides.
Others are used in industrial processes and in the production of a range
of goods such as solvents, polyvinyl chloride, and pharmaceuticals.
There are a few natural sources of POP’s, such as volcanic activity and
vegetational fires, but most POP’s are created by humans in industrial
processes, either intentionally or as byproducts.
Biological Magnification
Concentrations
increase at
increasing levels
in the food chain –
PCBs, DDT, etc.
