“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.

”
–
Loren Eiseley
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• Identify major water contaminants and their sources.
• Compare sources of pollutants.
• Explain water pollution control.
• Describe major water legislation
How many of you
used this ???
 India’s Holy River
• Early each morning, residents of Varanasi, India, go to the river to purify
themselves in the water of the holy Ganges.

• Mother Ganga, as the river is known, is considered a goddess on earth, and the
river confers purity on bathers making their daily ablutions.

• Pilgrims travel to the Ganges from across India, bringing home bottles of the river’s
sacred water.

• After death, many hope to be cremated on the banks of the river, especially in the
ancient and holy city of Varanasi, and then have Mother Ganga carry away their
ashes.
• Our liquid planet glows like a soft blue sapphire in the hard-edged darkness of space. There is nothing
else like it in the solar system. It is because of water.

• Water is the essential element that makes life on earth possible. Without water there would be no life.
We usually take water for granted. It flows from our taps when they are turned on. Most of us are able to
bathe when we want to, swim when we choose and water our gardens. Like good health we ignore
water when we have it.

• Although 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water only a tiny fraction of this water is available to
us as fresh water.

• About 97% of the total water available on earth is found in oceans and is too salty for drinking or
irrigation.

• The remaining 3% is fresh water. Of this 2.997% is locked in ice caps or glaciers.

• Thus only 0.003% of the earth’ total volume of water is easily available to us as soil moisture,
groundwater, water vapour and water in lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands.
• In short if the world’s water supply were only 100 litres our usable supply of fresh water would be only
about 0.003 litres (one-half teaspoon).

• This makes water a very precious resource. The future wars in our world may well be fought over water.

• By the middle of this century, almost twice as many people will be trying to sharethe same amount of
fresh water the earth has today.

• As freshwater becomes more scarce access to water resources will be a major factor in determining the
economic growth of several countries around the world.

• Water availability on the planet: Water that is found in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and artificial
reservoirs is called surface water. Water that percolates into the ground and fills the pores in soil and
rock is called groundwater.

• Porous water-saturated layers of sand, gravel or bedrock through which ground water flows are called
aquifers. Most aquifers are replenished naturally by rainfall that percolates downward through the soil
and rock. This process is called natural recharge.

• If the withdrawal rate of an aquifer exceeds its natural recharge rate,the water table is lowered. Any
pollutant that is discharged onto the land above is also pulledinto the aquifer and pollutes the
groundwater resulting in polluted water in the nearby wells.
• Any physical, biological, or
chemical change in water
quality that adversely affects
living organisms or makes
water unsuitable for desired
uses might be considered
water pollution.
• Pollution-control standards and regulations
usually distinguish between point and
nonpoint pollution sources.
• Factories, power plants, sewage treatment
plants, underground coal mines, and oil wells
are classified as point sources because they
discharge pollution from specific locations,
such as drain pipes, ditches, or sewer outfalls
(fig. ).

• These sources are discrete and identifiable,

so they are relatively easy to monitor and
regulate. It is generally possible to divert
effluent from the waste streams of these
sources and treat it before it enters the
environment.

• In contrast, nonpoint sources of water

pollution are scattered or diffuse, having no
specific location where they discharge into a
particular body of water.
• A particularly diffuse type of nonpoint pollution is atmospheric deposition of contaminants carried by air
currents and precipitated into watersheds or directly onto surface waters as rain, snow, or dry particles.

• The Great Lakes, for example, have been found to be accumulating industrial chemicals such as PCBs and
dioxins, as well as agricultural toxins such as the insecticide toxaphene, that cannot be accounted for by
local sources alone.

• The nearest sources for many of these chemicals are sometimes thousands of kilometers away.

• Amounts of these pollutants can be quite large. It is estimated that there are 600,000 kg of the herbicide
atrazine in the Great Lakes.

• Ironically, lakes can be pollution sources as well as recipients.

• In the past 12 years, about 26,000 metric tons of PCBs “disappeared” from Lake Superior. Apparently these
compounds evaporate from the lake surface and are carried by air currents to other areas where they are
redeposited.

• Although the types, sources, and effects of water pollutants are often interrelated, it is convenient to divide
them into major categories for discussion (Refer table). Examine this table closely as you consider important
sources and effects of each type of pollutant in the sections that follow.
Infectious agents, or pathogens, cause diseases
• The most serious water pollutants in terms of human health worldwide are pathogenic organisms.

• Among the most important waterborne diseases are typhoid, cholera, bacterial and amoebic dysentery,
enteritis, polio, infectious hepatitis, and schistosomiasis. Malaria, yellow fever, and filariasis are transmitted
by insects that have aquatic larvae. Altogether, at least 25 million deaths each year are blamed on these
water-related diseases.

• Nearly two-thirds of the mortalities of children under 5 years old are associated with waterborne diseases. The
main source of these pathogens is untreated or improperly treated human wastes.

• Animal wastes from feedlots or fields near waterways and food-processing factories with inadequate waste
treatment facilities also are sources of disease-causing organisms.

• In wealthier countries, sewage treatment plants and other pollution- control techniques have reduced or
eliminated most of the worst sources of pathogens in inland surface waters, and drinking water is generally
disinfected by chlorination, so epidemics of waterborne diseases are rare in these countries.
Infectious agents, or pathogens, cause diseases

• The situation is quite different in poor countries. At least 2.5 billion people in these countries lack adequate
sanitation, and 780 million lack access to clean drinking water.

• The World Health Organization estimates that 80 percent of all sickness and disease in less-developed countries
can be attributed to waterborne infectious agents and inadequate sanitation.

• The World Bank calculates that if everyone had pure water and satisfactory sanitation, 200 million fewer
episodes of diarrheal illness would occur each year, and 2 million childhood deaths would be avoided.

• Furthermore, 450 million people would be spared debilitating roundworm or fluke infections.

• Access to clean water is a major focus of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (chapter 1).
Low oxygen levels indicate
nutrient contamination
• The amount of oxygen dissolved in water is a good
indicator of water quality and of the kinds of life it will
support.

• Water with an oxygen content above 6 parts per

million (ppm) will support gamefish and other
desirable forms of aquatic life.

• Water with less than 2 ppm oxygen will support

mainly worms, bacteria, fungi, andother detritus
feeders and decomposers. Oxygen is added to water
by diffusion from the air, especially when turbulence and FIGURE Sewage waste is a leading cause of water
mixing rates are high, and by photosynthesis of green contamination. Consequences can include high
plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. nutrient concentrations and the presence of fecal
bacteria.
• Oxygen is removed from water by respiration and
chemical processes that consume oxygen. Organic
waste, such as sewage, paper pulp, or food waste, is
rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus.
 Non-point source (NPS) water pollution
Non-point source (NPS) water pollution refers to contaminants that come from multiple diffuse sources rather than a single
identifiable source. Here are some common types of non-point source pollution:

1. Agricultural Runoff: Pesticides, fertilizers, and sediments from fields can wash into nearby water bodies.
2. Urban Runoff: Oil, grease, heavy metals, and other pollutants from streets, parking lots, and rooftops.
3. Forestry Activities: Erosion and sedimentation from logging roads and deforestation can lead to water quality
degradation.

4. Construction Sites: Soil erosion and sediment runoff from land development and construction activities.
5. Mining Activities: Runoff containing heavy metals and other contaminants from mining operations.
6. Atmospheric Deposition: Pollutants from the air, such as nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, can fall into
water bodies through precipitation (acid rain).

7. Landfills and Waste Disposal: Leachate from landfills can contaminate groundwater and surface water.
8. Septic Systems: Failing or poorly managed septic systems can release bacteria, nutrients, and other pollutants into
the environment.
• These nutrients stimulate the growth of oxygen-demanding decomposing bacteria. Biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) is thus a useful test for the presence of organic waste in water.

• Most BOD tests involve incubating a water sample for five days, and then comparing oxygen levels in the water
before and after incubation.
FIGURE Eutrophic lake. Nutrients from agriculture and domestic sources have stimulated
growth of algae and aquatic plants. This reduces water quality, alters species composition,
and lowers the lake’s recreational and aesthetic values.
Heavy metals cause nerve damage

Some toxic inorganic chemicals are released from rocks by weathering, are carried by runoff into lakes or rivers,
or percolate into groundwater aquifers. This pattern is part of natural mineral cycles
• There are several classes of common water pollutants.

• These are disease-causing agents (pathogens) which include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic
worms that enter water from domestic sewage and untreated human and animal wastes.

• Human wastes contain concentrated populations of coliform bacteria such as Escherichia coli and
Streptococcus faecalis. These bacteria normally grow in the large intestine of humans where they are
responsible for some food digestion and for the production of vitamin K.

• These bacteria are not harmful in low numbers. Large amounts of human waste in water, increases the
number of these bacteria which cause gastrointestinal diseases. Other potentially harmful bacteria from
human wastes may also be present in smaller numbers.

• Thus the greater the amount of wastes in the water the greater are the chances of contracting diseases
from them.

• Another category of water pollutants is oxygen depleting wastes. These are organic wastes that can be
decomposed by aerobic (oxygen requiring) bacteria. Large populations of bacteria use up the oxygen
present in water to degrade these wastes.

• In the process this degrades water quality. The amount of oxygen required to break down a certain amount
of organic matter is called the biological oxygen demand (BOD). The amount of BOD in the water is an
indicator of the level of pollution.
• If too much organic matter is added to the water all the available oxygen is used up. This causes fish and
other forms of oxygen dependent aquatic life to die. Thus anaerobic bacteria (those that do not require
oxygen) begin to break down the wastes. Their anaerobic respiration produces chemicals that have a foul
odour and an unpleasant taste that is harmful to human health.

• A third class of pollutants are inorganic plant nutrients. These are water soluble nitrates and phosphates
that cause excessive growth of algae and other aquatic plants. The excessive growth of algae and aquatic
plants due to added nutrients is called eutrophication.

• They may interfere with the use of the water by clogging water intake pipes, changing the taste and odour
of water and cause a buildup of organic matter. As the organic matter decays, oxygen levels decrease and
fish and other aquatic species die.

• A fourth class of water pollutants is water soluble inorganic chemicals which are acids, salts and
compounds of toxic metals such as mercury and lead. High levels of these chemicals can make the water
unfit to drink, harm
Groundwater
• Nitrates from fertilizers often exceed safety standards in rural drinking water. These high nitrate levels are
particularly dangerous to infants (nitrate combines with hemoglobin in the blood They also are transformed
into cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human gut. In Florida, 1,000 drinking water wells were shut down
by state authorities because of excessive levels of toxic chemicals, mostly ethylene dibromide (EDB), a
pesticide used to kill nematodes (roundworms) that damage plant roots.

FIGURE Sources of groundwater pollution. Septic systems, landfills, and industrial activities on aquifer
recharge zones leach contaminants into aquifers. Wells provide a direct route for injection of pollutants into
Water Pollution Control

• ∙ Municipal sewage treatment involves primary, secondary, and

tertiary treatment.
• ∙ Natural or artificial wetlands can treat wastes economically.

• ∙ Bioremediation can be effective in urban settings.

 Water Pollution Control
• The cheapest and most effective way to reduce pollution is usually to avoid producing it or releasing it in
the first place.
• Elimination of lead from gasoline has dramatically cut the amount of lead in surface waters in the United
States.
• Banning DDT and PCBs in the 1970s has resulted in significant reductions in levels in wildlife.
• Mercury in the U.S. waterways has declined along with emissions from coal power plants, the source of
over half of U.S. mercury emissions.
• Better land management has succeeded in reducing nutrient loads and sediment in critical watersheds.
• Economic incentives to help farmers control runoff to avoid building filtration plants that would have cost
billions of dollars.
• Industry can reduce pollution by recycling or reclaiming materials that otherwise might be discarded in
the waste stream.
• Both of these approaches usually have economic as well as environmental benefits. It turns out that a
variety of valuable metals can be recovered from industrial wastes and reused or sold for other purposes
 Controlling nonpoint sources requires land management
Among the greatest remaining challenges in water pollution control are diffuse, nonpoint pollution sources.

Unlike point sources, such as sewer outfalls or industrial discharge pipes, which represent both specific locations
and relatively continuous emissions, nonpoint sources have many origins and numerous routes by which
contaminants enter ground and surface waters.

It is difficult to identify—let alone monitor and control—all these sources and routes. Some main causes of
nonpoint pollution are:
∙ Agriculture: The EPA estimates that 60 percent of all impaired or threatened surface waters are affected by
sediment from eroded fields and overgrazed pastures; fertilizers, pesticides, and nutrients from croplands; and
animal wastes from feedlots.
∙ Urban runoff: Pollutants carried by runoff from streets, parking lots, and industrial sites contain salts, oily
residues, rubber, metals, and many industrial toxins . Yards, golf courses, park lands, and urban gardens often
are treated with far more fertilizers and pesticides per unit area than farmlands. Excess chemicals are carried by
storm runoff into waterways.

∙ Construction sites: New buildings and land development projects such as highway construction affect relatively
small areas but produce vast amounts of sediment, typically 10 to 20 times as much per unit area as farming.

∙ Land disposal: When done carefully, land disposal of certain kinds of industrial waste, sewage sludge, and
biodegradable garbage can be a good way to dispose of unwanted materials. Some poorly run land disposal sites,
abandoned dumps, and leaking septic systems, however, contaminate local waters.