1. Water Pollution
Unit 12

2. Water
H2O A compound

3. Earth
25% land 75% water

4. Milk Jug Demonstration
97% of the Earth’s water is saltwater.
3% is freshwater.
¾ of freshwater is frozen in polar icecaps.
That means only 1% of the water on Earth is usable!

5. Water on the Planet Hydrosphere: all water on earth
Cryosphere: the frozen part of the earth

6. Part I: Surface Water
Definition:
Fresh water that is above ground in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams.

7. Watershed: The entire area of land that is drained by a river.
Part I: Surface Water
Watershed:
The entire area of land that is drained by a river.

8. Part I: Surface Water
Problems with rivers:
40% of the world’s people rely on water that originates in other countries!

9. Water rights problems will worsen as population increases.
Part I: Surface Water
Turkey is building dams that will reduce the amount of water that flows to Syria and Iraq.
Water rights problems will worsen as population increases.

10. Dams
The water behind a dam forms a reservoir (artificial lake) can hurt fish populations.
Reservoirs are used for drinking, manufacturing, irrigation, flood control, and electricity.

11. Part II: Groundwater
Definition
Water that seeps into the ground and is stored. Makes millions of years to collect.

12. Area of land from which groundwater originates.
Part II: Groundwater
Recharge Zone
Area of land from which groundwater originates.

13. Part II: Groundwater
Aquifer
Groundwater stored in underground rock formations. Runs out with overuse.

14. Part III: Water Shortage Solutions
Desalinization
Desalting the sea
Provides drinking water in Saudi Arabia and parts of California.
Very expensive

15. Part III: Water Shortage Solutions
Towing Water
Used to transport icebergs
Problems
Hard to tow
Melts rapidly
Transportation on land

17. Part III: Water Shortage Solutions
Reverse Osmosis
The process of removing minerals from water.
Uses water pressure and permeable membranes.

18. Water

19. Agriculture Industry Homes Mining
Current Water Uses
Agriculture
Industry
Homes
Mining
Can you think of more? Can you think of the greatest use?

20. Water Conservation
Amount of freshwater available at a given time is limited so we must conserve!

22. How? Good Question! Take shorter showers!
Low-flow faucets and shower heads!
Turn the water off when brushing your teeth or soaping up your hands!
Here are some great sites to help!

23. Freshwater Pollution
Putting chemical, physical, or biological stuff into water that makes the quality of water go down affects organisms that live in it or drink it!

24. Industrialization and human population explosion.
Causes
Industrialization and human population explosion.
Both produce waste products that cannot be disposed of as fast as they are produced!

25. Point Pollution
Pollution that is discharged from a single source, such as a factory or wastewater.
Or Treatment plant, or an oil tanker.
Easy to regulate and control. Why?
Because it is easily identified and traced.

26. Nonpoint Pollution
Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a specific site (96% of polluted water is from nonpoint pollution).
Reaches bodies of water via streets and storm sewers.
Pesticides and fertilizers washed off lawns and farmland.
Animal feces from farms, parks, and city streets.
Nonpoint regulation is difficult to regulate and control. Why?

27. How Water Pollution Affects Ecosystems

28. Bioaccumulation
Adding on larger and larger amounts of toxins within animals in the food chain.

29. Lots of oxygen used up in the process.
Eutrofication
Too many nutrients in water from decomposing animals, sewage and fertilizer runoff.
Lots of oxygen used up in the process.

31. Thermal Pollution
When excessive amounts of heat are added to a body of water.
Power plants and industries use river water to cool engines and then return heated water back to its source.
Causes massive fish kills.
Warm water cannot hold as much oxygen! (suffocation)
Nonpoint pollution hard to control! WHY?!

32. Ocean Pollution

33. From polluted rivers or pumped directly. Oil spills 1989 Exxon Valdez
Sources
From polluted rivers or pumped directly.
Oil spills
1989 Exxon Valdez
1991 Gulf War
2010 Gulf of Mexico

34. 1989 Exxon Valdez
Worst spill in U.S. until 2010
Prince William Sound in Alaska
Tanker grounded on reef – drunken captain, only one officer on deck, fatigue,
Spilled 257,000 barrels (17 Olympic size swimming pools)
Some species have still not recovered

35. Prince William Sound & Exxon Valdez

36. 1991 Gulf War
Iraqi troops purposely dumped 5.7 million barrels of Kuwaiti oil.
No immediate cleanup, so oil settled into sediment
Sandy beaches have recovered, but not marshes.
Worst oil spill in history

37. 2010 Gulf of Mexico

38. 2010 Gulf of Mexico
Deep Water Horizon Oil Rig exploded & spilled 5 billion barrels of oil.
Making it the worst oil spill in the U.S. & history.
One year later after massive cleanup efforts only some wildlife has recovered.
The variety of life in the wetlands is still categorized as poor

39. Laws that prevent discharging oils or plastics, toxic dumping, etc.
Prevention
Laws that prevent discharging oils or plastics, toxic dumping, etc.
Create marine refuges to protect endangered animals.
Double hulls on oil tankers.

40. Boundaries difficult to set or enforce.
Problem
Who owns the oceans?
Boundaries difficult to set or enforce.

41. Cleaning Up Water Pollution
1972: Clean Water Act
Restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.
Many toxic metals now removed from wastewater!