1. Principal Water Pollutants
March 16, 2011

2. Standards W-5: SWBAT describe the process of wastewater treatment
W-6: SWBAT list and describe the major types of water pollution

3. Wastewater
Def: Water that contains waste from home and industry

4. Goal of Wastewater Treatment
Water is filtered and treated to make the water clean enough to return to a river or lake

5. What’s in the Wastewater?
Most of the wastewater from homes contain biodegradable material that can be broken down by living organisms
Water from the kitchen and toilet contain plant and animal wasters, paper, and soaps all of which are biodegradable

6. Biodegradable Waste

7. Biodegradable or Not? Banana Peel Soda Can Slaughterhouse waste Manure
Glass
A polyester shirt

8. The Womp Womp Factor
Wastewater treatment plants may not remove all the harmful substances in water
Ex: Household water that contains toxic substances

9. Sewage Sludge A byproduct of wastewater treatment
The solid material that remains after treatment

10. $$$
Sludge that contains a high concentration of toxic chemicals must be disposed of as hazardous waste
The sludge is often incinerated, and then the ash is buried in a secure landfill

11. Sustainable Sludge
If the toxicity of the sludge can be reduced to safe levels, sludge can be:
1) Turned into fertilizer
2) Combined with clay to make bricks for buildings

12. Wastewater Treatment Process
1) Filtration
2) 1st Settling Tank
3) Aeration Tank
4) 2nd Settling Tank
5) Chlorination

13. Fats, Oils, and Grease (F.O.G’s)
Builds up in the sewer system and can cause back ups
Do’s:
Recycle used cooking oil
Put food scraps in trash
Don’t:
Pour F.O.G.s down the drain
Use the toilet as a trash can
Use rags or cloths towels to clean grease

14. #2 Artificial Eutrophication
Eutrophication caused by humans
#2 Artificial Eutrophication

15. Eutrophication
def: A natural process where a body of water receives excess nutrients, which causes a loss of oxygen.
Some nutrients are GOOD, but too many may cause a body of water to become eutrophic

16. I can’t breathe!
When organic matter builds up, it will begin to decay and decompose
The process of decomposition uses oxygen

17. Causes of Eutrophication
Fertilizers from farms, lawns, and gardens
Phosphates in some detergents

18. Whiteboards
On your whiteboards, write down the definition of thermal pollution and provide some major causes of such.

19. #3: Thermal Pollution
def: the degradation of water quality by changing the temperature of a natural body of water

20. Sources of Thermal Pollution
Power plants and other industries use water in their cooling systems and then discharge the warm water into a lake or river
CFU

21. It’s getting hot in herre...
As the water temperature rises, the amount of dissolved oxygen decreases
It’s getting hot in herre...

22. #4: Groundwater Pollution
Pollutants usually enter groundwater when polluted surface water percolates down from the surface.
#4: Groundwater Pollution

23. Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST)
Major source of groundwater pollution
Estimated 1 million+ in the US
Gas stations
Storage tanks develop leaks as they age, allowing pollutants to enter the ground

24. Problems with LUST
The location of an aging UST is not always known, so tanks cannot be replaced or repaired until they have leaked enough pollutants.

25. Love Canal, NY

26. Other Sources of Groundwater Pollution
Septic Tanks
Unlined landfills

27. It’s all connected!

28. Whiteboards-PPM
Water contamination is often measured in parts per million (ppm).
If the concentration of a pollutant is 5 ppm, there are 5 parts of the pollutant in 1 million parts of water.
Q: If the concentration of gasoline is 3 ppm in 650,000 L of water, how many liters of gasoline are there in the water?

29. ppm Solution

30. If there are 10 ppm of arsenic in 500,000L of water, how many liters of arsenic are there?

31. Clean-up Time
Groundwater pollution is one of the most challenging environmental problem the world faces.
The process for some aquifers to recycle water and purge contaminants can take 100s or 1000s of years

32. Sticky Icky Icky
Pollution can cling to the materials that make up an aquifer.
Putting clean water in a dirty aquifer is useless!

33. Ocean Pollution
At least 85% of ocean pollution comes from activities on land

34. Each year, approximately 37 million gallons of oil from tanker accidents are spilled into the oceans
Oil Spills

35. Caution: Slippery when...Oily?
Oil spills only account for 5% of oil pollution in the oceans.
Most of the oil that enters the oceans come from cities and towns.
million gallons/yr

36. Quick Check
How can limiting nonpoint sources of oil pollution help keep the oceans clean?

37. Biomagnification
def: the build up of pollutants at higher levels of the food chain