Water Quality Definitions

Contaminant - any component in the water harmful to

a particular end use irrespective of its origin and
whether it occurs in the watershed, source or in a water
supply system

Pollutant - any component in the water source harmful

to a particular end use that is of anthropogenic origin.

Pollutant = subset of contaminant

Contaminants

Pollutants
 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

◼ The massive quantity of pollutants produced by

billions 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
 What is water pollution?
Infectious Agents: bacteria and viruses often
from animal wastes

Oxygen Demanding Wastes: organic waste that

needs oxygen often from animal waste, paper
mills and food processing.

Inorganic Chemicals: Acids and toxic chemicals

often from runoff, industries and household
cleaners
 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.

(64% of pollutants into streams and 57% of
pollutants entering lakes)
 Wastewater Characterization
Wastewater (or waste water) is any water that has been affected by human use.
Wastewater is "used water from any combination of domestic, industrial,
commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff or storm water, and any
sewer inflow or sewer infiltration".
Therefore, wastewater is a byproduct of domestic, industrial, commercial
or agricultural activities.
The characteristics of wastewater vary depending on the source.
Types of wastewater include: domestic wastewater from households, municipal
wastewater from communities (also called sewage) and industrial wastewater.
Wastewater can contain physical, chemical and biological pollutants

What is (in) Wastewater?

1. Identify wastewater sources and flows 2. Specify likely key pollutants

3. Select suitable sampling strategies 4. Measure pollutant concentrations

5. Calculate pollutant loads 6. Identify main components to be removed

 Sources and Flow Rates

• Essential step to identify problem area

• How to define sources & flows?
1. Use “systems/mass balance” approach
2. Utilize wastewater audits
3. Anticipate future requirements
4. Reduce > Reuse > Recycle
5. Simple is better than complex
• Source reduction can drastically improve
wastewater situation.
 Types of Pollutants

• Physical: solids, temperature, color,

turbidity, salinity, odor

• Chemical:
– Organic : carbohydrates, fats, proteins, toxins…
– Inorganic: alkalinity, N, P, S, pH, metals, salts…
– Gaseous : H2S, CH4, O2 …

• Biological: plants (algae, grass, etc.),

microorganisms (bacteria, viruses)
 Types of Pollution

• Disease-causing Agents – pathogens

• Oxygen Demanding Agents – organic waste: manure

• Water-soluble Inorganic Chemicals – acids, toxic metals

• Inorganic Plant Nutrients – nitrogen and phosphorus

• Organic Chemicals – oil, pesticides, detergents

• Sediment or Suspended Material – erosion, soil

• Water-soluble Radioactive Isotopes – radon uranium

• Heat – electric and nuclear power plants

• Genetic Pollution
 E. coli outbreak in Walkerton
• The 2000 Walkerton outbreak of waterborne gastroenteritis was the
result of a contamination of the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario,
Canada with E. coli and Campylobacter jejuni bacteria.
• The contamination shocked more than two thousand people and
resulted in six deaths. Two town officials eventually requested guilty
to charges of common pain stopping from the contamination.
• In May 2000 the small community of Walkerton, Ontario was laid waste
by a toxic strain of E. coli:0157.
– The contamination came from the public water supply.
– Six people died in the first week including a two year old daughter of
a local medical doctor.
– Four new cases surfaced in late July, all very young children.
– Over a thousand innocent people were infected.
 Guinea Worm Disease

• People have suffered from Guinea Worms for

centuries – the “fiery serpent”

• People are infected by drinking water that contain the

larvae in a tiny freshwater crayfish called Cyclops

• A year later, larvae mature into 3 feet worms that

emerge through skin burns

• This is such a painful process that men and women

can’t work, children can’t attend school
 Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• BOD: 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.
 Biochemical Oxygen Demand
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) is the amount of
dissolved oxygen needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic
biological organisms to break down organic material
present in a given water sample at certain temperature
over a specific time period.
The BOD value is most commonly expressed in
milligrams of oxygen consumed per litre of sample
during 5 days of incubation at 20 °C
 Dissolved Oxygen
What is Dissolved Oxygen?
• Dissolved oxygen refers to the level of free, non-
compound oxygen present in water or other liquids.
• It is an important parameter in assessing water
quality because of its influence on the organisms
living within a body of water.
• In limnology (the study of lakes), dissolved oxygen is
an essential factor second only to water itself .
• A dissolved oxygen level that is too high or too low
can harm aquatic life and affect water quality.
• Non-compound oxygen, or free oxygen (O2), is oxygen that is
not bonded to any other element.
• Dissolved oxygen is the presence of these free O2 molecules
within water.
• The bonded oxygen molecule in water (H2O) is in a compound
and does not count toward dissolved oxygen levels.
• One can imagine that free oxygen molecules dissolve in water
much the way salt or sugar does when it is stirred.
 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.
 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
• Environmental pollution
 Freshwater Stream Pollution

Flowing streams can recover

from moderate level of
degradable water pollution if
their flows are not reduced.

• Natural biodegradation
process
• Does not work if overloaded
or stream flow reduced
• Does not work against non
biodegradable pollutants
 Pollution of Streams
➢ Oxygen sag curve ➢ Factors influencing recovery

What factors will influence this oxygen sag curve

 Two Worlds
Developed Countries
U.S. and other developed
countries sharply reduced
point sources even with
population and economic
growth
• Nonpoint still a problem
• Toxic chemicals still
problem
Two Worlds
Developing Countries:
Serious and growing problem
• Half of world’s 500 major
rivers heavily polluted
• Sewage treatment minimal
$$$
• Law enforcement difficult
• 10% of sewage in China
treated
• Economic growth with little
$$$ to clean up
 India’s Ganges River

• Holy River (1 million take

daily holy dip)
• 350 million (1/3rd of pop)
live in watershed
• Little sewage treatment
• Used for bathing,
drinking etc.
• Bodies (cremated or not)
thrown in river
• Good news is the Indian
government is beginning
to work on problem
 Freshwater Lake Pollution
Dilution as a solution in
lakes less effective
• Little vertical mixing
• Little water flow
(flushing)
Makes them more
vulnerable
• Toxins settle
• Kill bottom life
• Atmospheric
deposition
• Food chain disruptions
Eutrophication of Lakes
Eutrophication:
nutrient enrichment
of lakes mostly from
runoff of plant
nutrients (nitrates
and phosphates)
• During hot dry weather
can lead to algae blooms
• Decrease of
photosynthesis
• Dying algae then drops
DO levels
• Fish kills, bad odor
 Pollution of Lakes
Eutrophication

Fig. 22-7 p. 499

 Eutrophication in Lakes
Solutions:
• Advanced sewage
treatment (N, P)
• Household
detergents
• Soil conservation
• Remove excess weed
build up
• Pump in oxygen or
freshwater
 Groundwater
• Why is groundwater pollution a
serious problem?
• What is the extent of the problem?
• What are the solutions?
 Groundwater
Groundwater can become
contaminated
• No way to cleanse itself
• Little dilution and
dispersion
• Out of sight pollution
• Prime source for
irrigation and drinking
• REMOVAL of pollutant
difficult
 Groundwater Pollution: Causes
➢ Low flow rates ➢ Few bacteria
➢ Low oxygen ➢ Cold temperatures

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

Discharge

Confined aquifer

Groundwater
flow
Fig. 22-9 p. 502
 Groundwater
• Pollution moves in
plumes
• Soil, rocks, etc. act
like sponge
• Cleansing does not
work (low O, low
flow, cold)
• Nondegradables
may be permanent
Prevention is the
most effective
and cheapest
 Groundwater Pollution Prevention

➢ Monitor aquifers

➢ Find less hazardous substitutes

➢ Leak detection systems

➢ Strictly regulating hazardous waste disposal

➢ Store hazardous materials above ground

 Ocean Pollution

• How much pollution can the oceans

tolerate?
• Coastal zones: How does pollution affect
coastal zones?
• What are major sources of ocean pollution
and what is being done?
• Oils spills
 Ocean Pollution
Oceans can disperse and
break down large quantities
of degradable pollution if
they are not overloaded.
• Pollution worst near heavily
populated coastal zones
• Wetlands, estuaries, coral
reefs, mangrove swamps
• 40% of world’s pop. Live
within 62 miles of coast
Ocean Pollution

• Large amounts of
untreated raw sewage
(viruses)
• Leaking septic tanks
• Runoff
• Algae blooms from
nutrients
• Dead zones NO DO
• Airborne toxins
• Oil spills
Ocean Pollution

Fig. 22-11 p. 504

Preventing
and reducing
the flow of
pollution from
land and from
streams
emptying into
the ocean is
key to
protecting
oceans
 Oil Spills
➢ Sources: offshore wells, tankers, pipelines and
storage tanks
➢ Effects: death of organisms, loss of animal
insulation and buoyancy, smothering
➢ Significant economic impacts
➢ Mechanical cleanup methods: skimmers and
blotters
➢ Chemical cleanup methods: coagulants and
dispersing agents
Oil Spills
 Solutions: Preventing and Reducing
Surface Water Pollution
Nonpoint Sources Point Sources

➢ Reduce runoff
➢ Clean Water Act
➢ Buffer zone vegetation

➢ Water Quality Act

➢ Reduce soil erosion

➢ Only apply pesticides and fertilizers as needed

Nonpoint Sources

Reduce runoff
 Nonpoint Sources

Buffer Zones Near Streams

 Nonpoint

Prevent soil erosion and only apply

needed pesticides and fertilizers
 Point Sources

Most developed
countries use laws to
set water pollution
standards.
Water Pollution
Control Act (Clean
Water Act 1972, ’77,
’87)
• Regulates navigable
waterways..streams,
wetlands, rivers, lake
 Clean Water Act
• Sets standards for key
pollutants
• Requires permits for
discharge
• Requires sewage
treatment
• Require permits for
wetland destruction
• Does not deal with
nonpoint sources well
• Goal All Waterways
fishable and swimable
Thank You