NDORO COLLINS KAMBU (NRM/PGFI/01/10)

ADVANCES IN THE CONTROL OF POINT AND NON POINT SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION

1.0 Introduction

Water comprises 70% of the earth surface and the most precious natural resource on the planet.
Human activities have resulted to pollution of lakes, rivers and the oceans which has resulted in
dying of organisms and impairment of drinking water and the ability to use water for recreational
purposes.

Water pollution occurs when a body of water is adversely affected due to addition of harmful
material to the water and the water becomes unfit for its intended use. Water pollution is a major
problem in the world’s marine and fresh waters. It is a problem that has generated concerns both
locally and internationally. The effects of water pollution are diverse and range from reduced
productivity in water bodies and agricultural sector to numerous water borne diseases in animals
and humans. Pollutant inputs have increased in recent decades, and the result has been
degradation of water quality in many rivers, lakes and coastal oceans. This degradation shows up
in the disruption of natural aquatic ecosystems and the consequent loss of their component
species. All water pollution affects organisms and plants that live in these water bodies and thus
have damaging effects either to individual species and populations or to the natural biological
communities.

Pollution and habitat degradation are linked, because they both impact negatively on our aquatic
resources. Control of pollution and habitat degradation is the most cost-effective means of saving
our aquatic resources.

2.0 Types of pollution

There are two types of pollution

i. Point Sources of Pollution

ii. Non point sources of pollution
2.1Point source of pollution

Point Sources of Pollution occur when harmful substances are emitted directly into a water body
and have a well defined origin. It is any single identifiable source of pollution from which
pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack. The various types of
point-source pollutants found in waters are as varied as the types of business, industry,
agricultural, and urban sources that produce them. Point sources include effluent pipes from
municipal sewage treatment plants and factories. Pollutant discharges from such sources tend to
be continuous, with little variability over time, and often they can be monitored by measuring
discharge and chemical concentrations periodically at a single place.

2.2Non point source of pollution

This is water pollution from diffuse sources, such as polluted run-off from agricultural areas
draining into a river, or into the to sea.It occurs when water moves across the land or through the
ground and picks up natural and Man-made pollutants, which can then be deposited in lakes,
rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even groundwater. The water that carries nonpoint source
pollution may originate from natural processes such as rainfall or snowmelt, or from human
activities such as crop irrigation. Nonpoint-source pollution is usually found spread out
throughout a large area. It is often difficult to trace the exact origin of these pollutants because
they result from a wide variety of human activities on the land as well as natural characteristics
of the soil, climate, and topography.

Pollution arising from non point sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams
and lakes.

3.0 Control of point sources of water pollution

Major sources of point source water pollution can be classified as

 Municipal
 Industrial
 Agricultural

3.1Municipal
Municipal water pollution consists of wastewater from homes and commercial establishment

Domestic sewage

This is human excreta and household wastes full of large quantities of detergents rich in
phosphorous content apart from the bacterial contamination. It is also estimated that 15,000 kg of
nitrogen and 40,000kg of phosphorous enter the Bristol channels daily from the sewage of nearly
coastal towns (FAO, 1997). Such discharges may result in eutrophication in tropical waters
resulting in dense blooms of blue-green algae leading to depletion of oxygen hence mass kills of
aquatic living organisms.

3.2 Industrial wastes

Commercial and industrial businesses use hazardous materials in manufacturing or maintenance,

and then discharge various wastes from their operations. The raw materials and wastes may
include pollutants such, petroleum products (such as oil and gasoline), or heavy metals.

Thermal pollution is also a major component of industrial pollution such as metal melting
industries, cement industries use water to cool their machines, and the water is later discharged
to water bodies whereby they cause unfavorable conditions to aquatic organisms.

The impact of industrial discharges depends not only on their collective characteristics, such as
biochemical oxygen demand and the amount of suspended solids, but also on their content of
specific of inorganic and organic substances. Three options are available in controlling industrial
wastewater. Control can take place at the point of generation in the plant; wastewater can be
pretreated for discharge to a municipal treatment sources; or wastewater can be treated
completely at the plant and either reused or discharged directly into receiving waters.

3.3 Wastewater treatment

Treatment of sewage is required before it can be safely buried, used, or released back into local
water systems. In a treatment plant, the waste is passed through a series of screens, chambers and
chemical processes to reduce the bulk and toxicity. The three general phases of treatment are
primary, secondary and tertiary.
During primary treatment, a large percentage of the suspended solids and inorganic material is
removed from the sewage. The focus of secondary treatment is reducing organic material by
accelerating natural biological processes. Tertiary treatment is necessary when the water will be
reused; 99% of solids are removed and various chemical processes are used to ensure the water is
as free from impurity as possible.

3.3.1Preliminary treatment/Primary treatment

The sewage is initially passed through screens (rows of iron bars with a spacing of 75-100cm),
which removes large debris such such wood ,paper and bottles. The sreens are operated
automatically and these screening are either burnt or macerated and returned upstream of the
screens. Grit and small stones are either removed by passing the sewage along a constant
velocity channel or through a grit chamber. In the primary treatment or sedimental process,
sewage is passed slowly and continuous through tanks to remove as much solid matter as
possible by sedimentation. The raw sludge can then be passed to the sludge digestion tank, the
supernatant liquid (primary effluent or settled sewage) being given secondary treatment. There is
a variety of sedimentation tanks but the most frequently installed are of shallow, radial design,
equipped with mechanical gear to remove the sludge. The sewage is retained for several hours
and about 50 % of the suspended solids settle out as primary sludge. Sedimentation is cheaper
than biological treatment in terms of unit removal pollution so that the tanks need to be operated
at their maximum efficiency.

3.3.2 Secondary (biological) treatment

Secondary treatment involves the oxidation of dissolved and colloidal organic compounds in the
presence of microorganisms and other decomposer organisms. The aerated conditions are usually
obtained by trickling filters or activated sludge tanks, while in the warmer climates oxidation
ponds may be used. The secondary sludge which results from biological treatment is combined
with the primary sludge in sludge digestion tanks, where anaerobic breakdown by
microorganisms occurs. The sludge produced by the primary and secondary treatment processes
is passed to sludge digestion tanks, where it is decomposed anaerobically. Alternatively, it may
be stored for later disposal. The sludge amounts to some 50% of the initial organic matter
entering the sewage works. The role of the anaerobic bacteria is to convert the sludge into a
stable and disposable product, which neither give rise to offensive smells nor attract harmful
insects or rodents. The major constituents of raw sludge are proteins, fats and polysaccharides
and they are degraded in three process. Hydrolysis involves the formation of long chain fatty
acids, amino acids, monosaccharides. The second process, acid formation results into production
of range of fatty acid, alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, together with ammonia, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen and water. Third process, methanogenensis, results in methane, carbon dioxide and
water. There is also of course an increase in bacterial biomass.

Sludge digestion often takes place in two stages. The first stage involves digestion in closed
tanks, heated to a temperature of 27o-35o for 7-8 days, most of the gas evolution occurs here.
Some of the gas evolved is used to heat the tanks. In the second stage, further digestion occurs
for 20-60 days in the open tanks at ordinary temperatures and the sludge consolidates and dries
with the separation of a supernatant liguor, which is then returned to the sewage inlet for
treatment with the sewage.

The sludge, after digestion, has been reduced in volume by two thirds and its disposal presents
some problems. It may be dumped at sea, it may be incinerated or it may be used as a land-fill.

3.3.3 Tertiary treatment.

In many situations the dilution available to an effluent in the water that receives it is insufficient
to prevent a deterioration of water quality. To prevent this, a higher quality effluent must be
produced and effluent ‘polishing’ is known as tertiary treatment. The removal of phosphates and
nitrates may also be necessary for environmental or public health reasons.

Nitrogen is usually removed from the waste by biological processes, involving nitrification and
dinitrification and when preceded by secondary treatment, over 90% removal of total nitrogen
can be achieved. Nitrification involves the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, with nitrite as an
intermediate:

The reactions are carried out by the bacteria nitrosomonas and nitrobacter respectively.
Denitrification involves the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas and a number of facultative
heterotrophs use nitrate instead of oxygen as a final electron acceptor during the breakdown of
organic matter under anoxic conditions.
Because nitrified effluent contains little carbon, a carbon source is normally added. This is
frequently methanol because it is almost completely oxidized, thus producing less sludge for
disposal, and is relatively inexpensive.

3.4 Agricultural wastes

Agricultural wastewater treatment relates to the treatment of wastewaters produced in the course
of agricultural activities.

Animal wastes- Large farms that raise livestock are often considered potential point sources of
pollution because untreated animal waste may enter nearby water bodies as untreated sewage.
These substances add to the level and rate of pollution. Solid manure heaps can be treated by
containment and/or covering of the heap.

3.5 Oil spills

This is another enormous cause of damage to aquatic life. It is mainly caused by spills from an
ever increasing transport of oil and its products by large oil tankers, dumping of ballast into the
sea, natural oil seepages and from oil release into the coastal waters from land operations.

In areas where oil spills are likely to occur such as loading and offloading bays, interceptors can
be built into the surface drains to separate oil from water. When oil pollutes fresh waters, the
clean up consist of two stages; surface oil is skimmed and the remaining traces removed by oil
absorbent devices. These materials include vegetable fibers and synthetic organic fibers available
in form of cushions, blankets or loose chips.

In order to prevent spillage, precaution must be taken. An automatic cutoff controlling the
delivery should be inserted into the receiving tank in order to avoid excess oil spilling off. When
transporting oil for long distance, the pipelines should therefore be made of welded steel to the
highest specification and be tested on the completion and thereafter during their life time.
3.6 Use of Constructed wetlands for pollution control

A constructed wetland or artificial wetland is an artificial marsh or swamp, created for

anthropogenic discharge such as domestic waste water treatment, storm water runoff or sewage
and a variety of industrial effluents.

A constructed wetland or wetpark is an artificial wetland, marsh or swamp created as a new or

restored habitat for native and migratory wildlife, for anthropogenic discharge such as waste
water, storm water runoff, or sewage treatment, for land reclamation after mining, refineries, or
other ecological disturbances such as required mitigation for natural wetlands lost to a
development.

They can also be used for recreation and biodiversity conservation. Natural wetlands act as bio-
filter by removing sediments, pollutants such as heavy metals from water and control erosion.
Constructed wetlands can be designed to emulate these features. Vegetation in a wetland
provides a substrate (roots, stems, and leaves) upon which microorganisms can grow as they
break down organic materials. This community of microorganisms is known as the periphyton.
The periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90 percent of
pollutant removal and waste breakdown. The plants remove about seven to ten percent of
pollutants, and act as a carbon source for the microbes when they decay. Different species of
aquatic plants have different rates of heavy metal uptake, a consideration for plant selection in a
constructed wetland used for water treatment. Thus Pollutants are removed in these systems
through a combination of physical, chemical and biological processes that naturally occur in
wetlands and are associated with the vegetation, the sediment and the microbial communities.

They are used as sediment traps removing incoming solids by settling and trapping usually
within few meters.

As the waste water moves through the wetland system, organic load is reduced substantially to a
point where ammonia reduction is to be initiated and that where carbon remains available, nitrate
is simultaneously removed. BOD removal involves several chemical and biochemical; aerobic
respiration, fermentation, anaerobic reduction of nitrates, manganese and iron. Phosphorus that is
a major cause of proliferation of aquatic plants is removed and stored in an accreting bed of new
sediments and soil. Ammonia is changed to nitrates by nitrifying bacteria. High ammonia
removal in the constructed wetlands has been attributed to the high pH shifts in any wetland
system.

Advantages of constructed wetlands

Constructed wetlands are a cost-effective and technically feasible approach to treating

wastewater and runoff for several reasons:-

 wetlands can be less expensive to build than other treatment options

 operation and maintenance expenses (energy and supplies) are low
 operation and maintenance require only periodic, rather than continuous, on-site labor
 wetlands are able to tolerate fluctuations in f l o w
 they facilitate water reuse and recycling.
 they provide habitat for many wetland organisms
 they can be built to fit harmoniously into the landscape
 they provide numerous benefits in addition to water quality improvement, such as
wildlife habitat and the aesthetic enhancement of open spaces
 they are an environmentally-sensitive approach that is viewed with favor by the general
public.

Limitations of constructed wetlands

There are limitations associated with the use of constructed wetlands:
 They generally require larger land areas than do conventional wastewater treatment
systerns.
 Wetland treatment may be economical relative to other options only where land is
available and affordable.
 Performance may be less consistent than in conventional treatment. Wetland treatment
 efficiencies may vary ‘seasonally in response to changing environmental conditions,
including rainfall and drought. While the average performance over the year may be
acceptable, wetland treatment cannot be relied upon if effluent quality must meet
stringent discharge standards at all times.
  the biological components are sensitive to toxic chemicals, such as ammonia and
pesticides flushes of pollutants or surges in water flow may temporarily reduce
treatment effectiveness

They treat water from many different sources:-

i. Sewage (from small communities, individual homes and business)

ii. Storm water

iii. Agricultural wastewater(including livestock wastes, runoff and drainage water)

iv. Landfill leachate

v. Partially treated industrial wastewater

vi. Drainage water from mines

vii. Runoff from highway.

Constructed wetlands also provide food and habitat for wildlife and create pleasant landscapes.

Differences between constructed and natural wetlands

• i) They remain constant in size.

• ii) They are not directly connected with groundwater.

• iii) They accommodate greater volumes of sediments.

• iv) They quickly develop the desired diversity of plants and associated organisms.

Components of constructed wetlands:-

Soil and drainage materials such as pipes and gravel

Substrates used to construct wetlands include soil, sand, gravel, rock, and organic materials
such as compost. Sediments and litter then accumulate in the wetland because of the low
water velocities and high productivity typical of wetlands. The substrates, sediments, and
litter are important for several reasons:
they support many of the living organisms in wetlands
substrate permeability affects the movement of water through the wetland
many chemical and biological (especially microbial) transformations take place within
the substrates
substrates provide storage for many contaminants
the accumulation of litter increases the amount of organic matter in the wetland. Organic
matter provides sites for material exchange and microbial attachment, and is a source of
carbon, the energy source that drives some of the important biological reactions in wetlands.
The physical and chemical characteristics of soils and other substrates are altered when they
are flooded. In a saturated substrate, water replaces the atmospheric gases in the pore spaces
and microbial metabolism consumes the available oxygen. Since oxygen is consumed more
rapidly than it. can be replaced by diffusion from the atmosphere, substrates become anoxic
(without oxygen). This reducing environment is important in the removal of pollutants such
as nitrogen and metals.

Water

Wetlands are likely to form where landforms direct surface water to shallow basins and
where a relatively impermeable subsurface layer prevents the surface water from seeping into
the ground. These conditions can be created to construct a wetland. A wetland can be built
almost anywhere in the landscape by shaping the land surface to collect surface water and by
sealing the basin to retain the water. Hydrology is the most important design factor in
constructed wetlands because it links all of the functions in a wetland and because it is often
the primary factor in the success or failure of a constructed wetland. While the hydrology of
constructed wetlands is not greatly different than that of
other surface and near-surface waters, it does differ in several important respects: l small
changes in hydrology can have fairly significant effects on a wetland and its treatment
effectiveness l because of the large surface area of the water and its shallow depth, a wetland
system interacts strongly with the atmosphere through rainfall and evapotranspiration (the
 combined loss of water by evaporation from the water surface and loss through transpiration
by plants) the density of vegetation of a wetland strongly affects its hydrology, first, by
obstructing flow paths as the water finds its sinuous way through the network of stems,
leaves, roots, and rhizomes and, second, by blocking exposure to wind and sun.

Plants (both emerged and submerged)

Both vascular plants (the higher plants) and non-vascular plants (algae) are important in
constructed wetlands. Photosynthesis by algae increases the dissolved oxygen content of the
water which in turn affects nutrient and metal reactions. Vascular plants contribute to the
treatment of wastewater and runoff in a number of ways:

 they stabilize substrates and limit channelized flow

 they slow water velocities, allowing suspended materials to settle
 they take up carbon, nutrients, and trace elements and incorporate them into plant tissues
 they transfer gases between the atmosphere and the sediments.
 leakage of oxygen from subsurface plant structures creates oxygenated microsites within
the substrate.
 their stem and root systems provide sites for microbial attachment they create litter when
they die and decay.

Constructed wetlands are usually planted with emergent vegetation (non-woody plants that grow
with their roots in the substrate and their stems and leaves emerging from the water surface).
Common emergents used in constructed wetlands include bulrushes, cattails, reeds, and a
number of broad-leaved species.

Microorganisms.

A fundamental characteristic of wetlands is that their functions are largely regulated by

microorganisms and their metabolism (Wetzel 1993). Microorganisms include bacteria, yeasts,
fungi, protozoa, rind algae. The microbial biomass is a major sink for organic carbon and many
nutrients. Microbial activity:
 transforms a great number of organic and inorganic substances into innocuous or
 insoluble substances
 alters the reduction/oxidation (redox) conditions of the substrate and thus affects the
processing capacity of the wetland
 is involved in the recycling of nutrients.

Some microbial transformations are aerobic (that is, they require free oxygen) while others
are anaerobic (they take place in the absence of free oxygen). Many bacterial species are
facultative anaerobes, that is, they are capable of functioning under both aerobic and anaerobic
conditions in response to changing environmental conditions. Microbial populations adjust to
changes in the water delivered to them. Populations of microbes can expand quickly when
presented with suitable energy-containing materials. When environmental conditions are no
longer suitable, many microorganisms become dormant and can remain dormant for years
(Hilton 1993). The microbial community of a constructed wetland can be affected by toxic
substances, such as pesticides and heavy metals, and care must be taken to prevent such
chemicals from being introduced at damaging concentrations.

Animals

Constructed wetlands provide habitat for a rich diversity of invertebrates and vertebrates.
Invertebrate animals, such as insects and worms contribute to the treatment process by
fragmenting detritus and consuming organic matter. The larvae of many insects are aquatic and
consume significant amounts of material during their larval stages, which may last for several
years. Invertebrates also fill a number of ecological roles; for instance, dragonfly nymphs are
important predators of mosquito larvae. Although invertebrates are the most important animals
as far as water quality improvement is concerned, constructed wetlands also attract a variety of
amphibians, turtles, birds, and mammals.
 Types of constructed wetlands :-

i. Sub surface-flow

ii. surface-flow wetlands.

iii. Floating aquatic plants systems

iv. Tidal flow wetlands

Subsurface-flow wetlands(SSF)

Subsurface-flow wetlands can be further classified as horizontal flow and vertical flow
constructed wetlands. Subsurface-flow wetlands move effluent through a gravel lavastone or
sand medium medium on which plants are rooted. In subsurface-flow systems, the effluent may
move either horizontally, parallel to the surface, or vertically, from the planted layer down
through the substrate and out.

Subsurface-flow systems have the advantage of requiring less land area for water treatment, but
are not generally as suitable for wildlife habitat as are surface-flow constructed wetlands.

Because of the hydraulic constraints imposed by the substrate, SSF wetlands are best suited to
wastewaters with relatively low solids concentrations and under relatively uniform flow
conditions. SSF wetlands have most frequently been used to reduce 5-day biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD5) from domestic wastewaters. The advantages cited for SSF wetlands are greater
cold tolerance, minimization of pest and odor problems, and, possibly, greater assimilation
potential per unit of land area than in SF systems. It has been claimed that the porous medium
provides greater surface area for treatment contact than is found in SF wetlands, so that the
treatment responses should be faster for SSF wetlands which can, therefore, be smaller than a SF
system designed for the same volume of wastewater. Since the water surface is not exposed,
public access problems are minimal. The disadvantages of SSF wetlands are that they are more
expensive to construct, on a unit basis than SF wetlands. Because of cost, SSF wetlands are often
used for small flows. SSF wetlands may be more difficult to regulate than SF wetlands, and
maintenance and repair costs are generally higher than for SF wetlands. A number of systems
have had problems with clogging and unintended surface flows.
Surface-flow wetlands(SF)

Surface-flow wetlands move effluent above the soil in a planted marsh or swamp, and thus can
be supported by a wider variety of soil types including bay mud and other silty clays.

A surface flow wetland consists of a shallow basin, soil or other medium to support the roots of
vegetation, and a water control structure that maintains a shallow depth of water .
The water surface is above the substrate. These wetlands look much like natural marshes and can
provide wildlife habitat and aesthetic benefits as well as water treatment. The near surface layer
is aerobic while the deeper waters and substrate are usually anaerobic. Stormwater wetlands and
wetlands built to treat mine drainage and agricultural runoff are usually Surface Flow wetlands.
Surface Flow wetlands are sometimes called free water surface wetlands or, if they are for mine
drainage, aerobic wetlands. The advantages of SF wetlands are that their capital and operating
costs are low, and that their construction, operation, and maintenance are straightforward. The
main disadvantage of these systems is that they generally require a larger land area than other
systems.
Floating aquatic plant systems
The floating aquatic plant (FAP) system consists of a pond or series of ponds in which floating
aquatic
plants are grown. The ponds must be deep enough to prevent emergent plants from growing, but
shallow enough to ensure adequate contact between the roots of the floating plants and the
wastewater (depth range: 3 to 5 ft). In FAP systems plants grow profusely and extract a large
amount of nutrients from the wastewater. Since harvesting is an essential management
requirement, the number, size, arrangement of ponds, and method of harvesting must be taken
into account during initial planning.

The most common floating plants used for wastewater treatment are and duckweed (members of
genera Lemna,Spirodella, Wolffia, and Wolfiella) . Both types of vegetation grow rapidly and
generally provide enough shade to prevent the growth of algae, which, in turn, prevent large
diurnal swings in pH and dissolved oxygen concentrations.
Tidal Flow wetlands

Tidal Flow wetlands are the latest evolution of wetland technology, used to treat domestic,
agricultural & industrial wastewater, including heavy load. In this system, organic carbon is
primarily oxidized with nitrate, which is produced through a series of flood and drain cycles,
from one side of the wetland to the other. This process holds a number of benefits over
traditional subsurface & surface-flow wetlands including, reduced land requirements and
increased de-nitrification capabilities for the treatment of heavy load.
Treatment process
Many physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms occur within treatment wetlands. Some are
relatively simple and others complex, and some are not fully understood in terms of their
contribution to the overall treatment process. The principal mechanisms involves:-

General contaminants removal

Physical, chemical, and biological processes combine in wetlands to remove contaminants from
wastewater. An understanding of these processes is fundamental not only to designing wetland
systems but to understanding the fate of chemicals once they enter the wetland. Theoretically,
wastewater treatment within a constructed wetland occurs as it passes through the wetland
medium and the plant rhizosphere. A thin film around each root hair is aerobic due to the leakage
of oxygen from the rhizomes, roots and rootlets. Aerobic and anaerobic micro-organisms
facilitate decomposition of organic matter. Microbial nitrification and subsequent denitrification
releases nitrogen as gas to the atmosphere . Phosphorus is coprecipited with iron, aluminum, and
calcium compounds located in the root bed medium. Suspended solids filter out as they settle in
the water column in surface flow wetlands or are physically filtered out by the medium within
subsurface flow wetland cells. Harmful bacteria and viruses are reduced by filtration and
adsorption by biofilms on the rock media in subsurface flow and vertical flow systems.

4.0 Control of non point sources pollution

4.1Sediments

Sediments include silt (fine particles) and suspended solids (larger particles). Sediment may
enter surface waters from eroding stream banks and from surface runoff due to improper plant
cover on urban and rural land.

Sediment creates turbidity (cloudiness) in water bodies, reducing the amount of light reaching
lower depths, which can inhibit growth of submerged aquatic plants and consequently affect
species which are dependent on them, such as fish and shell fish.
4.2 Nutrients

The concentration of dissolved nutrients in water can lead to eutrophication; it can also change
the stream configuration of organisms. These inorganic nutrients include:-

Phosphorous

Phosphorus is a nutrient that occurs in many forms that are bio-available. It is a main ingredient
in many fertilizers used for agriculture as well as on residential and commercial properties, and
may become a limiting nutrient in freshwater systems. Excess amounts of phosphorus in these
systems lead to algal blooms and consequently anoxic. This is also known as eutrophication.
Phosphorus is most often transported to water bodies via soil erosion forms of phosphorus tend
to be adsorbedto soil particles.

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is the other key ingredient in fertilizers, and it becomes a pollutant in saltwater systems
where nitrogen is a limiting nutrient. Excess amounts of bioavailable nitrogen in these systems
lead to a boom of algae and diatoms. When the excessively large populations of autotrophs reach
the end of their life cycles, the process of decomposition consumes oxygen. The result is much
suppressed levels of dissolved oxygen.Nitrogen is most often transported by water as nitrates
(NO3). The nitrogen is usually added to a watershed as organic-N or ammonia NH3), so nitrogen
stays attached to the soil until oxidation converts it into nitrate. Since the nitrate is generally
already incorporated into the soil, the water traveling through the soil (i.e., interflow is the most
likely to transport it, rather than surface runoff.

4.3 Toxic contaminants and chemicals

Are compounds including heavy metals like lead, mercury, zinc, and cadmium, organics like
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fire retardants,
and other substances resistant to breakdown. These contaminants can come from a variety of
sources including mining operations, vehicle emissions, fossil fuel combustion, urban runoff and
industrial operations. Toxic chemicals mainly include organic compounds and inorganic
compounds These compounds include pesticides like DDT acids, and salts that have severe
effects to the ecosystem and water bodies. These compounds can threaten the health of both
humans and aquatic species while being resistant to environmental breakdown, thus allowing
them to persist in the environment. These toxic chemicals could come from croplands, nurseries,
orchards, building sites, gardens, lawns and landfills. Acids and salts mainly are inorganic
pollutants from irrigated lands, mining operations, urban runoffs and industrial sites.

4.4 Pathogens

• Pathogens are bacteria and viruses that can be found in water and cause diseases in
humans. Typically, pathogens cause disease when they are present in public drinking
water supplies. Pathogens found in contaminated runoff may include:

• Cryptosporidium parvum

• Giardia lamblia

• Salmonella

• Novovirus and other viruses

• Parasitic worms (helminths).

• Coliform bacteria and fecal matter may also be detected in runoff. These bacteria are a
commonly used indicator of water pollution, but not an actual cause of disease

• Pathogens may contaminate runoff due to poorly managed livestock operations, faulty
septic systems, improper handling of pet waste, contaminated storm sewers, and sewer
overflow.

4.5 Urban and suburban areasT

To control for nonpoint source pollution, many different approaches can be undertaken in
both urban and suburban areas. Buffer strips provide a barrier of grass in between
impervious paving material like parking lots and roads, and the closest body of water.
This allows the soil to absorb any pollution before it enters the local aquatic
system.Retention ponds can be built in drainage areas to create an aquatic buffer between
runoff pollution and the aquatic environment. Runoff and storm water drain into the
retention pond allowing for the contaminates to settle out and become trapped in the
pond. The use of porous pavement allows for rain and storm water to drain into the
ground beneath the pavement, reducing the amount of runoff that drain directly into the
water body. Restoration methods such as constructing wetlands are also used to slow
runoff as well as absorb contamination.

4.6 Agricultural operations

To control sediment and runoff, farmers may utilize erosion controls to reduce runoff
flows and retain soil on their fields. Common techniques include contour ploughing and
crop mulching.Conservation tillage is a concept used to reduce runoff while planting a
new crop. The farmer leaves some crop reside from the previous planting in the ground to
help prevent runoff during the planting process.Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are
typically applied to farmland as commercial fertilizer; animal manure; Nutrients may also
enter runoff from crop residues, irrigation water and wildlife.Farmers can develop and
implement nutrient management plans to reduce excess application of nutrients.

To minimize pesticide impacts, farmers may use Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
techniques (which can include biological pest control) to maintain control over pests,
reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, and protect water quality.
Conclusion

Nonpoint source pollution is difficult to control because it does not come from one

specific source. Instead, it comes from many places or from a widespread area.

All of us create nonpoint source pollution. We add pollutants like fertilizers, pesticides, grease,
oils, animal wastes, and raked leaves to our yards and driveways. Because every single person
creates some nonpoint source pollution, it is a difficult contaminant to control.

Point source pollution is easier to manage and can usually be traced to a single source,

like a pipe or culvert. Because it always comes from one easily identified place, point source
pollution is easier to control.

Point source and nonpoint source pollution come in many forms. By learning to recognize the
different sources of water pollution, we can decrease the contaminants the environment.