NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN

LANGUAGES

Introduction to Environmental
Studies
Course Code: GC302

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WATER POLLUTION MANAGEMENT
Contents
1. What is Water Pollution
2. Types of water pollution
3. Sources of Water Pollution
4. Control Measures of Water Pollution
5. Methods to reduce Water Pollution
6. Septic system
7. Sewage Treatment Plants

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 What is Water Pollution?
• The alteration in characteristics of water which may
cause harmful effects on humans and aquatic life.
• When the quality of water changes such that it
becomes unfit for any purpose.
• The contamination of streams, rivers, lakes, oceans,
or groundwater with substances produced through
human activities and that negatively affect
organisms.
• It may also occur naturally by addition of soil
particles through erosion, animal wastes etc.
 Surface Water Pollution
• A type of pollution that occurs above ground.
• Waters become polluted due to contaminated rainwater runoff.
• Surface water can also become contaminated through sewage leaks
and waste products from animal, factories.
• Health problems are extremely common when unfiltered
contaminated water is drunk.
• Swimming in these polluted waters can cause health issues as the
water can easily enter the mouth.
• Another type of surface water pollution caused by nutrients and
fertilizers.
 Groundwater pollution
• It occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their
way into groundwater.
• This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the
presence of unwanted constituent or contaminant in the
groundwater.
• Groundwater pollution can occur from on-
site sanitation systems, landfill leachate, effluent from wastewater
treatment plants, leaking sewers.
• Pollution can also occur from naturally occurring contaminants, such
as arsenic .
• Using polluted groundwater causes hazards to public health through
poisoning.
 Types of water pollution
Pollution by Point Sources:
• Contamination of water bodies by substances released
from a single, identifiable source.
• Ex: Factories, sewage treatment plants, abandoned
underground mines and oil tankers.
Pollution by nonPoint Sources:
• Contamination of water bodies by substances that do
not come from a discrete, specified source.
• Ex: Acid deposition, runoff of chemicals into surface
water from croplands, livestock feedlots, urban streets,
lawns, golf courses and parking lots.
• The distinction between the two types of pollution
sources can help in controlling pollutant inputs to
waterways.
Point Sources VS Nonpoint Sources
 Sources of Water Pollution
• The waste water discharged from industries and commercial bodies.
• These industries are chemical, metallurgical, food processing, textile and paper
industries.
• They discharge several organic and inorganic pollutants that proves highly toxic to
living beings.
• Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have become a potential source of water
pollution.
• The Power plants use water as coolants and release hot water into the original
source.
• Washing clothes near lakes and rivers causes detergents also causes a condition
called eutrophication.
• Oil Spills are caused when giant oil tankers and oil rigs which are present in the
oceans are damaged cause a long-time damage to the ocean.
• Disease-causing agents (pathogens) that enter the water from sewage and
untreated human and animal wastes which cause gastrointestinal diseases.
• 5. Certain natural disasters like flash floods cause the intermixing of water with
harmful substances on the land.
 Effects of Water Pollution
• Groundwater contamination from pesticides causes reproductive
damage within wildlife.
• Sewage, fertilizer, and agricultural run-off contain organic materials
that when discharged into waters, increase the growth of algae,
which causes the depletion of oxygen.
• Swimming in and drinking contaminated water causes skin rashes and
health problems like cancer, reproductive problems, typhoid fever
etc.
• Industrial chemicals and agricultural pesticides that end up in aquatic
environments can accumulate in fish that are later eaten by humans.
• Ecosystems are destroyed by the rising temperature in the water, as
coral reefs are affected due to warmer temperatures.
• Human-produced litter of items such as plastic bags can get aquatic
animals caught and killed from suffocation.
• Water pollution causes flooding due to the accumulation of solid
waste and soil erosion in streams and rivers.
• Oil spills in the water causes animal to die when they ingest it or
encounter it.
 Control Measures of Water Pollution
• The foremost necessity is prevention.
• Setting up effluent treatment plants.
• Industrial plants should be based on recycling operations.
• Plant trees and forests to control pollution as it reduce erosion.
• To plant more trees around water bodies as they naturally help to
assimilate and recycle the pollutants.
• No type of waste should be discharged into any natural water
body.
• Public awareness must be initiated.
• Laws, standards and practices should be established to prevent
water pollution.
• Identify industrial units that are the biggest polluters of river
water.
• Use Phosphate-Free Detergent and Dish Cleaner.
• Dispose of unwanted paints or oils carefully.
• Conserve water at home and at workplace.
 Methods to reduce Water Pollution
Physical Method:
• Physical treatment process include gravity separation,
phase change system, adsorption, reverse osmosis, ion
exchange etc.
Chemical Method:
• Transforming the hazardous waste into less hazardous
substances.
• PH neutralization and precipitation.
Biological Method:
• Used microorganisms to degrade organic pollutant in
the waste stream.
Thermal methods:
• Thermal destruction process that are commonly used
include incineration and pyrolysis
 Methods to reduce Water Pollution
Screening:
• Removes larger entrained objects
Sedimentation:
• Separating solids from liquids in large tanks.
Aeration:
• It is the process by which air is circulated,
mixed with or dissolved in a liquid.
Skimming:
• The act of removing floating material from the
surface of a liquid.
 Septic Systems
• Septic system : a septic tank and a leach field.
• The septic tank is a large container that receives
wastewater from the house.
• The septic tank is buried underground adjacent to the
house.
• Wastewater from the house flows into the tank at one
end and leaves the tank at the other.
• three layers develop.
• Anything that will float rises to the top of the tank and
forms a scum layer.
• Anything heavier than water sinks to form the sludge
layer.
• In the middle is a fairly clear water layer called
septage.
 Septic Systems
• The septage moves out of the septic tank by gravity into
several underground pipes.
• The combination of pipes and lawn makes up the leach field.
• The pipes contain small perforations.
• The septage that seeps out of the pipes is slowly absorbed
and filtered by the surrounding soil.
• The organic matter is broken down into carbon dioxide and
inorganic nutrients.
• Eventually, the water and nutrients are taken up by plants or
enter a nearby stream.
• Most septic systems rely on gravity, no electricity is needed to
run a septic system.
• Sludge from the septic tank must be pumped out periodically.
 Sewage Treatment Plants
• In developed countries, municipalities use centralized sewage
treatment plants that receive the wastewater via a network of
underground pipes.
• wastewater is handled using a primary treatment followed by a
secondary treatment.
• The goal of the primary treatment in a sewage plant is for the solid
waste material to settle out of the wastewater.
• This solid material is then dried and classified as sludge.
• Most of the water is then removed from the sludge to reduce its
volume and weight prior to transporting.
• This final form of sludge can be placed into a landfill, burned, or
converted into fertilizer pellets.
• The remaining wastewater undergoes a secondary treatment.
• The goal of the secondary treatment is to use bacteria to break
down the organic matter in the water.
• The secondary treatment typically includes aeration of the water.
 Sewage Treatment Plants
• This treated water sits for several days to allow particles to settle out.
• These settled particles are added to the sludge from a primary
treatment.
• The remaining water is disinfected to kill remaining pathogens.
• The treated water is then released into a nearby river or lake.
• Sewage treatment plants are very effective at breaking down the
organic matter into carbon dioxide and inorganic nutrients .
• Unfortunately, these inorganic nutrients can still have undesirable
effects on the waterways.
• Sewage treatment plants are often developing tertiary treatments
that remove nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater.
• The ultimate goal is to release wastewater similar in quality to the
waterway receiving it.