4.

4 Water Pollution
 Types of water pollution
Pollutants can be:
1. anthropogenic (created by human activities) or natural (eg volcanic eruptions,
algal blooms)
2. point source or non-point source (1.5)
3. organic or inorganic 4. direct or indirect.
Sources of freshwater pollution include:
1. Agricultural run-off, sewage, industrial discharge and solid domestic waste.
Sources of marine pollution include:
2. Rivers, pipelines, the atmosphere and human activities at sea, both operational
and accidental discharges.
 Measuring water pollution
Water pollution can be measured directly or indirectly by sampling.
1. Biochemical oxygen demand
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)is a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen
required to break down the organic material in a given volume of water through aerobic
biological activity by microorganisms.
2. Biotic indices and indicator species
Indicator species are plants and animals that show something about the environment
by their presence, absence, abundance or scarcity.
A biotic index indirectly measures pollution by assaying the impact on species within
the community according to their tolerance, diversity and relative abundance.
Biotic indices based on indicator species are usually used at the same time as BOD. BOD
gives a measure of pollution at the instant a water sample is collected whereas
indicator species give a summary of recent history
 Eutrophication
• Eutrophication is when excess nutrients are added to an aquatic ecosystem.
• It can be a natural process but anthropogenic eutrophication is more common.
• When it is severe, it results in dead zones in oceans or freshwater where there is
not enough oxygen to support life.
• In less severe cases, biodegradation of organic material uses up oxygen which
can lead to anoxic (low oxygen) conditions and then anaerobic decomposition.
This can release methane, hydrogen sulphide and ammonia which are all toxic
gases.
Impacts of eutrophication
● oxygen-deficient (anaerobic) water
● loss of biodiversity and shortened food chains
● death of higher plants (flowering plants, reeds, etc.)
● death of aerobic organisms – invertebrates, fish and amphibians
● increased turbidity (cloudiness) of water.
Source:
The excess nutrients are nitrates and phosphates and they come from:
● detergents
● fertilizers
● drainage from intensive livestock rearing units
● sewage
● increased erosion of topsoil into the water
 The process of eutrophication
1. Fertilizers wash into the river or lake.
2. High levels of phosphate in particular allow algae to grow faster (as phosphate is often
limiting).
3. Algal blooms form (mats of algae) that block out light to plants beneath them, which die.
4. More algae mean more food for the zooplankton and small animals that feed on them.
They are food to fish which multiply as there is more food so there are then fewer
zooplankton to eat the algae.
5. Algae die and are decomposed by aerobic bacteria.
6. But there is not enough oxygen in the water so, soon, everything dies as food chains
collapse.
7. Oxygen levels fall lower. Dead organic material forms sediments on the lake or river bed
and turbidity increases.
8. Eventually, all life is gone and the sediment settles to leave a clear blue lake.
Red tides
• In coastal waters, algal blooms (large numbers of phytoplankton) are
sometimes caused by excess nutrients.
• If these phytoplankton are a species of dinoflagellate, the bloom
looks red.
• This can be dangerous as the algae produce toxins which kill fish and
accumulate in shellfish, which can make humans seriously ill.