Water Pollution
In
New Jersey
BY SEAN REIFINGER
Background on Water Pollution

Water pollution: Any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that adversely affects
organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired use.
-
Point source: pollution from a specific location (drain pipes, ditches, etc.)
-
Non point source: Pollution with no specific location of origin (farm fields, lawns, etc.)
-
Atmospheric deposition: contaminants carried by air currents and precipitated onto surface
Types of Water Pollution:
- Infectious Agents
- Oxygen-Demanding Wastes
- Plant Nutrients & Cultural Eutrophication
-Toxic Inorganic Materials
Heavy Metals
Nonmetallic Salts
Acids and Bases
-Organic Chemicals
-Sediments
-Thermal Pollution

The Effects On Oceans/Estuaries
from Water Pollution in New Jersey

Pollutants such as total suspended solids, organic matter, nitrogen,
ammonia, pathogens from waste water, and dissolved oxygen
levels - big problem in Newark Bay ~1990’s (Crawford 1995)

Newark Bay area (~1900’s) - low levels of dissolved O2 from sewage
(Crawford 1994)

Burning fossil fuels releases nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, causing
acid precipitation. Making large bodies of water more acidic(Ayars
2007)

Mullica River Basin (In NJ Pinelands)- agricultural and urban land
uses directly correlate with nitrogen concentrations (Giri 2016)
Depth Expressed As Decade of Deposition
Ecological Changes of The Newark Bay Estuary
The Effects On
Oceans/Estuaries
from Water Pollution
in New Jersey
(continued)
Hazard Ratio(Concentration/ER-M)
The Effects On Oceans/Estuaries from
Water Pollution in New Jersey
(continued)
The effects on Fresh water from
water pollution in New Jersey

The Passaic River(Major fresh water tributary to
Newark Bay) had coal tar residues and looked
filthy from coal burning. This made the water
unsuitable to drink. (Crawford 1994)

Leachate (logs and mulch) has potential to
become –acidic -toxic to aquatic life –
demanding more O2 from water. This is true but
in very high concentrations (Kannepalli 2016)
The effects on Fresh water from
water pollution in New Jersey
(continued)
The effects on nearby ecosystems
from water pollution in New Jersey

Low levels of dissolved O2 affects fish and benthic invertebrate
communities - decreases health of the organisms -stops growth decreases survival rates - increases competition (Stacey 1990)

migration species avoid areas with DO concentrations lower than 3
mg/liter (Crawford 1994)

Agriculture helps generate a lot of sediments that end up going
downstream and causing eutrophication (Giri 2016)

A form of pollution can be
parasites. Because of
contaminated water, the Mud
snail are dying from cysts in
New Jersey and in some
neighboring states
(Chodkowski 2016)
Mean number of cysts
The effects on nearby ecosystems from
water pollution in New Jersey
(continued)
Collection sites
The effects on human health from
water pollution in New Jersey

Mothers who are living in a water district with contaminated water
during pregnancy is connected to an increase in low birth rate of
14.55% (Currie 2013)

Series of tests were done to drinking water in Northern NJ - found
relation between contaminants and birth defects (1985-1988) - They
were TTHM and carbon tetrachloride (Bove 1995)

TTHM were associated with small for gestational age, central
nervous system defects, neural tube defects, oral clefts, and major
cardiac defects.

Carbon Tetrachloride were associated with low birth weight, central
nervous system defects, neural tube defects, and oral clefts.
The effects on human health from
water pollution in New Jersey
(continued)

A study showed that most people trust
New jersey’s drinking water because of
the lack of knowledge from the different
chemicals in our water (Johnson 2008)
Conclusions

Water can be polluted by many sources. It can be polluted by an
increase in nutrients , parasites, or just by sewage that absorbs
oxygen.

This brings up concern about our current drinking water in New
Jersey and the health of its citizens

Studying individual contaminants and their effects on biota are
necessary to fully understand contaminant effects on ecosystems
near bodies of water (Crawford 1995).

The public need to be more educated on contaminants and the
contents of their drinking water.
Sources

Ayars J, Gao Y. 2007. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Mullica river-great bay estuary. Marine Environmental Research 64: 590-600.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2007.06.004

Crawford DW, Bonnevie NL, Wenning RJ. 1994. Historical changes in the ecological health of the Newark Bay estuary, New Jersey. Ecotoxicology
and Environmental Safety 29: 276-303. DOI: 10.1016/0147-6513(94)90004-3

Crawford DW, Bonnevie NL, Wenning RJ. 1995. Sources of pollution and sediment contamination in Newark Bay, New Jersey. Ecotoxicology and
Environmental Safety 30: 85-100. DOI: 10.1006/eesa.1995.1010

Giri S, Qiu ZY, Prato T, Luo BL. 2016. An integrated approach for targeting critical source areas to control nonpoint source pollution in watersheds.
Water Resources Management 30: 5097-5100. DOI: 10.1007/s11269-016-1470-z

Currie J, Zivin JG, Meckel K, Neidell M, Schlenker W. 2013. Something in the water: contaminated drinking water and infant health. Canadian
Journal of Economics 46:791-810. DOI: 10.1111/caje.12039

Johnson BB. 2008. Public views on drinking water standards as risk indicators. Risk analysis 28: 1515-1530. DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01116.x

Bove FJ, Fulcomer MC, Klotz JB, Esmart J, Dufficy EM, Savrin JE. 1995. Public drinking-water contamination and birth outcomes. American journal of
Epidemiology 141: 850-862.

Chodkowski N, Williams JD, Burke RL. 2016. Field surveys and experimental transmission of Pleurogonius Malaclemys (Digenea: Pronocephalidae), an
intestinal parasite of the diamondback terrapin malaclemys terrapin. Journal of Parasitology 102: 410-418. DOI: 10.1645/14-624

Kannepalli S, Strom PF, Krogmann U, Subroy V, Gimenez D, Miskewitz R. 2016. Characterization of wood mulch and leachate/runoff from three wood
recycling facilities. Journal of Environmental Management 182: 421-428. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.07.093