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 are a big problem in the Newark Bay since the 1990’s
(Crawford 1995)

Since the 1900’s, the Newark Bay area had low levels of dissolved
oxygen from sewage related contamination (Crawford 1994)

From burning fossil fuels, which release nitrogen oxide and sulfur
dioxide causes acid precipitation. This then enters large bodies of
water making them more acidic (Ayars 2007)

In the Mullica River Basin which is also located in the New Jersey
Pinelands researchers found that agricultural and urban land uses
are directly correlated with nitrogen concentrations (Giri 2016)
The Effects On Oceans/Estuaries
from Water Pollution in New Jersey
(continued)
The Effects On Oceans/Estuaries from
Water Pollution in New Jersey
(continued)
The effects on Fresh water from
water pollution in New Jersey

From coal burning power plants, the Passaic River(Major fresh water
tributary to Newark Bay) had coal tar residues and looked filthy. This
made the water unsuitable to drink. (Crawford 1994)

Leachate from logs and mulch has the potential to become acidic,
toxic to aquatic life, and demands a lot of oxygen from water. A
study shows that 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 oxygen affects fish and benthic invertebrate
communities by decreasing health of the organisms, stopping
growth, decreasing survival rates, and increasing competition
(Stacey 1990)

Species that move around and migrate 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)
The effects on nearby ecosystems from
water pollution in New Jersey
(continued)

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)
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)

During 1985-1988 a series of test where done to the drinking water in
Northern New Jersey and it found that there are contaminants in the
water with the strongest relations to adverse birth outcomes. 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.

Water pollution affects all forms of life and natural processes.

Without clean water life cannot be supported since water is a
necessity.

It is a necessity to keep all bodies of water healthy and clean, so
that people, animals, and ecosystems can survive and be healthy.

Although most pollutants that enter water are from humans, humans
can fix this issue by removing wastes better and finding alternatives
to fertilizers, pesticides, and fuel sources.
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