Forms of Water Pollution
Content Objectives
• SWBAT differentiate between point source
and non-point source pollution.
• SWBAT describe case studies of water
pollution that affected societies views and
actions in the modern era.
Point Source Pollution
• A location where pollution comes from an
obvious spot, such as a pipe, ditch, factory
chimney, etc.
Non-point Source Pollution
• Pollution that is distributed wildly across an area with
untraceable or numerous small sources.
Mine Tailings and Leaching
• Many mines spray acids over ore to extract minerals. The water
then leaches out and flows into nearby streams or lakes.
Drilling/Fracking
Local Sources of Non-Point Pollution
Pharmaceuticals
• A major problem in today’s pharma-dependent
society is people dumping their drugs down the
drain/toilet.
• These drugs are having serious impacts on fish and
amphibians and many water treatment plants are
unable to remove them!
Storm Drains
drain rain to a river, lake, or the ocean
Drano or Drain Snake?
Lake Washington Near Seattle
• In the 1950’s, no one could swim or fish in Lake
Washington. Today, the salmon are back and people are
free to enjoy the lake.
Point Source Pollution Check for Understanding
______ would be an example of a point source of
pollution, while _____ would be an example of a
nonpoint source.
1. Runoff from a suburban community, outflow from
a sewage treatment plant
2. Runoff from an entire farming region, outflow
from a particular factory into a stream
3. An oil-tanker leak, runoff from a suburban
community
4. Runoff from an entire farming region, runoff from
a large CAFO
Point Source Pollution Check for Understanding
In a river ecosystem, dissolved oxygen (DO)
concentrations drop quickly downstream from a pointsource input of organic matter into the river.
This effect is due to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increasing population of mayfly and stonefly larvae
Increasing activity of trout and black bass
Increasing bacterial activity as organic matter decays
Decreasing bacterial activity as turbidity increases
Increasing water temperature as surface evaporation
increases
General Water Check for Understanding
Overuse of groundwater in coastal areas would most
likely result in which of the following?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Rise in water table
Increase in stream flow
Bacterial contamination of surface water
Saltwater intrusion
Decrease in eutrophication
General Water Check for Understanding
The greatest amount of fresh water is found in which
of the following?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The atmosphere
Estuaries
Lakes
Rivers and streams
Polar ice caps and glaciers
General Water Check for Understanding
Which of the following best explains why the
maximum sustainable yield for ocean fisheries has
been exceeded?
1. Populations of fish-eating birds such as albatross
have increased
2. Too many fish of reproductive age have been
harvested
3. Too many marine fish farms have been created
4. Everything trapped by large bottom trawl nets is
used for food
5. For every calorie of fish caught, a ship uses only
0.5 calorie of fuel energy.
General Water Check for Understanding
Alligators in a Florida lake polluted by high levels of
dioxins (chlorinated hydrocarbons) had low
testosterone levels and failed to reproduce. Scientists
came to the conclusion that the dioxins were acting as
which of the following?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Endocrine disrupters
Growth hormones
Carcinogens
Immune-system suppressors
Mutagens
Cuyahoga River, Cleveland, OH
The Most Polluted River
• Time magazine in 1969 described the Cuyahoga
as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and
in which a person "does not drown but decays"
A River Burns
June 1969
Videos on History of the Cuyahoga
• Cleveland in the 1960s
Videos on History of the Cuyahoga
• Don’t Fall In The River!
Impacts of this Event
• The scenes on people’s TV screens of a
burning river galvanized support for the
cleanup of our urban waterways.
• It was no longer just about protecting far
away pristine places, but about cleaning up
their own backyard!
1974 – Creation of
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Citizens in Ohio demand that their river not
only be cleaned up, but permanently protected.
• The idea of an “urban” national park takes hold
here and across the country.
• The Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area
is created and eventually becomes a fullfledged National Park in 2000.
Cleveland Today
Cuyahoga River Today
Cuyahoga Valley Today
Cuyahoga River Group Discussion
1. Prior to the 1969 fire there were numerous point
sources of pollution, list as many as you can:
2. Why was the river being used as a dump?
3. List as many negatives to the polluted state of the
river (at that time) as you can think of:
4. Why do you think the fire of 1969 got not just
local but also national attention?
5. What was the impact of this event on the
environmental movement at this point of time?