Water & Water Pollution RAD Guide

1. Water & Water Pollution RAD Guide July 12, 2014

2. Explain how natural disasters can leave communities w/o fresh H2O. • Earthquakes destroy pipes, floods mix sewage with fresh water • Unpotable: water that is unsafe to drink

3. How many liters of H2O does the average person in US use daily? • 300 L

4. How much of H2O that’s used by people does industry use? How does lack of H2O affect industry? • 44% • Availability of water affects where a company can relocate  generates jobs in community it chooses

5. How much of H2O people use does agriculture use? Define irrigation. • 47% • Irrigation: process of bringing water to an area for use in growing crops

6. Describe the 4 types of irrigation. • Flood irrigation: flooding of area that is flat • Furrow irrigation: releases H2O into furrows dug b/w rows of crops • Overhead irrigation: use sprinkler system over tops of crops • Efficient, but expensive • Subirrigation: water introduced naturally or artificially beneath soil

7. Describe what happened in Mono Lake, CA. • Saltwater lake fed by melting snow from mountains • City diverted the melt  less water to lake  evaporation  increase salt  kill animals

8. Describe how surface H2O can turn into larger stream and oceans. • Water from rain and melting snow travels as runoff • Runoff carves grooves into land called rills • Rills deepen to form larger streams • Deposit into oceans

9. Describe how groundwater is formed. • Water seeps through soil and into porous bedrock • Groundwater collects in rock to form a layer = water table

10. What is an aquifer? How does H2O move through it? • Aquifer: layer of porous rock that contains water • Water does not move at constant rate

11. What is overdraft? Name 2 problems with overdraft. • Overdraft: when a body of water is drained faster than it is filled • Saltwater Intrusion: saltwater mixes with aquifer  makes unpotable • Subsidence: water supports bedrock, so when removed, rock weakens and sinks

12. Briefly mention what happened to Ogallala Aquifer. • Largest aquifer in the world • Predicted to dry up in 40 years because of overdraft

13. What is desalination & what can it be used for? • Desalination: process by which salts are removed from water • Obtain fresh water for cooking, drinking, irrigation, and removes salt from agriculture waste water

14. Explain 3 types of desalination. • Distillation: water evaporates, salt left behind • Reverse Osmosis: saltwater forced through strainer that traps salt • Freezing: forms ice and salt slush • Slush removed leaving fresh ice

15. What are 4 processes that are used to purify water? • Sedimentation • Filtration • Aeration • Sterilization

16. Briefly describe process of water treatment. • Screens trap floating particles • Water allowed to stand undisturbed so sediment settles at bottom • Coagulants remove fine particles • Filter through fine sand • Air sprayed on it or falls as waterfall (O2 purifies water) • Sterilize using chemicals or extreme heat

17. Chlorine Produced and stored easily Adds smell to water Ozone Sterilizes more quickly Expensive and difficult to store What are 2 substances used to purify water? What are benefits & disadvantages?

18. Briefly describe the history of water pollution. • 19th century: most of world dumped garbage into closest waterway • Led to cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery • Then moved to ocean dumping • Still a common practice

19. What is sewage? How much is dumped in ocean by US? • Sewage: water that contains organic wastes from humans and industry • 8.9 trillion liters each year!!

20. What is sewage-treatment plant? Explain how sewage is treated. • Facility that processes raw sewage before sewage is returned to surface water systems • Filter through screens (big particles) • Add bacteria and chemicals • Breakdown organic material • Sterlize

21. How are diseases & water pollution related? What is a pathogen? • Many disease carrying organisms spend part of life cycle in water • Pathogen: parasites, bacteria, & viruses that cause disease • Typhoid fever • Cholera • Schistosomiasis • Malaria

22. What are 6 major sources of water pollution? • Agriculture • Sewage-treatment plant • Industry • Urban runoff • Mining runoff • Construction runoff

23. What are 4 types of water pollutants? • Pathogens • Nutrients • Sediments • Toxic Chemicals

24. Why is agriculture such a major pollutant? • Use of pesticides, fertilizers, plant & animal waste all pollute land and water

25. Define toxic chemicals. What is difference b/w inorganic & organic? • Toxic chemicals: elements and compounds that are directly harmful to living things • Inorganic: lack carbon • Organic: contain carbon

26. Identify & describe 4 types of inorganic chemicals. • Acids: runoff from mining, chemical plants, water-treatment facilities, etc. • Salts: runoff from mining, treatment, plants, direct discharge • Heavy metals: industrial processes (metal treatment, paint) ex. Mercury & lead • Plant nutrients: phosphates & nitrates from agriculture

27. Identify 6 examples of organic chemicals. How do they enter groundwater? • Gasoline, oils, plastics, pesticides/fertilizers, solvents, wood preservative • Discharged into sewer systems that lead to lakes • Runoff

28. Why is crude oil the most common spill? • Because transported along rivers & across oceans in huge amounts • Exxon Valdez: 1989 & Amoco Cadiz: 1978

29. Explain the process of eutrophication. • Large amounts of plant nutrients runoff into lake • Accelerates plant growth  no room • Plants die & decompose  increases # decomposer bacteria • Lowers oxygen • Animals die

30. Describe problems associated with radioactive water pollution. • Waste difficult to store (solid & liquid) • Liquid waste placed in steel containers and encased in concrete • Can corrode over time and leak in ground water systems

31. Describe problems associated with thermal water pollution. • Usually occurs in lakes by power plants • Fish regulate body temp by water temp • Increase water temp  increase metabolism in fish, but decreases amount of oxygen in water • Fish suffocate

32. Why have laws to protect the water from pollution failed? • Laws not strong enough • Strong ones not enforced • Scientific reports not accurate • Difficult to determine who did polluting • Removal of factory can cause loss of jobs