Point Source Pollution:
 pollution that is discharged from a single source
 easy to regulate and control b/c easy to identify and trace ex. factories, oil tankers, wastewater treatment
plants
(Pigeon River story: Canton, NC paper mill polluted river downstream, Hartsford, TN getting all pollution high levels of dioxin)
Non Point Source Pollution:
 pollution that comes from many sources rather than a single, specific site (travels via streets, storm sewers, can come from anywhere)
 extremely difficult to regulate and control b/c not easy to identify and trace the source(s)
 EPA determined that 96% of polluted bodies of water in the
US – non point source pollution ex. farms, homes, lawns, highways, storm-water runoff etc…
Sources:
1.
Fossil fuels:
 Acid rain (sulfuric and nitric acid form in atmosphere from burning fossil fuels)
 Oil spills (more pollution from day to day operations than oil spills)
 Strip mining = runoff
2. Nuclear power:
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 Thermal pollution – heated water discharge back into rivers, lakes
(water used to cool reactors = creates warm water)
3. Sewage and Agricultural Runoff:
 Sewage = Greatest water pollution threat to human health
 Often contains disease-causing
bacteria (e. coli) and viruses
 Chemicals from farms – phosphates, nitrates, pesticides
 EUTROPHICATION-
 Increase nutrients = algae blooms
 Algae takes up oxygen = kills life
4.
Hazardous wastes:
 Waste that is a risk to human health or other living things
 Prior to the 70’s -Dumping waste into rivers, lakes
(Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, OH – once so polluted w/ flammable chemical wastes it caught fire!!)
 Waste buried in special landfills- can leak into ground water
 Illegal dumping - “midnight dumping”
 BIOMAGNIFICATION – the process in which poisons become more concentrated as they move up the food chain (ex. DDT, Mercury) teacher’s copy
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Source
Sewage treatment plant, fertilizer runoff
Water falls, fast water
Industrial waste
Fertilizer runoff, sewage treatment plant
Runoff from road salt
Industrial waste, sunlight
Shade
Effect on
Water
 Oxygen
 Oxygen
 pH
 Nitrogen
 Salinity
 Temperature
 Temperature
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