OUR WATER
PART I: FRESHWATER
TAPPED: THE DOCUMENTARY
WATER OF THE WORLD
• AS A NATURAL RESOURCE, FRESH WATER IS RENEWABLE. HOWEVER, QUALITIES OF FRESH
WATER ON EARTH ARE LIMITED AS WELL AS ACCESS TO FRESH WATER IS BECOMING
DIFFICULT FOR A TREMENDOUSLY GROWING WORLD POPULATION.
1/3 of the world’s
population are
affected by
water shortages!
• IMPACTS OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ARE AFFECTED FRESH WATER AVAILABILITY.
Many sources of our
• EXAMPLES: SEASONAL MT. MELTING AND WET/DRY SEASONS SHORTENED OR LENGTHENED. surface and groundwater
are drying up.
• LESS THAN 0.5% OF WATER ON EARTH IS ACTUALLY DRINKABLE, REST IS OCEANS AND ICE.
• WATER AVAILABILITY BASED ON LOCATION AND
POPULATION IS BECOMING A HUGE ISSUE
• EXAMPLES: LAS VEGAS AND INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA
WATER SYSTEMS
• TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS ARE CLASSIFIED BY THE
DOMINANT PLANT LIFE (BROADLEAF VS. CONIFEROUS
TREES) BUT AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ARE CLASSIFIED LARGELY
BASED ON THE FEATURES OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT,
USUALLY BEGINNING WITH SALINITY.
ECOLOGISTS SUBDIVIDE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS:
A.
OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS INTO TWO BROAD
CATEGORIES;
A.
COASTAL AND
B.
OPEN-WATER SYSTEMS.
B. FRESHWATER IS CLASSIFIED INTO:
• OCEANS OVER 71% OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE
• OCEANS ALSO CONTAIN 97.2% OF ALL WATER
ON EARTH!
• MAJOR OCEANS ARE PACIFIC, ATLANTIC,
INDIAN, ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC
a)
LOTIC (FLOWING WATER- RIVERS AND
STREAMS)
b)
LENTIC (SITTING WATER- PONDS, WETLAND
AND LAKES)
WATER USAGE AND WATER OF THE WORLD LAB
WHAT IS THE ACTUAL PERCENTAGE OF DRINKABLE WATER ON THE PLANET FOR OVER 7 BILLION
PEOPLE AND AGRICULTURE?
WATERSHEDS
 A watershed is the area of land that
precipitation drains into a stream, river, lake, or
other body of water.
 Watersheds can be both large and small. For
example, a small stream in a rural
neighborhood may have a tiny watershed.
 In contrast, the Mississippi River's watershed
covers almost two-thirds of North America!
Most freshwater regions are created by the remnants of
ancients glaciers. The Great Lakes and the lakes of NJ
formed the Wisconsin Glacier in the last ice age, around
10,000 years ago!
GROUNDWATER
• GROUNDWATER REFERS TO THE WATER BELOW THE WATER TABLE
WHERE SATURATED CONDITIONS EXIST.
• WATER TABLE IS THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE GROUNDWATER.
• AQUIFER IS AN UNDERGROUND AREA WHERE WATER IS STORED
BETWEEN ROCKS AND PEBBLES.
THE WATER
CYCLE AND
WATER
SYSTEMS
Land Usage of Morris and Sussex
Counties
LAKE CREATION
AND ZONES
• LAKES CAN BE FORMED THROUGH FOUR PROCESSES:
1.
GLACIER MELTING (MOST OF NJ LAKES WERE
GENERATED 10,000 YEARS AGO FROM THE
MELTING OF AN EXTREMELY LARGE GLACIER
CALLED THE WISCONSIN GLACIER
2.
EROSIONAL DEPOSITS CLOSE-OFF A STREAM OR
RIVER.
3.
SHIFTING OF EARTH’S CRUST THROUGH FAULT
MOVEMENTS
4.
BEAVERS CAN NATURALLY CLOSE OF A FLOWING
SYSTEM OF WATER
Zones in a lake are determined solely by the amount of
light at each level:
1. Littoral Zone- shallow water zone
2. Limnetic Zone- extends to depth of visible light
3. Profundal Zone- lack of light causes life to depend on
matter from limnetic zone
4. Benthic Zone- bottom zone, primarily for decomposition
Eutrophication- The process by which the surrounding
watershed enriches bodies of water with nutrients that
stimulate excessive plant growth, especially algae.
 The excessive algae growth not only absorbs the oxygen
from the other plants and animals in the watershed but
the algae create a blanket on the surface of the water
blocking sunlight to the organisms underneath.
 Bacteria than consume all dead matter and reproduce
rapidly.
 The bacteria consume all oxygen leaving the body of water
as a dead zone.

EUTROPHICATION
1. What are the main
sources of
Eutrophication?
Sewage plants, agriculture
runoff, fertilizers and pesticides,
burning of fossil fuels and cars
2. What are the main
chemicals that cause
Eutrophication?
Nitrates and phosphates
DETERMINING THE HEALTHINESS OF A FRESHWATER
SYSTEMS
Healthiness of watershed is
determined by observing the following
factors:
1. pH- acidity levels
2. Nitrate and Phosphate levels- runoff
from farms and domestic areas
3. BOD- Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(amount of oxygen available for life)
4. Coliform- fecal bacteria
5. Turbidity- suspended matter
6. Macroinvertebarates.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD)
• BOD INDICATES HOW MUCH DECAYING ORGANIC
MATTER IS PRESENT. MORE ORGANIC WASTE,
MORE OXYGEN DEMANDING BACTERIA.
• DISSOLVED OXYGEN MEASURES THE AMOUNT OF
OXYGEN AVAILABLE. HIGHER BOD MEANS LOWER
DISSOLVED OXYGEN.
• ORGANIC WASTE SUCH AS SEWAGE AND FOOD
WASTE IS HIGH IN NITRATES AND PHOSPHATES
WITH LEADS TO AN INCREASE IN OXYGENDEMANDING BACTERIA.
• THIS BACTERIA STRIPS THE ECOSYSTEM OF
OXYGEN FOR THE LARGER ORGANISMS.
ACID MINE DRAINAGE (AMD)
• AMD IS THE OUTFLOW OF ACIDIC WATER
FROM METAL AND COAL MINES.
• AMD IS CAUSED BY THE OXIDATION OF
PYRITE WHICH A MINERAL PRODUCED
COMMONLY ALONG COAL.
• COAL MINING EXPOSES THE PYRITE CREATES
A IRON-SULFIDE DISCHARGE (ORANGISH-RED
PRECIPITATE) WHICH DRAMATICALLY LOWERS
THE PH OF THE STREAM
• THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS IS KNOWN
TO HAVE THE BEST ANTHRACITE COAL IN THE
WORLD AND IS THEREFORE, HEAVILY MINED.
TREATMENT OF AMD
• TO NEUTRALIZE THE PH, LIMESTONE (A
NATURAL BASE) IS USED.
• THE CONTAMINATED WATER GOES
THROUGH A SERIES OF POOLS THAT USES
ORGANIC MATTER AND PLANTS TO ABSORB
THE POLLUTANTS WHILE THE PH IS
NEUTRALIZED BY THE LIMESTONE.
Wetlands are also
used clean up AMD
pH Scale
PH SCALE
IS YOUR WATERSHED HEALTHY LAB
WHAT QUALIFIES AS A HEALTHY WATERSHED AND HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE IF A WATER SHED
IS HEALTHY?
1. ARE A NATURAL SPONGE FOR WATER TO
HELP PREVENT FLOODING
2. PROVIDE RECHARGE FOR WATER TABLES
UNDERGROUND FOR OUR USAGE
3. PROVIDES HABITAT FOR SPECIALIZED AND
RARE PLANTS/ANIMALS (45% ENDANGERED
ANIMALS AND 26%ENDANGERED PLANTS
ARE ONLY FOUND IN WETLANDS)
4. NATURAL FILTERS TO PURIFY WATER
5. PROVIDE BUFFER FOR STORMS COMING IN
OFF THE OCEAN
6. HAS HIGH CARBON-RICH, ORGANIC SOIL
WETLANDS
IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS:
Marsh
TYPES OF WETLANDS:
A. MARSHES- ABUNDANT IN NUTRIENTS, SATURATED SOIL AND NEUTRAL PH TO
SUPPORT A LOT OF LIFE.
-CAN BE TIDAL OR NON-TIDAL
-FROM INCHES TO 3 FEET OF WATER
-EXAMPLES; EVERGLADES AND MEADOWLANDS
B. SWAMPS-IS ANY WETLAND DOMINATED BY WOODY PLANTS
-HIGHLY ORGANIC SOILS OF SWAMPS FORM A THICK, BLACK, NUTRIENT-RICH
ENVIRONMENT FOR THE GROWTH OF WATER-TOLERANT TREES SUCH AS
CYPRESS
Swamp
C. BOGS- HAVE ACIDIC WATERS, AND A FLOOR COVERED BY A THICK CARPET OF
SPHAGNUM MOSS.
Bog
-BOGS ARE UNIQUE COMMUNITIES THAT CAN BE DESTROYED IN A MATTER OF
DAYS, BUT REQUIRE HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS, OF YEARS TO FORM
NATURALLY.
D. FENS-ARE PEAT-FORMING WETLANDS THAT RECEIVE NUTRIENTS FROM SOURCES
OTHER THAN PRECIPITATION: USUALLY FROM UPSLOPE SOURCES THROUGH
DRAINAGE FROM SURROUNDING MINERAL SOILS AND FROM GROUNDWATER
MOVEMENT
Fen
-FENS DIFFER FROM BOGS BECAUSE THEY ARE LESS ACIDIC AND HAVE HIGHER
NUTRIENT LEVELS
WETLAND DESTRUCTION
1.
ONE PERCENT OF THE NATION’S WETLANDS ARE LOST
EVERY TWO YEARS, 95% ARE FRESHWATER WETLANDS
2.
OVER 200 YEARS 50% OF THE WETLAND OF THE US HAVE
DISAPPEARED B DRAINING AND/OR DAMMING.
3.
PERHAPS AS MUCH AS 90% OF FRESHWATER WETLANDS
ARE GONE.
Mining
development
Wetland Restoration
1. The National Environmental Protection
Act of 1969 states that if a wetland is
destroyed in a particular project, the
developer must create an additional
wetland at another siteWas is this not a simple as stated?
WETLANDS LAB
WHY ARE WETLANDS IMPORTANT AND HOW ARE THEY BEING DESTROYED?
WATER TREATMENT PROCESS
WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES
PRELIMINARY TREATMENT
• WASTEWATER FIRST GOES THROUGH A BAR SCREEN
WHICH REMOVES LARGE SOLID OBJECTS SUCH AS STICKS
AND RAGS.
• NEXT THE WASTEWATER ENTERS THE GRIT TANK WHICH
SEPARATES SAND, GRAVEL AND OTHER HEAVY MATERIALS.
• THESE SOLID SUBSTANCE ARE THEN DISPOSED OF AT A
LANDFILL OR RECYCLED.
PRIMARY TREATMENT
• SECOND STEP IN TREATMENT
• ALLOWS FOR PHYSICAL SEPARATION OF SOLIDS
AND GREASES IN A SETTLING TANK
• SETTLING TANK ALLOWS SOLIDS TO SEPARATE BASED
ON DENSITY
• SOLIDS SETTLE TO BOTTOM, GREASES FLOAT TO TOP
TO BE EASILY REMOVED
WATER TREATMENT CONTINUED…
SECONDARY TREATMENT
• THIS IS A BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT PROCESS THAT REMOVES
DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATERIAL FROM WASTEWATER.
• THE PARTIALLY TREATED WASTEWATER FROM THE SETTLING
TANK FLOWS INTO AN AERATION TANK.
• HERE IT IS MIXED WITH SOLIDS CONTAINING MICROORGANISMS THAT USE OXYGEN TO CONSUME THE
REMAINING ORGANIC MATTER IN THE WASTEWATER AS THEIR
FOOD SUPPLY.
• THE AERATION TANK USES AIR BUBBLES TO PROVIDE THE
MIXING AND THE OXYGEN, BOTH OF WHICH ARE NEEDED FOR
THE MICRO-ORGANISMS TO MULTIPLY.
FINAL TREATMENT
WASTEWATER THAT REMAINS IS DISINFECTED TO KILL HARMFUL
MICRO-ORGANISMS BEFORE BEING RELEASED INTO RECEIVING
WATERS. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MANY METHODS AVAILABLE
TO KILL THESE MICRO-ORGANISMS, CHLORINE AND
ULTRAVIOLET DISINFECTION ARE THE MOST WIDELY USED.
• DE CHLORINATION OCCURS IN THE FINAL WASTEWATER
TREATMENT STEP.
• FOLLOWING DISINFECTION AND DECHLORINATION, THE
TREATED WASTEWATER (NOW CALLED FINAL EFFLUENT) CAN BE
RETURNED TO THE RECEIVING WATERS FROM WHICH IT CAME.
(WATER BODY OR STREAM)
PROCESSING
•PRIMARY SOLIDS FROM THE PRIMARY SETTLING
TANK AND SECONDARY SOLIDS FROM THE
CLARIFIER ARE SENT TO THE DIGESTER.
•DURING THIS PROCESS, MICRO-ORGANISMS USE
THE ORGANIC MATERIAL PRESENT IN THE SOLIDS
AS A FOOD SOURCE AND CONVERT IT TO BYPRODUCTS SUCH AS METHANE GAS AND WATER.
DIGESTION RESULTS IN A 90% REDUCTION IN
PATHOGENS AND THE PRODUCTION OF A WET
SOIL-LIKE MATERIAL CALLED BIOSOLIDS THAT
CONTAIN 95-97% WATER.
•TO REMOVE SOME OF THIS WATER AND REDUCE
THE VOLUME, MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT SUCH AS
FILTER PRESSES OR CENTRIFUGES ARE USED TO
SQUEEZE WATER FROM THE BIOSOLIDS.
• THE BIOSOLIDS ARE THEN SENT TO LANDFILLS,
INCINERATED, OR BENEFICIALLY USED AS A
FERTILIZER OR SOIL AMENDMENT.
LAB
CLEANING POLLUTED WATER LAB
TIPS:
1.
REVIEW THE PROCESS OF WATER TREATMENT.
1.
2.
IN A JAR, OBTAIN 150ML OF POLLUTION WATER. WITH
MASKING TAPE, PLACE YOUR NAME ON THE JAR.
DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE COTTON, IT WILL ONLY ABSORB
ALL THE WATER.
2.
PLACE YOUR SUPPLIES INTO THE FUNNEL AND USE THE
FUNNEL TO HOLD THE MATERIALS AS WELL AS ALLOW THE
WATER TO FOLLOW THROUGH TO YOUR BEAKER.
3.
CREATE A DESIGN SIMILAR TO THE WATER TREATMENT
PROCESS.
3.
OBSERVE POSSIBLE MATERIALS FOR FILTRATION SYSTEM,
REMEMBER THAT ONLY 4 ITEMS CAN BE SELECTED
4.
DRAW AND LABEL DESIGN
5.
HAVE DESIGN APPROVED
4.
6.
BEGIN CONSTRUCTION AND TESTING OF FILTRATION
SYSTEM
IF BLEACH IS NEEDED FOR DECHLORINATION, USE DROPS
THEN TEST PH IMMEDIATELY.
5.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR GOAL IS TO GET YOUR POLLUTED
WATER AS SIMILAR TO TAP AS POSSIBLE USING SIMILAR
TECHNIQUES OF WATER TREATMENT.
6.
COMPLETE FINAL WATER TESTS AND RECORD ON DATA
TABLE.
7.
8.
AFTER WATER IS CLEANED, BEGIN FINAL TESTING OF THE
WATER TO OBSERVE SUCCESS OF YOUR DESIGN.
BE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST 20 ML OF WATER AFTER
FILTRATION FOR TESTING.
FULL FORMAL LAB REPORT WILL BE REQUIRED!
DO NOW:
1. WHICH COUNTRY USES THE MOST WATER IN THE WORLD?
UNITED STATES
2. WHAT IS LEADING USE OF OUR WATER IN THE US? SECOND?
AGRICULTURE
MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRY
3. WHAT, RELATING TO WATER, CAUSES UP TO 25MILLION DEATHS A YEAR
(THE RECENT TYPHOON WILL CAUSE THIS IN THE WEEKS AND MONTHS
TO COME)?
WATER BORNE DISEASES
COUNTRIES WATER USAGE OF THE WORLD
WATER USAGE
A. AGRICULTURE: FARMERS MUST USE WATER TO CROPS FOR
HUMANS, CROPS FOR LIVESTOCK AND WATER FOR
LIVESTOCK.
1500L (400 GALLONS) ARE NEED FOR 2.2LBS OF WHEAT!
Freshwater Uses
15,000L ARE NEEDED FOR 1 KILOGRAM OF BEEF FEED!
B.
INDUSTRY: ALL MANUFACTURING AND POWER PLANTS NEED
WATER FOR COOLING MACHINERY.
1 BOTTLE OF WATER REQUIRES TWICE AS MUCH WATER
TO MAKE IT THAN IT HOLDS!!
IT TAKES 1-2.2 GALLONS OF WATER FOR 1 GALLON OF
GASOLINE
Agriculture
Industry/electricity
Domestic
Other
C. DOMESTIC (YOU AND ME): BATHING, WASHING, TOILETS
AND COOKING.
THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD LEAKS (BROKEN PIPES AND
APPLIANCES) 36L (9.5 GALLONS) A DAY!
90% of its
volume was
used to grow
the very
“thirsty” crop
of cotton to
compete with
foreign
markets.
More than
600,000
fishing jobs
were lost.
THE ARAL SEA:
Once the 4th
largest
freshwater body,
the Aral Sea in
central Asia was
completely
destroyed for
agriculture.
1987
2007
Lake Hopatcong on Halloween 2013
PESTICIDES AND DETERGENTS LAB
USING FRESHWATER CONTINUED
77% of water usage for agriculture, industry and domestic use comes from lakes,
pond and rivers.
WATER DIVERSION
DAMN DAMS
• WATER DIVERSION IS THE PROCESSING OF MOVING
• DAMS ARE USED TO COMBAT TOO FAST FLOWING
WATER DISTANCES, USUALLY FOR DOMESTIC USE (ARID
OR SEASON CHANGES IN WATER FLOW AND ARE
REGIONS) AND AGRICULTURE.
MADE TO CREATE A STABLE SUPPLY OF WATER.
• COLORADO RIVER IS TAKEN FOR BOTH. IT IS IRRIGATED
FOR 500,000 ACRES OF CROPLAND AS WELL AS MAJOR • THERE ARE CURRENTLY OVER 80,000 DAMS IN THE US
CITIES SUCH AS LAS VEGAS, LA AND PHOENIX.
• HOWEVER, THIS DIVERSION HAS CAUSED THE
SURROUNDING SMALL TOWNS SUCH AS OWNS VALLEY,
MONO LAKE AND RURAL REGIONS OF S. CALIFORNIA
HAVE NOW BECOME DESERTS.
COSTS VS. BENEFITS OF DAMS
Costs:
Benefits:
Dams flood upstream ecosystems and drought downstream
ecosystems killing natural wildlife.
Clean power- hydroelectric power is inexpensive and produces
no emissions
Salmon and other fish’s migration patterns are completely
broken.
Reservoirs can create cropland in dryer regions.
Reservoir construction have caused approximately 40-80 million
people to relocated in a half century
Control seasonal flooding
Sediment cannot run its natural flow so land downstream is
malnourished and reservoirs are filling with silt.
Can improve shipping
Floods create productive farmland by depositing soil, without
this, farmland is deteriorating.
Some recreational activities can now exist where they could not
previously.
The risk of a dam leaking/breaking could kill millions.
Recreational activities such as kayaking, fishing, and white-water
rafting are lost.
WATER POLLUTION TERMINOLOGY
• POINT SOURCE POLLUTANTS- ARE OBSERVABLE
AND DISTINCT (AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIAL PIPES,
AND CONSTRUCTION SITES), NON-POINT IS
DISCRETE SOURCES SUCH AS URBAN RUNOFF,
STORM DRAINS AND HIGHWAYS.
• NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTANTS- UNIDENTIFIED
POLLUTANTS TO THAT EXACT CAUSE IS UNKNOWN,
SUCH AS, RUNOFF FROM HIGHWAYS, CITIES AND
DOMESTIC REGIONS, CHEMICALS FROM WASHING
CARS IN YOUR DRIVEWAY AND TRASH AND LITTER.
• EFFLUENT- THE DISCHARGE OF A POLLUTANT IN A
LIQUID FORM, OFTEN FROM A PIPE INTO A STREAM
OR RIVER.
• INFLUENT-POLLUTED WATER ENTERING A STREAM
OR RIVER
WATERBORNE DISEASES:
BIOLOGICAL POLLUTION
• WATER-BORNE DISEASES ARE ANY ILLNESS CAUSED BY DRINKING WATER
CONTAMINATED BY HUMAN OR ANIMAL FECES, WHICH CONTAIN
PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS
• AT LEAST 25 MILLION DEATHS EACH YEAR ARE BLAMED ON THESE DISEASES
• USUALLY CAUSED BY HUMAN WASTE
• TYPHOID
• CHOLERA
• BACTERIAL AND AMOEBIC DYSENTERY
• ENTERITIS
• POLIO
• HEPATITIS
• WHO ESTIMATES 805 OF ALL DISEASES IN
LESS-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES ARE CAUSED BY
INADEQUATE SANITATION.
• MORE THAN 2.5 BILLION PEOPLE IN THE
WORLD DO NOT HAVE SANITIZED WATER.
• IN 1993 IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, 50
PEOPLE DIED AND 400,000 BECAME ILL FROM
ECOLI IN THEIR DRINKING WATER.
DO NOW:
1. WHAT IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF BRAIN DISORDERS IN THE US?
HEAVY METALS- LEAD, CADINIUM, MERCURY (FROM ELECTRICITY, INDUSTRY AND
AGRICULTURE)
2. WHAT IS THE NEWLY DETERMINED PERCENTAGE OF NJ BEACHES THAT ARE BELOW EPA
STANDARDS?
100%
3. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST WATER POLLUTION PROBLEMS IN NJ?
1. NUTRIENT RUNOFF- EUTROPHICATION
2. SEWAGE
3. STROM DRAIN RUNOFF
4. 4. PCB’S AND HEAVY METALS FORM ELECTRICITY PLANTS
• SOME CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS CANNOT BE REMOVED
FROM OUR WATER.
• THE CHEMICALS BOND TO THE WATER AND MAKE IT
IMPOSSIBLE TO SEPARATE, LEAVING THE WATER
PERMANENTLY POLLUTED AND UNABLE E TO BE
INGESTED.
HEAVY METALS IN US WATERS:
• CURRENTLY, MERCURY, RELEASED FROM COAL
BURNING PLANTS, IS THE LARGEST PROBLEM FOR
NORTH AMERICAN LAKES AND RIVERS
• FISH FROM 260 US LADES FOUND LOW LEVELS OF
MERCURY IN EVERY FISH SAMPLED.
• HEAVY METALS INCLUDE, MERCURY, LEAD, CADMIUM, • 43% OF ALL STREAMS AND SURFACE WATER ARE
CONTAMINATED BY ACIDS AND METALS FROM MINE
TIN AND NICKEL.
DRAINAGE AS WELL.
• MERCURY IS A EXTREMELY REACTIVE AND TOXIC
ELEMENT.
• HIGH LEVELS CAN CAUSE; DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES,
MUSCLE WEAKNESS,, ATTACK THE NERVOUS
SYSTEMS, KIDNEYS AND BRAIN FUNCTION.
BIOMAGINIFICATION
THE ACCUMULATION OF TOXINS (MERCURY AND DDT) HIGHER UP THE FOOD CHAIN
YOUR DRINKING WATER LAB
WHICH DRINKABLE WATER IS HEALTHIEST AND WHICH IS BEST IN A
BLIND TASTE TEST?
THE FACTS: NEW JERSEY WATERS-AS OF 2011
• THE ONLY PLACE IN THE STATE WITH SAFE DRINKING AND SWIMMING WATER IS FLAT BROOK IN SUSSEX COUNTY, BY
PA
• OUT OF 951 WATERWAYS, ONLY 22 ARE CONSIDERED “HEALTHY”(2.3%)
• IN MONMOUTH COUNTY ALONE, 300,000 ACRES OF SEWAGE PIPES MUST BE REPLACED
• DEP IN US LAID OF 700 JOBS SINCE 2005 (21%)
• RAINFALL IN NJ HAS INCREASED BY 5% SINCE 1970’S, DUE TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE, CAUSING MORE
FLOODING STATEWIDE
• POPULATION IN NJ HAS RISEN FROM 1.6MILL IN 1970’S TO 8.8 IN 2011
• 1,127 SQUARE MILES OF FISHING AREAS ALONG COAST OF NJ WERE CLOSED DUE TO FECAL POLLUTION
• NO EATING OF NJ SHELLFISH, FISH AND MOLLUSKS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN (DUE TO PCB’S)
• IMPAIRED WATERWAYS INCLUDE:
• 95% LAKES AND RESERVOIRS
• 89% BAYS AND ESTUARIES
• 100% OCEAN AND COASTLINES
THE CAUSES TO NJ WATERWAY POLLUTION
1. PHOSPHORUS- NUTRIENT POLLUTION FROM FERTILIZER RUNOFF,
CAUSING EUTROPHICATION AND DEAD ZONE IN NJ WATERWAYS
• HOPATCONG LAKE- BEST WITH LITTLE PH.
• STONY BROOK MILLSTONE BAD
2. STORM DRAIN RUNOFF- TRASH AND ROAD POLLUTION GOES INTO
STORM DRAIN WHICH ALL LEAD TO A LARGE BODY OF WATER OR THE
OCEAN
3. PCB’S (“COUSIN” OF DDT) FROM COAL BURNING POWER PLANTS
• RARITAN RIVER- WORST FOR INDUSTRY ALONG THE SHORE
4. FECAL RUNOFF AND FECAL BACTERIA FROM OLD SEWAGE
TREATMENT PANTS (OVER-FLOW)
5. EUTROPHICATION- EXCESSIVE ALGAE GROWTH FROM
NUTRIENT/FERTILIZER RUNOFF
6. DEAD ZONES- THINGS DIES AND BACTERIA BREAK IT DOWN
CONSUMING ALL THE OXYGEN LEAVING AN ARE WITHOUT OXYGEN
AND LIFE
Cleaning surface water:
Managing storm water in your own backyard is important.
As an integral part of the watershed you live in, what you
do in your backyard makes a difference. Here are some
examples of what you can do at home:
1.Reduce impervious surfaces by using pavers or
bricks rather than concrete for a driveway or sidewalk.
2.Divert rain from paved surfaces onto grass to permit
gradual infiltration.
3.Landscape with the environment in mind. Choose
the appropriate plants, shrubs and trees for the soil in
your yard; don't select plants that need lots of
watering (which increases surface runoff), fertilizers or
pesticides.
4.Maintain your car properly so that motor oil, brake
linings, exhaust and other fluids don't contribute to
water pollution.
5.Keep storm water clean. Never dump litter, motor
oil, animal waste, or leaves into storm drains or catch
basins