Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as fish.

Categories
Point Source Pollution Point source water pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city storm drain. It can be monitored and controlled by a permit system. Nonpoint Source Pollution Point source water pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city storm drain. NPS pollution cannot be traced to a direct discharge point such as a wastewater treatment facility Major Sources of Water Pollution Water pollution is a major problem associated with the developing countries. It severely affects the lives of people. Industries The industries are mostly situated along the riverbanks for easy availability of water and also disposal of the wastes. But these wastes include various acids, alkalis, dyes and other chemicals. They change the pH of water The industrial wastes include toxic metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, etc, and other chemicals like the fluorides, ammonia, etc. Agriculture Modern methods of agriculture have resulted in use of fertilizers and pesticides (agro chemicals) to increase the yield of the crops. Most of them are synthetic and chemicals-based. These chemicals enter into the water bodies with the rain water flow and the ground water by seepage. The chemicals remain in the environment for a long time and can enter the food chain.

Effects of Water Pollution Eutrophication Eutrophication (Precisely hypertrophication) is the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system. Negative environmental effects include hypoxia, the depletion of oxygen in the water. Thermal pollution Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. The change in temperature decreases oxygen supply, and affects ecosystem composition. Elevated temperature typically decreases the level of dissolved oxygen in water. This can harm aquatic animals such as fish, amphibians and other aquatic organisms. Water Bloom Water bloom, dense aquatic population of microscopic photosynthetic organisms produced by an abundance of nutrient salts in surface water, coupled with adequate sunlight for photosynthesis. The microorganisms or the toxic substances that they release may discolor the water, deplete its oxygen content, poison aquatic animals and waterfowl, and irritate the skin and respiratory tract of humans. Biomagnification There are many pollutants like the DDT that are not bio-degradable. These accumulate in the organisms and cause serious health problems. The contamination of water with these pollutants results in their entry into the microscopic plants and animals. These organisms are fed upon by higher aquatic life like the fish. The fish in turn are fed upon by the land animals including man. Thus, the pollutant reaches the body of man. At each step in the food chain, the contaminant increases in quantity. This is because a fish feeds on large quantity of smaller plants and man eats fish. Epidemics Pollution of water by organic wastes is a major cause for occurrence of epidemics like cholera, gastroenteritis in India. The microorganisms causing these diseases enter the water bodies through the organic wastes. Acid Rain As discussed under air pollution, acid rain occurs due to the pollution of atmosphere and the pollutants coming down get mixed with water during rain. These waters also run into the water bodies where they cause a lot of damage due to the presence of acids. They cause change in pH of water and damage the aquatic life. Oil spill

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum.

Control of Water Pollution Sewage Treatment The sewage before being let into the water bodies must be purified. This is done in three steps as follows: Primary Treatment Primary treatment is designed to remove organic and inorganic solids by the physical processes of sedimentation and flotation. Primary treatment devices reduce the velocity and disperse the flow of wastewater Secondary Treatment Secondary wastewater treatment is the second stage of wastewater treatment that takes place after the primary treatment process. The process consists of removing or reducing contaminants or growths that are left in the wastewater from the primary treatment process Tertiary Treatment This step removes the inorganic pollutants like the nitrates, phosphates, detergents, metal ions, etc. by passing the water through activated charcoal that acts as a filter. Effluent Treatment The industrial wastes should be treated before being let into the water bodies. The toxic materials should be removed, the metallic compounds should be precipitated, the acids and alkalis should be neutralized and the temperature of the hot waters should be reduced. Public Awareness The public should be made aware of the dangers of water pollution. This will ensure that the water bodies are not contaminated and are maintained clean.

CASE STUDY

The Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

The Company BP who owns the Oil were offshore drilling in the Gulf Of Mexico on April 20, 2010, but didnt fully put the safety cap on correctly to keep the oil underground so all of the pressure from the oil underground exploded the cap. An oil rig named Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. Eleven people working there died. The explosion caused oil to begin leaking out. It leaked for 87 days. They are estimating that 500,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of oil is gushing into the Gulf of Mexico each day, killing coral reefs, fish, and all animal life and also making it extremely deadly to be near the ocean An oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, located 40 miles from the Louisiana coast exploded on April 20th. This explosion left eleven people dead and copious amounts of crude oil and natural gas flowing into the Gulf of Mexico from a deep-water well. Today, the oil and gas mixture continues to stream into the Gulf. The amount from several leaks range anywhere from BPs estimate of less than 5,000 barrels a day to Steve Wereleys (a scientist from Purdue) estimate of less than 100,000 barrels a day. Steve analyzed underwater provided by BP to arrive at his estimate. Most people in the United States use oil for daily activities such as driving or heating. And oil is used for many industrial processes. Background Deepwater Horizon drilling rig The Deepwater Horizon was a 9-year-old semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, a massive floating; dynamically positioned drilling rig that could operate in waters up to 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep and drill down to 30,000 feet (9,100 m).The rig was built by South Korean company Hyundai Heavy Industries. It was owned by Transocean, operated under the Marshallese flag of convenience, and was under lease to BP from March 2008 to September 2013. At the time of the explosion, it was drilling an exploratory well at a water depth of approximately 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in the Macondo Prospect. Explosion At approximately 9:45 pm CDT, on 20 April 2010, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the drilling riser and was released onto the drilling rig, where it ignited and exploded, engulfing the drilling rig. Most of the workers escaped the rig by lifeboat and were subsequently evacuated by boat or

airlifted by helicopter for medical treatment; however, eleven workers were never found despite a threeday Coast Guard search operation, and are believed to have died in the explosion. Statistics Volume and extent of oil spill An oil leak was discovered on the afternoon of 22 April when a large oil slick began to spread at the former rig site. According to the Flow Rate Technical Group, the leak amounted to about 4.9 million barrels (780,000 m3) of oil, exceeding the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill as the largest ever to originate in U.S.-controlled waters and the 1979 Ixtoc I oil spill as the largest spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Spill flow rate In its permit to drill the well, BP estimated the worst case flow at 162,000 barrels per day (25,800 m3/d). Immediately after the explosion, BP and the United States Coast Guard did not estimate any oil leaking from the sunken rig or from the well. The final estimate reported that 53,000 barrels per day (8,400 m3/d) were escaping from the well just before it was capped on 15 July. It is believed that the daily flow rate diminished over time, starting at about 62,000 barrels per day (9,900 m3/d) and decreasing as the reservoir of hydrocarbons feeding the gusher was gradually depleted. Spill area and thickness The oil's spread was initially increased by strong southerly winds caused by an impending cold front. By 25 April 2010, the oil spill covered 580 square miles (1,500 km) and was only 31 miles (50 km) from the ecologically sensitive Chandeleur Islands. On 30 April 2010, estimate placed the total spread of the oil at 3,850 square miles (10,000 km). Oil on seafloor Findings of a substantial layer of oily sediment stretching for dozens of miles in all directions suggesting that a lot of oil did not evaporate or dissipate but may have settled to the seafloor. The layers of oily material covering the bottom of the seafloor, in some places more than 2 inches (51 mm) thick on top of normal sediments containing dead shrimp and other organisms.

Efforts to protect the coastline and marine environments

Containment An oil containment boom deployed by the U.S. Navy surrounds New Harbor Island, Louisiana. The response included deploying many miles of containment boom, whose purpose is to either corral the oil, or to block it from a marsh, mangrove, shrimp/crab/oyster ranch or other ecologically sensitive areas. Booms extend 1848 inches (0.461.2 m) above and below the water surface and are effective only in relatively calm and slow-moving waters. Dispersal Spilled oil naturally disperses through storms, currents, and osmosis with the passage of time. Chemical dispersants accelerate the dispersal process, although they may have significant side-effects. Corexit EC9500A and Corexit EC9527A have been the principal dispersants employed. These contain propylene glycol, 2-butoxyethanol, and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate. Use of dispersants deep under water Some 1,100,000 US gallons (4,200 m3) of chemical dispersants were sprayed at the wellhead 5,000 feet (1,500 m) under the sea. This had never previously been tried but due to the unprecedented nature of this spill, BP along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency decided to use "the first sub sea injection of dispersant directly into oil at the source". Removal The three basic approaches for removing the oil from the water were burning the oil, filtering offshore, and collecting for later processing. On 28 April, the US Coast Guard announced plans to corral and burn off up to 1,000 barrels (160 m3) of oil each day. It tested how much environmental damage a small, controlled burn of 100 barrels (16 m3) did to surrounding wetlands, but could not proceed with an open ocean burn due to poor conditions.

Impacts

Ecology The spill is the "worst environmental disaster the US has faced. Factors such as petroleum toxicity, oxygen depletion and the use of Corexit dispersant are expected to be the main causes of damage. Eight U.S. national parks were threatened and more than 400 species that live in the Gulf islands and marshlands were at risk, including the endangered Kemp's Ridley turtle, the Green Turtle, the Loggerhead Turtle, the Hawksbill Turtle, and the Leatherback Turtle. In the national refuges most at risk, about 34,000 birds were counted, including gulls, pelicans, roseate spoonbills, egrets, terns, and blue herons. Mutations "Disturbing numbers" of mutated fish are appearing in the Gulf. Scientists and fishermen are pointing to the BP oil spill, the dispersants and chemicals used in its cleanup as the cause of these deformities which include shrimp born without eyes, fish with lesions, and fish with oozing sores. Prior to the spill, only 1/10 of 1 percent of Gulf fish had lesions or sores. Today, many locations showed between 20 and 50 percent of fish with lesions, according to the University of South Florida. Fisheries Scientists say the figures are for just one year and they cannot say whether there has been a long-term disruption to the marine food chain. Crab, shrimp, and oyster fishing operations have not yet recovered from the oil spill and many fear that the Gulf seafood industry will never recover. One Mississippi shrimper who was interviewed said he used to get 8,000 pounds of shrimp in four days, but this year he got only 800 pounds a week. Mississippi's oyster reefs have been closed since the spill started. Wetlands The region is home to a number of coastal wetland areas that play a vital role in supporting migratory species. Favorable weather conditions and a prompt response from official agencies prevented the worstcase scenario being realized. However, oil still managed to penetrate a number of marshlands and wildlife havens and affected hundreds of miles of coastal areas. Shoreline affected Oil began washing ashore in June 2010 and went on to affect hundreds of miles of coastline along the Gulf States from Florida to Louisiana. Favorable weather condition kept the oil offshore in the initial few weeks of the spill. This gave the authorities time to put defensive measures in place, such as more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) of protective booms, to limit the volume of oil reaching land. Oil footprint At its largest extent, the spill covered thousands of square miles during the three months the well 1.5km (5,000ft) below the surface released crude oil into the Gulf. Of the estimated 4.9m barrels discharged,

800,000 barrels were recovered, the equivalent of 265,000 barrels was burned off the sea surface and 1.8m gallons of dispersants were used.

Birds Thousands of birds from more than 120 species were affected, with more than half dying as a result of being oiled. Among the most affected species was the brown pelican, possibly because of its habitat to dive into water to catch fish. Conservationists say it could have been much worse if agricultural land was not flooded to create alternative wetlands for migratory species.

Marine mammals A sharp increase in the number of bottlenose dolphin deaths following the incident has concerned scientists. Some researchers suggest the mortality rate could be up to 50 times higher than reported figures. In the first birthing season since the spill, data shows a spike in the number of dead young dolphins being washed ashore. The exact cause is unknown. Fisheries On the face of it, fish seem to be one of the "winners" because large parts of the Gulf were closed to fishing. Surveys recording surprising increases, such a 400% increase in sharks and a rise of up to 200% of small fin-fish and shrimps. However, scientists say the figures are for just one year and they cannot say whether there has been a long-term disruption to the marine food chain. Coral Gulf of Mexico is home to some of the northernmost tropical reefs, and it is difficult at this stage to assess what impact the oil has had on the fragile ecosystem. Conservationists warn that if a reef has been

completely coated in oil, then it is probable that the slow-growing coral, which can take centuries to become established, will have died. Tourism Although many people cancelled their vacations due to the spill, hotels close to the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama reported dramatic increases in business during the first half of May 2010.

References:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. wikipedia.com Scribd.com bbc.co.uk washingtonpost.com britannica.com waterpollution.org.uk