Environmental Pollution Study Guide
Where do you look when you want to know where pollutants in a lake are coming from?
-The watershed and what is going on inside it (watershed approach)
What does the Clean Water Act primarily deal with?
- point source pollution
The Clean Water Act regulates what three categories?
- Conventional
- Non conventional
- Toxic
What are the conventional pollutants?
- The more common, ubiquitous in the environment that are typically in larger quantities
What are the Non conventional pollutants? Examples?
- less common. Examples: NH4, salt, heat, colors, Al, phenols
What is the largest category of pollutants?
- Conventional
What are the 6 categories of conventional pollutants?
- Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, Nutrients, oil and grease, pathogenic microorganisms
What is biochemical oxygen demand?
- The amount of oxygen microorganisms need to break down the organic matter in the water (this is why they aerate the tanks at the wastewater treatment plant)
What happens in the water if the organic matter goes up?
- The oxygen is going to go down, and organisms are going to start to die.
Where does excessive organic matter come from in water?
- Animal waste, algal blooms (when they die), wastewater treatment plant overflow, food and paper processing, a fish kill.
Generally what are suspended solids?
- Soil
What is the primary source of suspended solids?
- Agricultural erosion and street runoff.
What nutrients are the most common water pollutants and what is the biggest source?
- Nitrogen and phosphorus, and agricultural runoff.
What are pathogenic microorganisms?
- The things that are going to make us sick
What is the primary source of pathogenic microorganisms?
- Animal waste; septic, sewage, livestock
What are the two types of sewage systems?
- Combined and Separated
What is a combined sewage system?
- Street runoff, businesses, and household waste goes to the same treatment plant.
What
-The watershed and what is going on inside it (watershed approach)
What does the Clean Water Act primarily deal with?
- point source pollution
The Clean Water Act regulates what three categories?
- Conventional
- Non conventional
- Toxic
What are the conventional pollutants?
- The more common, ubiquitous in the environment that are typically in larger quantities
What are the Non conventional pollutants? Examples?
- less common. Examples: NH4, salt, heat, colors, Al, phenols
What is the largest category of pollutants?
- Conventional
What are the 6 categories of conventional pollutants?
- Biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, pH, Nutrients, oil and grease, pathogenic microorganisms
What is biochemical oxygen demand?
- The amount of oxygen microorganisms need to break down the organic matter in the water (this is why they aerate the tanks at the wastewater treatment plant)
What happens in the water if the organic matter goes up?
- The oxygen is going to go down, and organisms are going to start to die.
Where does excessive organic matter come from in water?
- Animal waste, algal blooms (when they die), wastewater treatment plant overflow, food and paper processing, a fish kill.
Generally what are suspended solids?
- Soil
What is the primary source of suspended solids?
- Agricultural erosion and street runoff.
What nutrients are the most common water pollutants and what is the biggest source?
- Nitrogen and phosphorus, and agricultural runoff.
What are pathogenic microorganisms?
- The things that are going to make us sick
What is the primary source of pathogenic microorganisms?
- Animal waste; septic, sewage, livestock
What are the two types of sewage systems?
- Combined and Separated
What is a combined sewage system?
- Street runoff, businesses, and household waste goes to the same treatment plant.
What