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Great Lakes

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Great Lakes
Karen Gassler
ENG 115
Professor Evans
June 3rd, 2013
Week 7 assignment 3.2 Revised Version

The North American great lakes including Lake Erie, Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Ontario. Lake Huron is the 3rd largest lake out of all five of them. It measures at 850 cubic meters of water; it extends to about 3,827 miles, measures at 206 miles across, and about 183 miles north to south. The average water depth in this huge lake is 195 ft. These lakes are the largest fresh water supply and home to many of the world’s wildlife. For several years the Great Lakes have served as a dumping ground for many harmful pollutants. Damage from drain pipes and industrial waste produce harmful conditions for the fish, wildlife, and humans dwelling in the surrounding area of the region. Countless people wouldn’t believe so because this is a second home place to many, many families and they travel to this area for their summer vacations. As people travel to the Great Lakes, perhaps they can all see the true of how mistreated these stunning lakes are.
The first major source of pollution comes from point source pollution. Point source pollution is simply a direct source of pollution such as a pipe or other vessels. Earlier age industrial companies, such as pulp and paper were located right on the outskirts of the Great Lakes. They were dumping tons of waste including mercury into the water. Some of this polluting was done involuntarily with the malfunctioning of these pipes or vessels. However, some of this pollution was intentional from them thinking that anything would dissolve in the waters and “neutralize”.
Pathogens are another source of pollution to the Great Lakes. Pathogens refer to bacterial organisms found in the intestinal tracts of mammals. Nutrient sources include municipal wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, and agricultural runoffs. There are three major areas which are Saginaw Bay, Severn Sound, and the southeastern shore of Lake Huron Basin. Pathogens

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