Science BC 8 12.3

Water Quality and Its Effects on Living ThingsBY: CATHY CHENG

DIV. 7

Introduction• Humans always use rivers and oceans or some

water sources as dumping grounds wastes. That’s why we got lots of polluted water sources.

• Water is renewable, it can be recycled. But we use water so much and so fast so the water in the world is reducing fast.

• Learn the problems of water reducing and find the drinkable water and make it drinkable.

(Continued) Colorado River

Sources of Pollution

• Pollution refers to any of numerous types of harmful materials that are released into the environment through natural or human activities.

• What can become polluted: air, soil and water.• Pollution can be caused directly which called

point source, indirectly which called non-point source.

Point Sources

• Point sources come from a small and specific area. For example, a landfill leak or a factory pumping dirty water into the rivers, etc.

• It’s easy to identify because the materials can be traced to the source.

• Other point sources include oil spills, underground storage containers for gas stations, sewage systems, and waste water treatment plants=simple to recognize and control.

(Continued) Point Sources

Non-Point Sources

• One example: the shiny dark area runs down the middle of the road is the oil has leaked from the cars or trucks. Then rain will washed it, some of the water go into the storm drains, but some of the polluted water go into the ocean. It’s a big problem, and it polluted lots of water in the world.

• Pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, animal wastes from parks and farms, and run-off from city streets and driveways are also a problem.

(Continued) Non-Point Sources

• Non-Point sources are come from different areas, not just one.

• Some of the non-point sources are easy and simply, not a big trouble. But most of them take serious troubles and destroy our planet.

• Non-point source affected most important water= ground water.

(Continued) Non-Point Sources

The Effects of Water Pollution

• Everyone needs clean water, many factories also need lots of water. Humans have a greatest effect of water pollution. Chemical, physical and biological all can endanger the quality of the water.

• Oceans always are the best places for people to dump human wastes, such as old oil and garbage. Those wastes polluted the oceans very much and for a long time.

(Continued) The Effects of Water Pollution

• By laws, humans cannot dump any wastes into the oceans anymore, but many troubles still exist. Such as, plastics and various chemicals which the oceans still cannot decompose.

• Most pollution in the oceans are along where people live. The water are totally polluted, some polluted places if people eat seafood, they will ill or die.

(Continued) The Effects of Water Pollution

• What polluted the ocean most is bad oil. Most of those oil come from the people on the land doing regular maintenance on their cars. They spill and used engine down the drain. But those oil always go dumping into the ocean.

• Some of the oil come from freighters, tankers, and other ships.

Acid Precipitation(Pollution)

• Land is not the only source of pollution, also, some pollutants fall on/into the ocean by wind.

• How Acid Precipitation happened: nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide get into the atmosphere, chemicals combine with water in the atmosphere to form sulfuric andsulfurous acid, and nitric and nitrous acid. This fall on the ocean is Acid Precipitation.

(Continued) Acid Precipitation

(Continued) Acid Precipitation

• Water supplies come from rainwater.• Rainwater is slightly acid.• Bacteria and decomposing plant and animal

matter are other major contributors to acid levels.

• Acid Precipitation problem: it increases acidity to higher than normal.

• Acid Precipitation can kill animals and plants.

Acidity

• The strength of acid is measured on a 14-point “pH” scale, which indicates how acidic or basic (alkaline) a substance is.

Electricity & Acid Precipitation

• Electricity produced by using running water to generate power in British Columbia.

• Electricity produced from coal-burning power plants in United States and eastern Canada.

Air Pollution & Acid Precipitation

• Gases form acid precipitation is one of the toxic materials that carried by air pollution.

• Heavy metals (elements such as lead, arsenic, and mercury) also reach the atmosphere=make their way to go into the ocean.

Let us to save our lovely planet! Wake up, people!!!