Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Paraaque City Campus

ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
(WATER POLLUTION)
Submitted by:

AGAO, Kristian Paolo L.

ARANDA, Dale John C.
ARMENDAREZ, Krecia Joy
CAAS, Danica Jean D.
CRUZ, Ma. Sharifa Zavenia B.
FLORES, Tuesday C.
GALLO, Christian Gabriel M.
PAREJA, Fides Mae F.
REYES, Alexander Daxe F.
TACARDON, John Darwin R.

Submitted to:

Prof. John Paula F. Sotto, ECE, ECT

 WATER POLLUTION
I. WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION?

- Water pollution may be defined as the alteration in physical, chemical and biological
characteristics of water which may cause harmful effects on humans and aquatic life.
- Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies
(lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental
degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies
without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
- Water pollution is any chemical, biological or physical change in water quality that has a
harmful effect on living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses.

II. TWO CHIEF SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION:

1. POINT SOURCES - Point refer to the pollutants that belong to a single source. An
example of this would be emissions from factories into the water. 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.
2. NON-POINT SOURCES - Non Point on the other hand means pollutants emitted
from multiple sources. Contaminated water after rains that has travelled through several
regions may also be considered as a Non-point source of pollution. Nonpoint source
pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete
source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants
gathered from a large area. A common example is the leaching out of nitrogen
compounds from fertilized agricultural lands.

SPECIFIC CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION

1. Industrial waste: Industries produce huge amount of waste which contains toxic chemicals
and pollutants which can cause air pollution and damage to us and our environment. They
contain pollutants such as lead, mercury, sulphur, asbestos, nitrates and many other harmful
chemicals. Many industries do not have proper waste management system and drain the waste in
the fresh water which goes into rivers, canals and later in to sea. The toxic chemicals have the
capability to change the colour of water, increase the amount of minerals, also known as
Eutrophication, change the temperature of water and pose serious hazard to water organisms.

2. Sewage and waste water: The sewage and waste water that is produced by each household is
chemically treated and released in to sea with fresh water. The sewage water carries harmful
bacteria and chemicals that can cause serious health problems. Pathogens are known as a
common water pollutant; The sewers of cities house several pathogens and thereby diseases.
Microorganisms in water are known to be causes of some very deadly diseases and become the
breeding grounds for other creatures that act like carriers. These carriers inflict these diseases via
various forms of contact onto an individual. A very common example of this process would be
Malaria.

3. Mining activities: Mining is the process of crushing the rock and extracting coal and other
minerals from underground. These elements when extracted in the raw form contains harmful
chemicals and can increase the amount of toxic elements when mixed up with water which may
result in health problems. Mining activities emit several metal waste and sulphides from the
rocks and is harmful for the water.

4. Marine dumping: The garbage produce by each household in the form of paper, aluminum,
rubber, glass, plastic, food if collected and deposited into the sea in some countries. These items
take from 2 weeks to 200 years to decompose. When such items enter the sea, they not only
cause water pollution but also harm animals in the sea.

5. Accidental Oil leakage: Oil spill pose a huge concern as large amount of oil enters into the
sea and does not dissolve with water; there by opens problem for local marine wildlife such as
fish, birds and sea otters. For e.g.: a ship carrying large quantity of oil may spill oil if met with an
accident and can cause varying damage to species in the ocean depending on the quantity of oil
spill, size of ocean, toxicity of pollutant.

6. Burning of fossil fuels: Fossil fuels like coal and oil when burnt produce substantial amount
of ash in the atmosphere. The particles which contain toxic chemicals when mixed with water
vapor result in acid rain. Also, carbon dioxide is released from burning of fossil fuels which
result in global warming.

7. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used by farmers
to protect crops from insects and bacterias. They are useful for the plants growth. However, when
these chemicals are mixed up with water produce harmful for plants and animals. Also, when it
rains, the chemicals mixes up with rainwater and flow down into rivers and canals which pose
serious damages for aquatic animals.

8. Leakage from sewer lines: A small leakage from the sewer lines can contaminate the
underground water and make it unfit for the people to drink. Also, when not repaired on time, the
leaking water can come on to the surface and become a breeding ground for insects
and mosquitoes.
9. Global warming: An increase in earths temperature due to greenhouse effect results in global
warming. It increases the water temperature and result in death of aquatic animals and marine
species which later results in water pollution.

10. Radioactive waste: Nuclear energy is produced using nuclear fission or fusion. The element
that is used in production of nuclear energy is Uranium which is highly toxic chemical. The
nuclear waste that is produced by radioactive material needs to be disposed off to prevent any
nuclear accident. Nuclear waste can have serious environmental hazards if not disposed off
properly. Few major accidents have already taken place in Russia and Japan.

11. Urban development: As population has grown, so has the demand for housing, food and
cloth. As more cities and towns are developed, they have resulted in increased use of fertilizers to
produce more food, soil erosion due to deforestation, increase in construction activities,
inadequate sewer collection and treatment, landfills as more garbage is produced, increase in
chemicals from industries to produce more materials.

12. Leakage from the landfills: Landfills are nothing but huge pile of garbage that produces
awful smell and can be seen across the city. When it rains, the landfills may leak and the leaking
landfills can pollute the underground water with large variety of contaminants.

13. Animal waste: The waste produce produce by animals is washed away into the rivers when it
rains. It gets mixed up with other harmful chemicals and causes various water borne diseases like
cholera, diarrhea, jaundice, dysentery and typhoid.

14. Underground storage leakage: Transportation of coal and other petroleum products through
underground pipes is well known. Accidentals leakage may happen anytime and may cause
damage to environment and result in soil erosion.

ORGANIC, INORGANIC AND MACROSCOPIC CONTAMINANTS

Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances.

Organic water pollutants include:

Detergents

Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such as

chloroform

Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats and grease
 Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical
compounds

Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and
lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from storm water runoff[18]

Volatile organic compounds, such as industrial solvents, from improper storage.

Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids, may fall to the bottom
of reservoirs, since they don't mix well with water and are denser.

-Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)

-Trichloroethylene

Perchlorate

Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products

Drug pollution involving pharmaceutical drugs and their metabolites

Inorganic water pollutants include:

Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)

Ammonia from food processing waste

Chemical waste as industrial by-products

Fertilizers containing nutrients--nitrates and phosphateswhich are found in storm water

runoff from agriculture, as well as commercial and residential use[18]

Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban storm water runoff)[18][19] and acid mine
drainage

Secretion of creosote preservative into the aquatic ecosystem

Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land
clearing sites.

Macroscopic pollution large visible items polluting the water may be termed "floatables" in
an urban storm water context, or marine debris when found on the open seas, and can include
such items as:
 Trash or garbage (e.g. paper, plastic, or food waste) discarded by people on the ground,
along with accidental or intentional dumping of rubbish, that are washed by rainfall into
storm drains and eventually discharged into surface waters

Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets

Shipwrecks, large derelict ships.

III. EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

1. Human Health
We all drink water that comes from a source: this may be a lake or local river. In
countries that have poor screening and purification practices, people often get water-
borne disease outbreaks such as cholera and tuberculosis. Every year, there are an
estimated 35 million cholera cases and 100,000120,000 deaths due to cholera. (WHO
estimates that only 510% of cases are officially reported.)
In developed countries, even where there are better purification methods, people still
suffer from the health effects of water pollution. Take toxins emitted by algae growth for
instance: this can cause stomach aches and rashes. Excess nitrogen in drinking water also
pose serious risks to infants. EPAs 2010 National Lakes Assessment found that almost 20
percent of the nations lakes have high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. The
report also showed that poor lake conditions related to nitrogen or phosphorus pollution
doubled the likelihood of poor ecosystem health.
2. Ecosystems
Nutrient pollution from upstream (creeks and streams) often flow downhill and even
travel miles into other larger water bodies. The effect is that, it breeds algae growth and
causes the growth of many more water organism. This algae attack affects fish and other
aquatic animals by absorbing and reducing their oxygen supply. Algae growth also clogs
fish gills. Naturally, the order of ecosystems in that water is affected negatively, as the
destruction or introduction of any foreign organism alter the entire food chain in there.
3. Death of animals
Animals, including water animals die when water is poisoned for various reasons. Other
animals are stressed and their populations are endangered. In a classic case of marine
pollution in recent time, 16000 miles of a US coastline was affected by an oil spill. That
water pollution caused a lot of damage and deaths of many animals. Over 8,000 animals
(birds, turtles, mammals) were reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including many
that are already on the endangered species list. Immediate impact on the wildlife includes
oil-coated birds and sea turtles, mammal ingestion of oil, and dead or dying deep sea
coral. Animals are also affected by solid waste thrown into water bodies, as they harm
them in many ways
4. Economic cost
from the above it is evident that there is some real financial implications that will result
from water pollution. It can cost a lot more to purify drinking water that takes its source
 from nutrient polluted water bodies. Fishing stock is affected negatively when there is a
depletion of oxygen. Consumers are also weary of fish from these sources and tend to
stay away from them, costing fisheries to lose revenue. In places where there are water
activities or sports, lots of money is spent to clean up the water from algae blooms and
the like. The U.S. tourism industry loses close to $1 billion each year, mostly from losses
in fishing and recreational activities because of nutrient-polluted water bodies. In
Mississippi alone, tourism in the three counties that border the Gulf Coast accounts for
about $1.6 billion in visitor expenditures, 32 percent of state travel and tourism tax
revenues, and 24,000 direct jobs.

IV. SOLUTIONS FOR WATER POLLUTION

Control measures of water pollution

1. Administration of water pollution control should be in the hands of state or central

government

2. Scientific techniques should be adopted for environmental control of catchment areas of

rivers, ponds or streams

3. Industrial plants should be based on recycling operations as it helps prevent disposal of

wastes into natural waters but also extraction of products from waste.

4. Plants, trees and forests control pollution as they act as natural air conditioners.

5. Trees are capable of reducing sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide pollutants and hence more
trees should be planted.

6. No type of waste (treated, partially treated or untreated) should be discharged into any
natural water body. Industries should develop closed loop water supply schemes and
domestic sewage must be used for irrigation.

7. Qualified and experienced people must be consulted from time to time for effective
control of water pollution.

8. Public awareness must be initiated regarding adverse effects of water pollution using the
media.

9. Laws, standards and practices should be established to prevent water pollution and these
laws should be modified from time to time based on current requirements and
technological advancements.

10. Basic and applied research in public health engineering should be encouraged.

5 SOLUTIONS TO WATER POLLUTION

1. Proper Sewage Treatment

Most urban regions around the world are served by domestic sewer systems that collect sewer
waste to a central collection point for treatment after which it is emptied into lakes, rivers or
oceans to undergo biological breakdown.

In the developed worlds, the treatment processes have been perfected through well engineered
operated systems. However, the systems only clean about 90% of the sewage pollutant load.

In some developing countries and poor regions, sewage is dumped directly into water bodies
minus undergoing any form of treatment or cleaning. Some urban areas also have sewer
overflows while some have leaking sewer systems that directly discharge the contents into water
sources. Employment of the following approaches can help ameliorate sewage waste water
pollution.

As a way of reducing the pollution load to zero, there is a need for the more advanced
engineered cleaning process. Some developed worlds have sewage treatment plants with
extra systems for eliminating pathogens and nutrients. Other regions should emulate this
strategy to reduce sewage pollutant loads to zero.

Continued maintenance including replacement and repair of leaking and faulty sewage
processing infrastructure.

Reducing the hydraulic overload by increasing the volume carriage capacity of the
sewage at the central collection point.

Sewage management should also incorporate treatment and cleaning of storm water
runoff that contains various contaminants, a commonly neglected aspect in developing
and some developed nations.

Domestic household septic tanks should ensure on-site pre-treatment of the waste water
before it infiltrates into the soil.

2. Green Agricultural Practices

Agricultural production practices qualify as massive causal agents for water pollution. Sediments
are washed off from agricultural lands into lakes, rivers, and oceans causing silt depositions.
Farmers can utilize erosion and sediment control methods to limit runoff currents and hold back
the soils on their farms.

Green agricultural practice techniques like crop rotation, mulching, planting perennial crops,
contour plowing, and installing silt fences can minimize the effects. Commercial fertilizers and
animal manure applied to agricultural lands contain nitrates and phosphates that are washed off
into water bodies. Likewise, pesticides and herbicides have chemical contaminants that are
washed into the lakes, rivers, and oceans by storm water.

Farmers can formulate and put into practice nutrient management plans to curtail excess
nutrients application thereby reducing the potential for phosphates and nitrates pollution. The
impacts of pesticides and herbicides application can be managed by using integrated pest
management (IPM) techniques such as biological pest control to control pests and minimize
dependence on chemical pesticides.

3. Industrial Waste Water Treatment

Industrial facilities generate loads of wastewater containing high concentrations of conventional

water pollutants like oil, petroleum hydrocarbons, toxic chemical compounds, heavy metals, and
other contaminants such as ammonia. Some power plants also release heated wastewater into
water bodies, interfering with the normal water temperatures.

Reducing the water pollution effects caused by industries thus, require well-designed treatment
and water cooling systems. As much as industries have these specialized waste treatment
systems, a good number of industries have poorly maintained systems and some entirely lack
quality treatment protocols. The installation of pre-treatment facilities and adoption of quality
waste treatment protocols can extensively help to eliminate the toxic contaminants.

Therefore, all manufacturing industries should assure they have a well-designed treatment
facility that can prevent water pollution by cooling, treating and removing all the toxic
components of the waste discharged into water bodies.

4. Anti-pollution Laws and Policies

Anti-pollution laws and regulations at local, state and international levels are perfect measures
for curtailing water pollution. Laws have always played an excellent role to ensure water
pollution levels are kept to the minimum. Environmental protection policies such as the Clean
Water Acts work to ensure that anti-pollution laws are effected and apply to all significant waters
including ground water.

Anti-pollution laws can as well establish measures that put restrictions for top water pollution
problems such as sewage and industrial waste treatments and garbage management. These laws
should be directed to marketplaces, industries, hospitals, schools, and the local councils.

5. Individual Efforts and Educative Campaigns

There are immeasurable ways individuals and groups can take initiative or educate people on the
dangers of water pollution. It is always a great starting point as a means of fighting the wider
causes of water pollution. Individuals and groups aware of the dangers of water pollution can
educate family, friends, and even the society as a whole through joint campaigns and advocacy.
Examples include the use of media, institutions, and online educative forums. Educative topics
can include:

The need to use waste bins by never throwing rubbish into riversides, beaches or water
bodies.

Wise use of water can also reduce the amount of wastewater that will require treatment.

Avoiding throwing of oils, paints, chemicals and medicines in sink drain or toilet can as
well contribute to reducing the dangers of water pollution. Waste consumer products and
utilities such as drugs, battery cells, and other chemical wastes can be disposed at
designated disposal points where the relevant authorities can collect and dispose them
effectively.

Use of more environmentally friendly consumer products at home and in public places
can also considerably relieve the pollution burden.