Clean Water Act 1972

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Clean Water Act(1972)

• Surface water pollution control

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Resulted from the following incidents

• Cuyahoga River catching fire (several times)
• Love Canal
• President Richard Nixon signed the
  Environmental Protection Act (created the EPA)
  into law in January, 1970.  The Clean Water Act
  passed three years later in 1972. 

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Poor quality of water bodies in general

• NY- Mahattens East site discharged 300 million
  gallons of raw sewage into the Hudson river PER
  DAY
• Fox River- Discovery of PCB contamination
• In Washington D.C., Fecal coliforms (evidence of
  fecal matter) 4000x the safe level

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Goals

• 1. It is the national goal that the discharge of
  pollutants into the navigable waters be
  eliminated by 1985.

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Goals

• 2. It is the national goal that, wherever
  attainable, an interim goal of water quality
  which provides for the protection and propagation
  of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for
  recreation in and on the water be achieved by
  July 1, 1983.

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Goals

• 3. It is the national policy that the discharge
  of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts be
  prohibited.

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Types of pollutants

• Biodegradable
• - sewage
• - fertilizers, detergents
• Nonbiodegradable
• - pesticides
• - PCBs (polychlorinatedbiphenyls)
• - mine wastes
• - road salts
• - metals
• - sediments
• Radioactive- from nuclear powerplants, medical
  and scientific facilities
• Heat/Thermal- electricity generation

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How sewage, detergent, and fertilizers pollute
waterways
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How it happens

• Pollutants enter water body.
• Aquatic organisms multiply quickly
• Use up lots of dissolved oxygen

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How it happens cont.

• 4. Some organisms die (trout, salmon) others
  flourish (carp, algae, water worms)
• 5. Decay microorganisms eat dead stuff. Use the
  rest of the D.O.
• 6. Anaerobic bacteria take over. Release
  hydrogen sulfide gas. Water body smells like
  rotten eggs.

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Evidence Polluted water algae, types of fish
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Did it work?Results

• Reduced POINT SOURCE pollution.
• Municipalities no longer dump raw sewage into
  waterways
• Point source pollution ?

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This isnt happening
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This isnt happeningin the US
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Results- USGS sampling (1999/2000)

• Tested (139 streams in 30 states) for 95
  different pharmaceuticals and household chemicals
  (steroids, insect repellents, birth control
  drugs, caffeine, antibiotics and fire
  retardants.
• Found at least one chemical on their list in 80
  of streams
• An average of 7 chemicals
• Maximum of 38

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Did it work?Results- 2000 EPA Report

• NOT meeting the standards of the Clean Water
  Act
• 40 of streams
• 45 of lakes
• 50 of estuaries

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Did it work?Results- 2004 EPA Report

• 25 of rivers and 33 of lakes contain fish
  that are contaminated with mercury, dioxins, and
  PCBs at levels dangerous for human consumption.

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In our area
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Testing the stream- parameters

• Tests done at stream
• Turbidity (amount of sediment)- turbidity tube
• Dissolved Oxygen- probe
• Temperature change- thermometer
• Tests done in classroom-collect sample
• Fecal Coliforms
• Phosphates (detergents, fertilizers)
• Nitrates (fertilizers, manure)
• pH
• BOD
• Total Solids