Water Pollution: Strategies For Prevention And Control

Water pollution is a pressing issue that poses a serious risk to human health and the environment. With billions of people worldwide relying on contaminated water sources, it is essential to address water pollution and its detrimental effects. Water quality testing plays a crucial role in identifying harmful contaminants and ensuring safe drinking water. Various parameters, including physical, biological, and chemical characteristics, are assessed to determine water quality and safeguard public health. To combat water pollution, organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have implemented standards and regulations, such as the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, to protect natural water sources and provide clean drinking water to communities. However, continuous monitoring and improvement are necessary to mitigate the harmful impacts of water pollution on human health and the ecosystem.

Regular water quality testing

Consistent and frequent water quality testing should encompass both drinking water and natural water sources, including streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. This comprehensive approach helps address the diverse range of water usage and potential contamination sources. By regularly testing water quality, we can detect the presence of harmful pollutants, identify their sources, and implement timely corrective actions.

The physical parameters assessed in water quality testing include turbidity, temperature, colour, taste, odour, solids content, and electrical conductivity. Turbidity, or the cloudiness of water, can indicate the presence of harmful microbes and facilitate the absorption of heavy metals. Temperature influences water palatability, solubility, oxygen levels for aquatic life, and chemical reaction rates. Changes in colour, taste, and odour can signify extremely unsafe levels of contaminants. Solids in water are differentiated through filter tests, distinguishing between dissolved and suspended solids. Electrical conductivity is particularly relevant for water used in irrigation or firefighting.

Biological parameters are also crucial in water quality testing, focusing on bacteria, viruses, algae, and protozoa. Bacteria such as E. coli, salmonella, cholera, leptospirosis, and typhoid fever pose significant health risks, requiring treatment or boiling of water. Viruses like hepatitis demand disinfection processes at treatment plants due to their small size. Algae can impart an unpleasant taste and odour to drinking water, and certain types, like blue-green algae, are detrimental to human health. Protozoa like Cryptosporidium and Giardia are highly resilient and require frequent monitoring as they can survive disinfection.

Chemical parameters in water quality testing involve measuring various chemicals, including dissolved minerals, pH levels, chlorine, sulphate, nitrogen, fluoride, and toxic metals. Dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium impact water hardness. pH measurements ensure that the water's acidity or alkalinity falls within the acceptable range of 6.5–8.5. Chlorine and chloride are monitored due to their use in drinking water disinfection. Sulphate levels are important as they have a laxative effect. Nitrogen from fertilizers can contaminate water sources. While fluoride is added to protect tooth enamel, elevated levels can be dangerous. Toxic inorganic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic pose severe health risks.

Reducing harmful contaminants

Water quality testing is an essential tool in the fight against water pollution. By testing water sources, we can identify harmful contaminants and ensure that water is safe for human consumption and use. These tests are mandated by federal, state, regional, and municipal governments, with parameters set for different water sources, especially public drinking water.

The tests cover three main categories: physical, biological, and chemical. Physical parameters include turbidity (cloudiness), temperature, colour, taste, odour, solids content, and electrical conductivity. Biological parameters focus on bacteria, viruses, algae, and protozoa that can cause waterborne illnesses. Chemical parameters involve measuring the presence and levels of various chemicals, such as dissolved minerals, pH levels, chlorine, sulphate, nitrogen, fluoride, and toxic metals and organic substances.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays a crucial role in setting standards and regulations to protect water sources. The Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 were significant steps in addressing water pollution, with the latter providing clean public drinking water to over 92% of the population.

However, water contamination remains a pressing issue, with billions of people worldwide consuming water with harmful levels of contaminants. To combat this, consistent and frequent water quality testing is vital. This testing helps identify sources of pollution and enables the implementation of measures to stop them.

Individuals can also play a role in reducing harmful contaminants in water. For example, people can avoid using too much water when performing tasks such as watering the lawn or washing the car. Additionally, simple steps like capturing running tap water while waiting for it to heat up can help conserve water and reduce the demand on water treatment facilities.

Improving sewage treatment

Sewage treatment has improved significantly since the passage of the Clean Water Act, but there is still much room for enhancement. Here are some ways to improve sewage treatment:

Decentralise Treatment Systems

Many communities are opting to decentralise their treatment systems to improve efficiency, keep water local, and cut costs. Decentralisation can also help address the energy demands of transporting and treating sewage. Communities have found ways to generate, use, and sell energy during the treatment process, reducing the overall energy burden.

Address New Chemical Threats

The approval of new chemicals is a constant challenge for wastewater treatment plants, as they may not be equipped to remove all new chemicals from sewage. Pharmaceuticals, microbeads, caffeine, and other toxic contaminants are examples of chemicals that may not be effectively removed during the treatment process. It is important to continuously update treatment methods and technologies to address these emerging contaminants.

Increase Investment in Infrastructure

Underinvestment in sewage treatment infrastructure has led to a spending gap of over $100 billion over a 20-year period in the United States. Ageing infrastructure, coupled with sprawling development and climate change, has further strained treatment facilities. Increased investment is necessary to upgrade and maintain sewage treatment infrastructure to meet the demands of a growing population and changing environmental conditions.

Implement Nutrient Control Measures

Treatment standards for sewage treatment plants typically do not require the control of excess nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen. However, these nutrients can contribute to the creation of "dead zones" in aquatic ecosystems. Recognising this issue, some communities have made improvements in reducing nutrient levels in the sewage treatment process, even without widespread nutrient standards and permit limits.

Strengthen Permit Conditions

Even with standards and permits in place, permit conditions may not be protective enough, and many sewage treatment plants are found to be non-compliant. Additionally, some permits allow for the bypass of treatment facilities, further contributing to water pollution. Strengthening permit conditions and ensuring compliance can help reduce sewage pollution and protect the environment.

Explore Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions, such as constructed wetlands, can be an effective and sustainable approach to sewage treatment. Constructed wetlands are engineered systems that use natural biological technologies, incorporating wetland vegetation, soils, and microorganisms to remove contaminants from wastewater. This approach has been successfully implemented in various parts of the world, including the Dominican Republic and India, improving water quality and restoring wildlife habitats.

Monitoring for pollution sources

Water quality monitoring aims to provide the data required to safeguard the environment against adverse biological effects from multiple chemical contamination arising from anthropogenic diffuse emissions and point sources. Monitoring serves a range of purposes, from controlling chemical and ecological status compliance to safeguarding specific water uses, such as drinking water abstraction.

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a visionary piece of environmental legislation that strives to achieve good water status in Europe. However, the first and second rounds of European water monitoring efforts have shown that European water bodies have largely failed to achieve a good status.

The Global Environment Monitoring System for freshwater (GEMS/Water) provides the world community with sound data on freshwater quality to support scientific assessments and decision-making on the subject. GEMS/Water supports the Sustainable Development Goal for Water (SDG 6) with methodology support, data management, quality assurance, indicator calculation, and capacity development.

The following parameters are important for monitoring water quality:

• Physical parameters: Turbidity, temperature, colour, taste, odour, solids, and electrical conductivity.
• Biological parameters: Bacteria, viruses, algae, and protozoa.
• Chemical parameters: Dissolved minerals, pH, chloride, residual chlorine, sulfate, nitrogen, fluoride, iron, manganese, copper, zinc, dissolved oxygen, toxic inorganic metals (e.g. lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic), toxic organic substances (e.g. pesticides, detergents, herbicides, and disinfectants), and radioactive substances.

There are also Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technologies that can be used for monitoring physical and chemical water characteristics in remote areas at a lower cost and with reduced manpower requirements. These sensors can detect water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH in pre-programmed time intervals, and the data can be transmitted using wireless communication systems.

Water Quality Testing Parameters

Water quality testing parameters are divided into three categories: physical, biological, and chemical. These parameters ensure that drinking water is healthy and safe, and that other water sources are protected from toxic pollutants and potential biological contaminants. These tests also help identify sources of pollution and stop them.

Importance of Water Testing

Water testing is important because contamination of drinking water is a top public health issue worldwide. Billions of people drink, cook, and clean with water contaminated by harmful levels of physical, chemical, and/or biological contaminants. In the 1970s, there was tremendous concern over how badly the environment had been polluted throughout the industrial era. This led to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972, and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, which set standards and regulations to protect the environment and human health.

Water Pollutant Loading Tool

The Water Pollutant Loading Tool (Loading Tool) is a web-based tool that calculates and reports facility pollutant discharges based on NPDES permit limit and DMR data. The Water Pollution Search allows users to search for DMR or TRI pollutant discharges, and the results provide top-ten lists of the largest surface water discharges, prioritised by total mass and toxicity.

Enforcing regulations and standards

Water quality testing is an essential tool in checking and reducing water pollution. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 to create standards and regulations that would protect lands, waters, ecosystems and humans from the effects of pollution. The Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 were implemented to clean up waterways and ensure safe drinking water for the population. These acts set standards and limits on contaminants, mandated testing parameters, and funded sewage treatment facilities.

Consistent and frequent water quality testing of both drinking water and natural water sources (streams, rivers, lakes and oceans) is vital for human health and the environment. Federal, state, regional and municipal governments have set regulations with testing parameters that must be met for water to be considered safe. These parameters are divided into three categories: physical, biological and chemical, each with a range of characteristics that must be evaluated routinely.

For example, in the UK, all designated bathing waters are tested for bacteria that pose a risk to human health, such as E. coli and intestinal enterococci, which indicate the presence of sewage. These tests are conducted weekly during the bathing season and the results are used to classify water quality as 'excellent', 'good', 'satisfactory', or 'poor'. Polluters and governments have a legal obligation to improve water quality at bathing waters, and if a site is classified as 'poor' for five consecutive years, it loses its designation as a bathing water.

However, the testing regime in the UK has been criticised for only testing during the bathing season and not year-round, as people now use waterways for watersports and swimming throughout the year. There is also a need for more frequent testing at multiple locations, as well as real-time water quality monitoring to provide a true picture of the water quality. Loopholes in the current system, such as allowing regulators to discount samples during 'short-term pollution events', have also been identified as issues that need addressing.

To improve water quality and reduce pollution, it is essential to enforce regulations and standards through rigorous and frequent testing, addressing any loopholes or shortcomings in the current testing regimes. This will help protect human health and the environment from the detrimental effects of water pollution.

Frequently asked questions