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Water Issues

Water Issues. Tough Ones To Deal With. Many Uses. Human consumption Industry (cooling, process) Transportation Recreation Agriculture (irrigation, livestock consumption). Many Sources. Surface Oceans Lakes Streams, rivers, etc. Underground (aquifers). Two Key Problems. Depletion

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Water Issues

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  1. Water Issues Tough Ones To Deal With

  2. Many Uses • Human consumption • Industry (cooling, process) • Transportation • Recreation • Agriculture (irrigation, livestock consumption)

  3. Many Sources • Surface • Oceans • Lakes • Streams, rivers, etc. • Underground (aquifers)

  4. Two Key Problems • Depletion • Contamination

  5. Depletion • There is lots of it, but • Relatively little is fresh • It may not be found where it is most needed • Getting at it can be difficult & costly • It can be depleted

  6. Contamination • Point Sources • Most effort to date has been addressed towards these • Area sources • Most contamination comes from these

  7. Point Sources

  8. Municipal Sewage (human waste) • No treatment systems • Inadequate treatment systems • Too small • Insufficient technology level • Primary (for solids - settling pans, etc.) • Secondary (for liquids - aeration, etc.) • Tertiary (for chemicals - many varieties)

  9. Industrial Facilities (chemicals, etc.) • No treatment • Dumping into unprepared municipal systems • Deep well injection sites • Landfills • Other

  10. Area Sources

  11. There Are Many • Agricultural runoff (chemicals & animal waste) • Was implicated in the Milwaukee Cryptosporidium episode (1993) – 400,000 affected, 50+ deaths • Appears to be the major culprit in the Grand Lake St. Mary’s toxic algae bloom this past summer • Combined (sewage & storm) sewers • Atmospheric deposition (acid rain, agricultural chemicals) • Leaching into groundwater

  12. Area Sources, cont. • Individual sources are diffuse, cumulative effects are significant • Identifying sources is difficult • Technological solutions are, to date • Hard to find • Costly

  13. Approaches To Dealing With Water Contamination

  14. “End Of Pipe” Approaches • Involve removing pollutants from the effluent stream • Procedures can be ineffective (or counterproductive) with certain pollutants • Are largely ineffective with area sources

  15. Pollution Prevention (P2) • Involves not using potential pollutants (e.g. chlorine bleaching in paper mills) • Still a relatively new idea in U.S.

  16. Legislation

  17. Domestic Water Quality Legislation • State & local public health laws & regulations (esp. drinking water) • Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) of 1970 • Clean Water Act of 1972 (the key to the modern era) • Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974

  18. Clean Water Act of 1972 • A.K.A. the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments (FWPCAA) Of 1972 • Was amended (strengthened) by Water Quality Act (WQA) of 1987

  19. Clean Water Act of 1972, cont. • Clear, stringent goals for navigable surface waters • Water quality to be improved (“fishable & swimmable”) by July, 1983 • Untreated effluent emissions to be eliminated by 1985 (“technology forcing”)

  20. Two Sorts Of Standards • Technology based (pollution control technology) • For industry • For municipalities • Water quality (water cleanliness)

  21. Technology Standards For Industry • Best practicable control technology (BPCT) by 1979 • Best available (BAT) by 1983 • Pre-treatment (before release into municipal systems) facilities required

  22. Technology Standards For Municipalities • All facilities to have secondary-level treatment by 1977 • BPCT by 1983

  23. Water Quality Standards • Regulate quantities of contaminants permitted in water • Based on state governments’ designations (of intended use of water bodies) & tolerance levels • Partial preemption via SIP’s (38 states had been approved by mid-1990’s)

  24. Water Quality Standards, cont. • Key features (currently) • Watershed management • Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) • Discharge permits through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) • Effluent trading (new EPA policy – January 2003)

  25. Clean Water Act of 1972, Money • Construction grants, 75% federal match • $18B originally, was reauthorized at rate of $24 B per year through 1994 • To be used to construct municipal wastewater treatment facilities • No operating funds

  26. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 • Amended in 1986 • First major federal intrusion in this area • Roughly 100 contaminants regulated under EPA, set National Primary Drinking Water Standards (NPDWAS) • State & local governments enforce • Delays in establishing standards

  27. Federal Water Pollution Policy • Many laws, many policies, many enforcers • Effectiveness is a matter of debate

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