Warm-Up What is it called when water enters the ground?

What do you think affects the rate at which water soaks into the soil? What type of soil do you think would allow water to sink in the fastest or the slowest?

Water Quality

Types of Water Pollution Point Source Pollution –

contaminants have an identifiable source Smokestacks, car tailpipe

Nonpoint Source Pollution Contaminant source cannot be

found

Several farmlands in the same area

Major Sources of Water Pollution Agriculture: by far the

leader Pesticides, fertilizers

Industrial: factories and powerplants

Mining: surface mining toxics, acids, sediment

Non-Point Water Pollution

Non-Point pollution reaches bodies of water through streets and sewers. Pesticides, fertilizers are washed off

lawns Animal feces float away from farms

96% of water pollution is from non-point sources

Warm-Up Activity

Water Pollution handout Answer Review questions

Video Answer video questions

Wastewater Treatment Plants Water goes to a treatment plant after it is flushed

Not all harmful substances are removed Industrial wastewater and storm runoff contain toxic

substances that aren’t removed

Physical Properties of Water Water Temperature

Total Dissolved Solids-Combined living and non-living substances dissolved in water Agriculture

Point Source Pollution

Discharge from sewage treatment plants

Total Suspended Solids-Living and non-living substances suspended in water

Chemical Properties of Water pH-Measurement of the hydrogen

concentration in water pH above 7 = Basic

pH below 7 = Acidic

Dissolved Oxygen-Amount of oxygen dissolved in water Low oxygen levels can kill ecosystems

Biotic Index Biotic Index-Indicates the types of organisms present in an environment

Used to measure water quality of a stream or river

Measures from 1-10. (Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor)

River Basins A river basin is the area that

includes the streams that a river is going to feed into

Watersheds (river basins) are separated from each other by areas of higher elevation (ridge lines/divides).

NC River Basins There are 17 river basins in North Carolina

4 of them empty into the Atlantic Ocean

Some of them flow into South Carolina

The remaining flow westward to the Mississippi River

Important for states to reduce the amount of pollution in the rivers because the rivers do flow to other states