How Are Our Watersheds Affecting Marine Life

Agricultural runoff is another big factor in water pollution and it is similar to the storm water process but only with more dangerous pollutants. Agricultural waste runoff from the barnyards finds its way into the drainage emerging with the water bodies. The runoff from the barnyard being polluted by the multiple fertilizers used in the crops, pesticides, and livestock waste. Then the polluted water from the runoff makes contact with the water bodies such as lakes and rivers polluting them. There are two essential chemicals for the growth of crops and livestock: nitrogen and phosphorus. However, nitrogen and phosphorous are very dangerous chemicals when they make contact with water or soil. High concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in

Homeowners that water grass may require large amounts of fertilizer that contribute to high levels of nitrates in the aquifer, a major source of drinking water. Water containing nitrates contribute to algae growth and can endanger plants and wildlife in the springs. Lawns with landscaping with non-native plants may also require daily watering and frequent pesticides to keep them healthy and disease-free. Nearly half of all water withdrawn for our supply is used only to water lawns and landscaping. Population increase in Florida has led to more to transforming rural areas and uninhabited land into housing, shopping centers, and buildings. Pavement and roads prevent rainwater absorption into the aquifer and increase run-off of chemicals and other waste. Agriculture also requires chemicals to kill insects and thus absorbed into the ground into our drinking water. Dairy farms produce a lot of animal waste along with the pesticides and chemicals used to maintain the livestock and irrigation that also enter our supply of drinking water. BMP, or best management practices, include water conservation. Humans have a major impact on water contamination and should use caution so that our water is preserves. Contribution efforts on our part are reducing the water usage for lawn care and fertilizers, indoor water

The pesticides are not only poisonous to the insects and larger animals, but also to the people who live on the land. Another item that plays a big role in the pollution is the fertilizer used by the farmers, and that also enters the water systems. Not to mention it also destroys all of the other sensitive vegetation in the area. Once the fertilizer enters the water it makes the algae grow at increased rates while killing the organisms that feed on it. The final result is the algae overwhelming the other aquatic plants and life, while restricting water flow.

Factory farms also produce staggering quantities of waste and greenhouse gases, polluting the air, land, and water. Because most rural communities use groundwater in everyday life, groundwater pollution from factory farms is a huge problem in today's society. High levels of nitrates from fertilizers and animal waste have been shown to contaminate the groundwater used to drink, bathe, etc. Another way of pollution in water is polluted runoff. It comes from animal fertilizer, the use of pesticides, and soil erosion. The annual damages from this runoff is estimated between $2 billion - $8 billion (Erwin, David). The clean water act of 1972 “established the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into the waters of the United States”

Runoff comes from many places such as snow, rain, glaciers, and any human activity. Enormous amounts of precipitation in areas where the ground cannot absorb any excess

This solution is about maintaining the plant life around the river or stream. Not mowing in the Riparian zone, the area of naturally occurring vegetation between the developed areas, including buildings and private lawns, and the river itself. By not mowing this area, the stream banks become stabilized. Because the bank has more stability, less erosion is likely to occur. Also, as the runoff process occurs, the roots of the vegetation in the Riparian zone absorb all or most of the pollutants in the runoff water. This is another benefit of not mowing the Riparian zone. Along with these benefits, another positive of not mowing the Riparian zone is that it provides active floodplains and wildlife habitat. (Life at the Water’s Edge, 2016). There are downsides to this plan though. Not mowing in the Riparian zone is hard to enforce on people’s private property. Also, sometimes the Riparian zone can take up most or all of a person’s property. This may cause them to mow this area. (Life at the Water’s Edge,

Environmental issues have been a big problem since the 70’s, we were warned that if we continued to treat the planet as we already were, and there would be consequences not only on the planet but humans as well. Human beings are continuously destroying the planet and in the process wasting water; yet demanding that we have fresh water for everyone. “By 2050, the global population will demand roughly 80 percent more energy and 55 percent more water than today” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adnan-z-amin/the-intersection-of-water_b_8031834.html.) Water covers about 75 percent of the earth and this gets divided into ponds, lakes and rivers. If humans were to lose water as a resource that would have a huge effect on a great many things. We would

Agriculture is the second most leading cause of pollution (jaiswal). With that much pollution one may wonder how it is happening. One may also wonder what america can do to fix agricultural pollution. America has put our land and farmers into some very questionable situations with questionable practices.

Thing that that have been done to try and improve the water quality are setting up stream- side buffers to prevent runoff from farms. Other strategies are the NRCS funding many different cooperating farms so they can afford eco- friendly farms. This money is used to build stream- side buffers which are small mounds of land that prevent water pollution. Also the NRCS targets many farms in one area not a bunch of different farms scattered around North America.

Awareness of the damaging effects storm water runoff is causing to the water quality and

Agricultural production undoubtedly forms the backbone of any nation, through provision of food and raw materials to many industries. However, agricultural practices have direct relationship with water quality. Improperly managed agricultural practices have specifically affected the surface water in lakes, rivers, and other water sources. This has been possible through the increased use of farming chemicals such as pesticides, sediments, contamination by soil nutrients, or even alteration of stream flow. These practices have been more pronounced in horticultural farming, where the increased demand for horticultural products has called for modernized farming practices of using chemical farming (Stefanelli, Goodwin, & Jones, 2010). In addition, use of fertilizers and pesticides, increased tillage practices, irrigation activities, and poor drainage structures have significantly affected quality of water and hydrology.

Watersheds are the areas of the Earth's surface that drains downhill to surface water bodies large or small, watersheds have discrete boundaries established by mountains, hills and valleys, and include all lakes, rivers, wetlands, streams, and other surrounding landscape. Watersheds often cross national, state and local borders, watersheds transcend as many political, social and economic boundaries as they do ecological boundaries. In recent years, significant progress has been made in achieving cleaner and healthier watersheds that support both aquatic life and many human uses. I will be discussing what State and Federal Departments are doing to rectify these problems. I also will be discussing the

The agriculture farming industry needs to wake up and see the harm that conventional farming is doing to our beloved planet earth and realize that organic farming could be our planets superhero. Conventional farming uses a high level of nitrogen to help crops grow in mass production. These fertilizers sometimes get into the normal irrigation and eventually end up in rivers and oceans. A 2004 United Nations article estimated that "most of the 160 million tons of nitrogen used as fertilizer annually ends up in the sea"(Conventional Farming...). Why is this bad? The fertilizer that ends up in the ocean creates algal blooms which have neurotoxins in them that suck the oxygen out of the water creating dead zones. These are places in the ocean where no animal or plant can survive due to the lack of oxygen. This is why society needs to move away from conventional farming and start focusing on organic farming because it can reduce the negative effects that our food choices have on the planets health; ultimately organic farming helps by creating a healthier environment for the planet to keep surviving.

Water affects our environment in many ways. It affects our drinking water, bathing water, and the water we swim in. How do you pollute the water we use in our environment? As the article, “Water is Life!” says,” Animal waste introduces bacteria to streams.” so if you have an animal don’t let it’s waste run off into the streams, or other water sources. Because those streams may either run into lakes or oceans, and that’s where we may swim or get our drinking or bathing water. “Water is Life!” also says, “Runoff from improperly managed crops introduces fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and dirt to streams.” So keep the runoff from your crops managed because the fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and dirt are not good for our bodies or our environment. Like i said, if they get into lakes or oceans they might affect

Even though this chemical is very helpful to farmers and is good for crop production. Over using chemical fertiliser can cause a lot of pollutions. For example water pollution occurs when the fertilisers are washed into rivers or sea. Besides, plants or crops do not absorb the fertiliser one hundred percent. They only absorbs a portion of the fertilisers leaving some remaining in the soil. When the fertiliser goes into the water, micro organism can grow like algae. This can cause eutrophication because the algae grows faster on the fertiliser washed into the sea. This can cause the algae to take up a lot of oxygen from the water. This can cause lack of oxygen in the water for the fish, suffocating the fish that lives in the area. The ecosystem will be disturbed due to the large numbers of death of