The Merrimack River, which flows through New Hampshire and Massachusetts, has a long and extensive history with battling pollution. For the past few centuries, the Merrimack has been a hub for industrialization. Particularly in the 1900s, textile mills sprung up all along the river due to the ability to utilize hydropower. While this development helped many cities industrialize and grow substantially, it also has led to extreme levels of pollution in the river. Since the Environmental Protection Agency passed the Clean Water Act of 1972, the Merrimack River has significantly improved in quality. Even so, there are still waste disposal problems that plague the Merrimack. Currently, sewage waste remains a considerable concern in polluting the …show more content…
Not only does it provide a source of water to 600,000 people, it has acted as a means of travel, hydropower and a source of food (Merrimack River Watershed Council, 2014). It goes without saying that alongside the cultural developments that have grown with the Merrimack River, there have also been many environmental issues as a result of misuse and poor city planning. While some of these problems have improved greatly since the 1900s, there are still improvements that need to be made. One of the most prominent issues that currently affect the quality of the Merrimack River is sewage waste. Although the Clean Water Act of 1972 has set standards in place for sewage disposal, progress has not been immediate. For example, Manchester, New Hampshire, one of the many cities that reside along the Merrimack River, did not stop dumping raw sewage into the river until 1992 (U.S. Department of the Interior, …show more content…
Although sewage systems are able to provide a great deal of sanitation to water before it is released back into a source, the risk of raw sewage overflowing into water sources poses several issues. Not only can raw sewage contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli, it can also negatively affect aquatic life. Human waste typically contains high levels of nitrogen, phosphorous, and other nutrients that are useful for people but can cause many issues in an aquatic environment (Burkholder et. al., 2011). Much of these elements are removed during wastewater treatment, but if they are sent directly to a water source due to flooding, they can cause algae blooms and harm
In 1960, Lake Erie was very polluted A lot of the cities such as Toledo, Sandusky, and Port Clinton’s waste was dumped into Lake Erie. Many of the factories that were surrounding the lake erie would dump their waste into the river, which was the cause of a lot of the pollution. Pesticides and chemicals from nearby farms washed off into the river whenever it rained, so the chemicals started to pollute the river. The cities that surround the near by river or lake paid a huge amount of money to get new sewer systems to help keep the water clean. This major source of freshwater is critical to the survival of the entire ecosystem and must be protected at all costs.
The Chattahoochee River has become increasingly along the years. The Chattahoochee's pollution problem increases due to the many components such as the construction site sediment that runs off the north Georgia mountains as well as irrigation field runoff from farms. Bacteria, oil, grease, metal, and trash are picked up from the runoff and flow to the Chattahoochee, which has detrimental effects on the ecosystem. Also the sewer system has served a part in the pollution of the Chattahoochee, because the sewer system in Atlanta isn’t at the level where it can accommodate the growing population and its water
Hazardous wastes are another problem for the water in our world. These wastes are toxic, reactive, corrosive or ignitable. Most problems come from humans not storing the substance properly or not disposing of it correctly. This can be easily proven in 1969, when the Cuyahoga River, in Cleveland, Ohio, caught on fire and burned for sometime. Since this happened environmentalists have taken extreme measures to reduce the amount of pollution that is coming out of the power plants that are on the river and on Lake Erie.
Due to the large bodies of water in the county, there is a high risk for drowning. Water quality pollutants in the county come from fertilizers, bacteria from animal feces, sediment from land that are being cleared and stream channel erosion. When the rain falls into farms, parking lots, construction sites, and lawns the water collects pollutants and they get carried to the stream and then eventually end up in the Chesapeake Bay. In 2010 10 out of 15 streams sampled were rated far to poor, E-Coli, dissolved oxygen, fecal coliform, Chlorophyll-A and Polychlorinated Biphenyls were noted in the samples (2013 Natural Resource Indicator Report, 2014). C & R Battery Company Inc. and the Defense General Supply Center DLA were found on the national priority list for the most hazardous waste sites identified by the Environment Protection Agency because it is a risk to human and/or the environment (Virginia Superfund Sites, 2013).
About two hundred forty one thousand two hundred twelve people live in Cumberland County, and all of those people somehow pollute the Conodoguinet Creek. The Conodoguinet Creek is a tributary to the Susquehanna river, which is the longest river on the American East Coast, spanning 464 miles long and draining into the Atlantic ocean. Many things, such as livestock, construction sites, fossil fuels and fertilizers, all go into the Conodoguinet creek. Now, that is A LOT of pollution that can (or will) go into the creek. This does not just affect the Conodoguinet Creek, but everything that the creek drains into, like the Susquehanna river, then the Chesapeake bay, and then the Atlantic ocean, which covers over 20% of thie whole globe! As you
The Chesapeake Bay Program is doing many things to help with prevention of water quality. Extreme amounts of nutrients and sedimentation are entering the
It 's important to understand that we are all a product of our own environment and what goes into it comes out as a positive or negative result. Long Islanders have faced many problems with ground water pollution. According to http://oceanworld.tamu.edu, after doing countless geographical surveys every few decades from the 1940 's, early 1960 ', 1980 's, mid 1990 's to now, scientist have concluded that the higher levels of stress was causing species changes and a lower diversity to the environment. It was determined that the 1962 samples were heavier in delta13C suggesting that organic carbon was being oxidized at a greater rate in the 1990 's then in the 1960 's. Scientist have come to a hypothesis that the waters stress was a contributing factor to an increase in waste water effluent treated sewage which a study measured a fair amount of bacteria spores called Clostridium perfringens which was found in human excrement ("Waste Water in Long Island," n.d.). This meant that Long Island has a big sewage pollution problem. According to Suffolk County 's comprehensive water resource management plan in 2010, there have been large changes in the ground water aquifers between the years 1987 to 2005.
It has came to mind that the Big Sioux River located in the Eastern Part of South Dakota is a very polluted river. It is so polluted that its the 13th highest polluted water source in the United States. Therefore the people around this river, this is a very important to the people around because this is there main water source. People may ask why is this river so polluted and its because of the toxic waste from us humans. Every time you go to the bathroom all this waste ends up going into the river and even when you take a shower all the chemicals that go in your hair or for your body from the soap end up going into the river.
This paper will inform the reader why the Delaware River was polluted and how it is being solved. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to clean up all rivers and lakes to make sure that every waterway in America is healthy and not harmful to humans or animals. With the coordination of the EPA, and the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA) are trying to fix the problems that have occurred over years that humans have been around the Delaware River. The use of a Combined Sewer Overflow Program also known as a CSO is very important for the protection of drinking water in major cities including New York City and Philadelphia. The toxic chemical levels are at an all-time high making this one of the dirtiest rivers in North America. This paper will talk about what results were received from the multiple tests that were taken from multiple sites along the Delaware River and its tributaries. Also, what solutions are being used to solve the problem that is at hand to make sure the public has knowledge of the toxic levels in the water and to make sure that everyone including the animals nearby have clean and safe drinking water?
San Diego has some rather disturbing, but efficient ways of treating our waters and keeping it safe to drink. We need fresh water, but we don’t have enough local water to serve all of San Diego alone. So one of the ways we handle this is by recycling water for tap water. It doesn’t matter if it’s toilet, shower, or faucet water. San Diego recycles it all. San Diego has sewage treatment plants to help with this method of recycling. These facilities treat and hope to purify as much water as possible. Over the years we have developed and increased our capability purify as much water as possible. The year 1885 marked the first year of municipal sewer services. Sewage was discharged
Following the release of an estimated 6.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the River in 2010 by DuPont Chambers Works in Salem County, a spokeswoman for the company stated that most of their remaining releases are nitrates, the product of a treatment process breaking down waste ammonia. Increasingly though, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) has taken steps to implement and enforce standards while the Clean Water Act has further assisted in putting in place water pollution control efforts. Today, according the DRBC, “the clean-up of the Delaware is hailed as one of the world’s top water quality success stories.” Now fish populations in the River are supported year-round along with bald eagles, which hunt these fish as their primary food
The Cape Fear River Watch is a non profit organization initiated to “protect and improve the water quality of the Cape Fear River.” They intend to help the river water remain “fishable, swimmable, and drinkable.” The Cape Fear River Watch provides a wide array of education, advocacy, and action programs for members of the Cape Fear River community. The Cape Fear River contains environmental habitats including salt marshes and black water swamps. The distinct and unique culture of the Cape Fear River demands protection. Large corporations have abused the Cape Fear River over the last few decades. Over the last century, the river’s fish population has decreased drastically. The Cape Fear River has developed water contamination and air quality issues from coal ash emissions and waste, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, and is now further threatened by the possible introduction of Titan Cement company. Theses companies have significantly impacted surrounding communities. Environmentally, these issues are destroying our water and air quality, and are detrimental to ecosystems within the river. As we explored the Cape Fear River during our field trip, our guide focused on these three main contributing factors to the destruction of the river. We explored the Rock Arch Rapids the River Watch constructed. We evaluated the different factors of water contamination from large corporations like Duke Energy. Sociologically, surrounding communities are facing issues
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is suffering due to the absence of consideration from local sewer treatment plants. The Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment plant is one of the dozen companies who are responsible for polluting the river delta. Luckily, the pollution by discourteous companies is coming to a halt. A significant public works project is in play, which will enable a much healthier ecosystem for organisms.
Montreal plans to shut down a pipe, which feeds water from the sewers into a treatment plant. Therefore the city’s strategy is to dump the eight billion liters of raw sewage into the St Lawrence River [1]. The procedure is going against the fisheries act, it will have negative consequences for communities downstream, and it will also damage the river’s ecosystem. In brief that scheme has several negative impacts on the river’s ecosystem and the city should invest in alternative procedures.
Preliminary data indicate staggering rates of straight pipe discharge and substantial impacts of water quality in local streams and tributaries. In Wilcox County, approximately 60% of surveyed unsewered households had a visible straight pipe surface discharge of raw wastewater and only 7% of households had a permitted onsite wastewater treatment system. For the remaining 33% inspection could not determine whether the discharge was above or below ground but there was no evidence of a septic system drainfield or a mound system (often this indicates that a straight pipe is well buried and discharges to an overgrown area). Conservatively, these straight pipes discharge 500,000 gallons of raw sewage to the ground in Wilcox County every day.