Australian Waterways Facilitation

One of the most poorly understood causes ocean pollution is urban runoff. Urban runoff is also one of the leading causes of ocean pollution, Surfrider agrees, “Urban runoff is often the primary source of ocean pollution. The Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) Program educates and assists people in creating landscapes that utilize native plants, permeable ground covers and water retention features to prevent urban runoff, create wildlife habitats and design beautiful spaces” (Surfrider). Surfrider has a program called The Ocean Friendly Gardens where Surfrider

Ecosystem is an important part of the environment and to protect the Australian native ecosystem many management plans are made to preserve it. Where the disruption occurred in the environment by human activities is not only the factor of worry, but also the exotic plants which are trying to take over the native species are a matter of concern too. The steps taken by humans to get rid of their own waste from the environment as well as the weeds, come under management plans. On the excursion to Buckley’s Hole, Godwin Beach, Red Beach and Melaleuca Wetland, it was observed that these areas come under the Buckley’s Hole Management Plan. Where the abiotic and biotic factors interact with each other and help in sustainability of better environment.

The Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Enrichment on Water Samples from Encanto Lake and the Rio Salado River.

Building additional vegetation areas to create green filters is a solution that will decrease the amount of pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This will be effective given the fact that soil has the ability of breaking down nutrients into harmless substances and plants are able to facilitate the process of water infiltrating back into the ground and stopping storm-water runoff. Thus, more green areas will be able to retain and control the amount of pollutants going into the bay.

Did you ever wonder how things you do everyday effect the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Its tributaries? Well, It turns out to be not so good. One of the main causes for the Bay’s bad health are nutrients which are caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. Plants and animals need nutrients to survive but when too many nutrients are in the water they fuel the growth of algae blooms and create conditions that are harmful for aquatic creatures.

Data analysis of long term trends and seasonal trends in Phosphorus at the Bosherston Lakes, South West, Wales.

This year I went on a field trip to the Conodoguinet Creek. This creek runs into the Susquehanna River and drains 500 square miles of diverse landscapes. Conodoguinet comes from an indian word meaning “a long way with many bends.” It begins near Carlisle at North Middleton Park and comes to an end in West Fairview, when it flows into the Susquehanna River. The Conodoguinet Creek is about 90 miles of bends and loops that meander throughout Cumberland Valley. When I went on this trip, I tested how fast the water was moving downstream. I also tested the creek for the acidity and eutrophication. Eutrophication is excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to fertilizer runoff from the

Here in Perth, we are having new inner-city developments that everyone is looking forward to. These developments are fantastic and will bring more tourism and vibrancy to the Perth City. However, a problem that they have is the possibility of destroying the river through increasing turbidity, higher temperatures and more acidity. This is why Perth and its people need fifty million dollars, so that we can protect the Swan River while still being able to build new developments.

Like the rivers, there are signs of creek bank degradation and there is also a huge accumulation of sediment within these vital waterways. Dredging is currently underway to combat this build-up of sediment (Schwecke, Simmons and Maheshwari 2007). The reintroduction of native trees and groundcover should be considered to reduce the rate of erosion along the banks. The addition of sewerage and storm water treatment facilities has been positive and should be done in association with constant water quality

After taking samples, and running tests on the water of the U-Creek, the conclusion was made that the water quality of the U-Creek is excellent. Water quality is not excellent in all cases, but keeping good water quality is very important for life of the organisms in the water. One way that humans could change the water quality, or pollute the water is through runoff. Rivers are a very convenient place for the companies or farms to get rid of waste. For example, farmers put pesticides and fertilizers on their crops to protect them from bugs, or to help them grow better. Fertilizers contain nitrates and phosphates, if large amounts of these two things end up in the water it will lead to an overgrowth of plant life, and algae growth. Over time as the algae starts to rapidly grow, the algae will start to use up all of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Dissolved oxygen is very important to organism life so if it is all gone then organisms will start to die. Another way that humans pollute water is through chemical water deposits. Chemical waste is discharged from industrial processes, that can end up in rivers or streams. An example of a

This report is aimed to develop an environmental management plan regarding the environmental issues that the Lachlan River catchment and lake Chad is facing. The Lachlan Valley catchment in central western NSW, centers on the Lachlan River. It is located west by the Great Dividing Range, to the north by the Macquarie and south by the Murrumbidgee. Lake Chad, located on the border of Chad, Africa. Both of these areas are affected by salinity. Salinity is the measure of all the salts dissolved in water (Narragansett Bay Commission). This purpose of this investigation is to find out the problems affecting these areas and find possible strategies and solutions to preserve these environments in the future. Two strategies intended for protecting

As a species that continues to evolve and expand on this planet, humans have made many lasting impacts to their home. Some of these changes often go generally unnoticed, such as the shift in popular music, or fashion trends. Even transitions from job to job, or relocating to a new city seem to weigh lightly on the general public. However, unbeknownst to us, we as a species have a far greater impact on this planet than we would like to admit. Throughout our day-to-day lives we tend to unknowingly impact and mold or future. It can be something as simple as forgetting to recycle that jug of milk, or neglecting to clean up a spill after a self-done oil change. Even the foods we eat and the way we manufacture them have a lasting effect on the planet. Perhaps one of the more noticeable ways we as a society affect the Earth though is how we build upon it. With much of the global population centralized in urban areas, and there continued growth. It is interesting to observe the way in which this urbanized land reacts to human interference. One of the more interesting aspects of urbanization is the use and management of water. With the continued expansion of cities, and the modification of the land in which these concrete jungles cover, changes to land are inevitable. In his book “Urban Storm Water Management,” Hormoz Pazwash briefly summarizes some of the impacts urbanization has to land, and water quality stating. “Urban development alters the natural process of storm water runoff.

Eutrophication refers to the effects and involvement of the varied nutrients in aquatic systems. It is defined as the enrichment of water by nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, which causes an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter to an ecosystem. This increase in organic matter hastens and accelerates the growth of algae and other forms of plant life. Most of these algae and plant life produces detrimental damage and disturbance to the ecosystem present in the water and the overall water quality (Andersen, Schlüter, Ærtebjerg, 2006). The process of eutrophication commonly happens over a long period of time, but human activities have accelerated the rate and degree of eutrophication of rivers and lakes which causes an excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the water quality (Chislock, Doster, Zitomer, & Wilson, 2013).

Pollutants are impacting aquatic organisms distributed by daily human activities and natural occurrences. An extensive amount of pollutants such as pesticides, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons can result in direct significant damage, e.g. death. However lower levels of these harmful substances can be stored in an organism and increase as it continues and follows up the food chain, a process called biomagnification or bioaccumulation, having the greatest effect on the top predator of that food chain. A common result of the pollutants can lead to stress, changing of the immune system, inhibit lysozyme activity, damage gills, metabolism, and growth. Other factors include an excessive amount of nutrients in the environment. Nitrogen can make its way into aquatic ecosystems when there is an increase in nitrous oxide in the air, allowing eutrophication. Algae and bacteria feed off the nitrogen, so a high number of these organisms appear and use oxygen around them as the feed, causing hypoxic zones, or dead zones. Acidification, an increase in the ecosystem’s pH acidity from acid rain, which occurs from an increase in CO2 from air pollution. Aquatic organisms have a range of tolerance, and water with high acidic pH will lead the organism out of the range of tolerance, resulting in stress of the organism, and eventually death. Further studies are being pursuited to see larger impacts of globalized pollution on aquatic species and their ecosystems.

Eutrophication happens as the water ecosystem becomes more productive due to increasing primary productivity in the estuary. This happens because of the excessive nutrient enrichment which will cause frequent cyanobacteria blooms (Wang and Wang, 2009). The excess nutrients could come from different sources, including stormwater drainage, waste discharges from industrial areas, and runoffs from agricultural farm. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, the stormwater can pick up debris and chemicals straight from the streets into the rivers and estuaries. Consequently, it also drags the excess nutrients when it is discharged from the storm sewer system. Not only that, the stormwater can also drag nutrients and pathogens form leaking and poorly maintained septic