The metals analyzed were Cadmium, Copper and Lead. All the selected metals were present in water,

     Heavy metals, such as copper, lead, mercury, and selenium are another group of toxins that pollute the water as well as the rest of the environment. The source of many of these pollutants are industries, automobile exhaust, mines, and even natural soil.

Rain washes the pesticides that are used in our Australians households and then become run-off in drains and sewers. They then make their way into nearby water bodies, wether that be creeks, rivers or even oceans and settle within the soil by sticking to small particles, including tiny living organisms like phytoplankton (M. Barwick, 2003, pp. 471-502). Small fish consume these tiny organisms, which may then be eaten by a larger organism and this continues until the top order consumer is reached. The concentration that first began in the phytoplankton and has multiplied sufficiently as it moves along the food chain. The amount of the pesticide has reached a highly toxic level in the top order predator, whether that is birds or even humans. As a result of the biomagnification of pesticides and other chemical the marine environment and the organisms that live within it are heavily affected. The build up of heavy metals, for example, it interferes with the formation of red blood cells, creates liver and kidney implications and forms reproductive defects in many organisms. This hinders an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce and can create a decline in species

To complete the research a scientist went out to the Delaware River three different times at 6 different locations (Shi, Allen & Grassi, 1998). He collected the water and brought it back to the lab to be tested (Shi et al., 1998). The research method that was used was sampling and collecting data to see if the river has a high rate of copper in it (Shi et al., 1998). The results of the journal were also conclusive. Data was shown that when the water went through treatment plants or through sewers the water would come out with more copper than without going through these places (Shi et al., 1998). In the long run, the water is safe depending on where and when you collect the water for use (Shi et al.,

Potential lead contamination from drinking water presents a significant health risk. Recent examples of this lead contamination include Flint, Michigan, a city that experienced a large increase in the number of people, especially children, who exhibited symptoms of lead poisoning. A March 9, 2016 article in the Washington Post reported data from the Environmental Protection Agency that indicated approximately 350 schools and day-care centers across the US failed lead tests approximately 470 times between 2012 and 2015. Seven years ago, according to the Post, a study concluded that hundreds of young children in Washington, DC, had potentially damaging amounts of lead in their blood due to contamination in the city’s tap water. The toxin can cause permanent developmental and behavioral issues.

Copper is another pollutant that at very high levels is toxic and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, loss of strength or, for serious exposure, cirrhosis of the liver (Pure Water Services). In order for copper to metabolized the heavy metal zinc is needed. Zinc helps with copper breakdown but too much zinc can cause a copper deficiency which can also cause problems such as anemia. While copper has some severe side effects there have not been any cases that are related to cancer. In most cases throughout the Silver Bow Creek copper is not thought to be a severe threat to the community.

According to ( Compton's by Britannica, 2011, SIRS discover) Lead is found in tap water and other water sources which is toxic metal

The rules for lead and copper have changed over the years, so let’s start at the beginning. Lead was originally regulated under the Public Health Service Act of 1962, which established a guideline of 0.050 mg/L (ppm) for lead in drinking water. This was carried over into the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. It wasn’t until 1991 that regulation changed significantly under the Lead and Copper Rule. This rule regulates how public water supplies must deal with the potential of lead and copper in the drinking water. Additionally, there is also the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which regulates the amount of lead that can be in products that could come into contact with drinking water, like pipes, plumbing fitting, fixtures, solder and flux.

Copper concentrations that exceed 20 micrograms per gram can be toxic to any living thing (Solomon). Copper binds easily to organic matter, which means it levels are rather high in animals that can filter materials from water; although biomagnification doesn’t occur in the food web. In terms of aquatic organisms and ecosystems, copper is one of the most toxic metals, and aquatic organisms tend to be more sensitive to its effects.

In the past several decades years, human activities - particularly polluting the environment, have quickly revolutionized the complex life-forms. Atlantic Tomcod, for example, are now resistant to toxic PCBs (polychlorinated biphenuls) dumped in lake, rivers, and coastal waters during the 20th century. In addition, yellow perch, a type of Canadian fish, also managed to be adapt to 80 years of heavy metal. As you can see, these problems are now growing, where brown trout (Salmo trutta) living in England, are also facing the same problem. Areas where brown trout lives, have history of mining, “Dating back to the bronze age, and zinc, copper, tin, arsenic and other heavy metals, continue to get washed into the watercourse.” In fact, certain rivers

We have performed three test to investigate the concentration of metal, pH of water, water temperature and the level of dissolved oxygen in the river. It helps us to discover the reason of the event and find out solution.

Marr, Hansen, Meyer, Cacela, Podrabsky, Lipton and Bergman (1998) investigated the effects of cobalt and copper to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). These two are heavy metals that are obtained from mining operations. Marr et al. (1998) focused on the effects of cobalt but in order to simulate environmental conditions, such as run offs caused by mining operations, they included copper in their study. Due to insufficient toxicity studies of cobalt and copper, they deemed it significant to find the acute toxicity and the joint toxicity of these two metals. They cultivated rainbow trout that were soon separately grouped to be exposed to cobalt, copper and cobalt-copper for 14 days. They accounted for mortality of the fishes during the exposure period.

Over a course of years, the Spokane River has been polluted by heavy metals such as zinc, arsenic, lead, and cadmium which affect the fish in the river which may lead to health complications in humans. Although the river has had many plans of management, such as beach clean ups, toxic cleanups and PCBs projects, a management recommendation would be aeration.

The health hazards for humans who come in contact with contaminants from exposure to polluted water can have long term effects on the body causing possible organ failure and death. Contaminants and chemicals such lead and mercury can bring about many minor illnesses ranging from nausea, lung irritation, skin rash, vomiting, and dizziness, to the major diseases that include cancer, liver and kidney damage, disorders of the nervous system, damage to the immune system, birth defects and even death.

The presence of heavy metals is known to cause hypertension, damage to arteries leading to heart disease , Damage the brain cells increasing the risk of dementia, Parkinson's and other diseases, damage to the organs of the body increasing the risk of cancer.

The article describes briefly how the mercury ends up in the fish we eat, how the rain grabs the mercury from the atmosphere and deposits it into the lakes and oceans. Because of the food chain, the largest of the aquatic animals will have the highest amount of mercury, whales and sharks for example. So, communities high in whale and shark consumption will show the greatest risk of mercury poisoning.