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8.7: Water Management

  • Page ID
    12281
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    Pollution control begins with testing and monitoring of water quality. Water quality is usually monitored using easy to measure indicators such as pH, specific conductance (commonly referred to as conductivity), temperature, fecal and total coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, macroinvertebrates, and algae. Polluted sites typically have reduced DO levels, lower pH (more acidic), higher nutrient levels, more bacteria, and higher temperatures compared to less impacted or pristine sites.

    Non-point source control relates mostly to land management practices in the fields of agriculture, mining and urban design and sanitation. Agricultural practices leading to the greatest improvement of sediment control include: contour grading, avoidance of bare soils in rainy and windy conditions, polyculture farming resulting in greater vegetative cover, and increasing fallow periods. Minimization of fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide runoff is best accomplished by reducing the quantities of these materials, as well as applying fertilizers during periods of low precipitation. Other techniques include avoiding of highly water soluble pesticides and herbicides, and use of materials that have the most rapid decay times to benign substances.

    The main water pollutants associated with mines and quarries are aqueous slurries of minute rock particles, which result from rainfall scouring exposed soils and also from rock washing and grading activities. Runoff from metal mines and ore recovery plants is typically contaminated by the minerals present in the native rock formations. Control of this runoff is chiefly achieved by preventing rapid runoff and designing mining operations that avoid tailings either on steep slopes or near streams.

    In the case of urban stormwater control, good urban planning and design can minimize stormwater runoff. By reducing impermeable surfaces (pavement that doesn’t allow water through), then cities can reduce the amount of surface water runoff the carries pollutants into surface water and causes flooding. Additionally, the use of native plant and xeriscape techniques reduces water use and water runoff, and minimizes the need for pesticides and nutrients. Regarding street maintenance, a periodic use of street sweeping can reduce the sediment, chemical and rubbish load into the storm sewer system.

    The two common approaches to water management fall under either voluntary programs or the regulatory program. The regulatory approach has been very successful in controlling and reducing point source pollution, which was the focus of regulations when they were first introduced. Voluntary programs, together with new amendments to regulations, have had great success in increasing conservation and reducing diffuse nonpoint source pollution. One of the most widely used voluntary programs is Watershed Management while the regulatory approach is centered on the Clean Water Act (CWA ).

    Watershed Management

    The watershed management approach recognizes that water contamination problems are complex and not localized to a section of a river. Water pollution problems are caused by multiple activities within the watershed and, therefore, require holistic approaches in the entire watershed. A watershed (drainage basin or catchment) is an area of land that drains to a single outlet and is separated from other watersheds by a drainage divide. Rainfall that falls in a watershed will generate runoff (if not trapped or infiltrated into groundwater) to that watershed’s outlet. Topographic elevation is used to define a watershed boundary. A focal point of water management plans is the Best Management Practices (BMPs) section. BMPs are designed to consider all of the various uses of water, maximize conservation and minimize pollution.

    The regulatory approach

    Water management through policy and laws seeks to clean up polluted water, prevent further pollution and apply punitive measures for polluters. In the US water-related regulations go as far back as 1899 with the Rivers and Harbors Act, also known as the Refuse Act that prohibited the dumping of solid waste and obstruction of waterways. This regulation, however, did not include waste flowing from streets and sewers. In 1948 another regulation, the Federal Water Pollution Act (which is the basis of the Clean Water Act) was enacted. This regulation covered contamination from sewage outfalls. It was created to reduce contamination of both interstate groundwater and surface waters. Through this regulation funding was made available to states and local governments for water quality management.

    One of the major water-related regulations in the US is the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972. The regulation was very comprehensive with lots of programs and empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create goals, and objective laws for its implementation. The legislation has programs for both point and nonpoint source pollution. One other major piece of regulation governing water was the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

    In 1974, amended in 1986, the SDWA was enacted to establish standards for many chemical constituents for public water supplied by public water agencies. In the regulations, maximum contaminant level goals (MCLG), which are non-enforceable and maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) that are enforceable where created. MCLG are what would be ideal and desirable while MCL are what should be attained in any drinking water supplied by a public municipal agency. For any carcinogen, the MCLG is 0 even though many contaminants have MCLs and detection limits in the parts per billion (ppb) range. Some of them (e.g. dioxin) have MCLs in the parts per trillion (ppt). To give you a sense of how small this ppt is, it is the same as 0.4 mm divided by the distance to the moon.

    A Closer Look at the Clean Water Act

    The 1972 Clean Water Acts was an overhaul of the 1948 Federal Pollution Control Act. The current regulation includes numerous programs for water quality improvement and protection. The EPA works with its federal, state and tribal regulatory partners to monitor and ensure compliance with clean water laws and regulations in order to protect human health and the environment. The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law governing water pollution. One of the objectives of the CWA was to restore and maintain the integrity of the nation’s physical, chemical, and biological waters quality. The ultimate goals of the act are to establish zero pollutant discharge, as well as fishable & swimmable waters in the country. One main component of the CWA is regulations on industrial and municipal discharges into navigable US waters. The act is designed to be a partnership between states and the federal government. The federal government sets the agenda and standards while the state carries out the implementation of the law. States also have the power to set standards that are more stringent than the federal standards if needed. Under the CWA, discharge into US waters is only legal if authorized by a permit. Perpetrators of the law can be punished using administrative, civil, or criminal charges. The second component of the act is providing funding for constructing municipal waste water treatment plants and other projects to improve water quality (Title II and Title VI).

    The act covers both point sources (discharge from sources such as pipes) and nonpoint sources (pollution from diffuse sources such as stormwater runoff). Point sources are explicitly covered under section 402, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This section requires industries and municipalities to get permits from the EPA before discharging into US waters. The permits require the use of control technology to reduce and prevent pollution.

    Water in Crisis (case studies)

    ▪ Your instructor will assign you a specific case study for the course if needed.


    This page titled 8.7: Water Management is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Caralyn Zehnder, Kalina Manoylov, Samuel Mutiti, Christine Mutiti, Allison VandeVoort, & Donna Bennett (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.