Causes "bluebaby disease," or methemoglobinemia, which threatens oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Selenium Enters environment from naturally occurring geologic sources, sulfur, and coal. Causes acute and chronic toxic effects in animals--"blind staggers" in cattle. Nutritionally essential element at low doses but toxic at high doses. Silver Enters environment from ore mining and processing, product fabrication, and disposal.
Often used in photography, electric and electronic equipment, sterling and electroplating, alloy, and solder. Because of great economic value of silver, recovery practices are typically used to minimize loss. Can cause argyria, a blue-gray coloration of the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, and organs in humans and animals with chronic exposure.
Sodium Derived geologically from leaching of surface and underground deposits of salt and decomposition of various minerals. Human activities contribute through de-icing and washing products. Can be a health risk factor for those individuals on a low-sodium diet. Sulfate Elevated concentrations may result from saltwater intrusion, mineral dissolution, and domestic or industrial waste.
Forms hard scales on boilers and heat exchangers; can change the taste of water, and has a laxative effect in high doses. Thallium Enters environment from soils; used in electronics, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, glass, and alloys.
Damages kidneys, liver, brain, and intestines in laboratory animals when given in high doses over their lifetime. Zinc Found naturally in water, most frequently in areas where it is mined. Enters environment from industrial waste, metal plating, and plumbing, and is a major component of sludge.
Aids in the healing of wounds. Causes no ill health effects except in very high doses. Imparts an undesirable taste to water. Toxic to plants at high levels. Organic contaminants found in groundwater Contaminant Sources to groundwater Potential health and other effects Volatile organic compounds Enter environment when used to make plastics, dyes, rubbers, polishes, solvents, crude oil, insecticides, inks, varnishes, paints, disinfectants, gasoline products, pharmaceuticals, preservatives, spot removers, paint removers, degreasers, and many more.
Can cause cancer and liver damage, anemia, gastrointestinal disorder, skin irritation, blurred vision, exhaustion, weight loss, damage to the nervous system, and respiratory tract irritation. Pesticides Enter environment as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and algicides. Cause poisoning, headaches, dizziness, gastrointestinal disturbance, numbness, weakness, and cancer. Destroys nervous system, thyroid, reproductive system, liver, and kidneys.
Plasticizers, chlorinated solvents, benzo[a]pyrene, and dioxin Used as sealants, linings, solvents, pesticides, plasticizers, components of gasoline, disinfectant, and wood preservative.
Enters the environment from improper waste disposal, leaching runoff, leaking storage tank, and industrial runoff. Cause cancer. Damages nervous and reproductive systems, kidney, stomach, and liver. Microbiological contaminants found in groundwater Contaminant Sources to groundwater Potential health and other effects Coliform bacteria Occur naturally in the environment from soils and plants and in the intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals.
Used as an indicator for the presence of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites from domestic sewage, animal waste, or plant or soil material.
Bacteria, viruses, and parasites can cause polio, cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and infectious hepatitis. Physical characteristics of groundwater Contaminant Sources to groundwater Potential health and other effects Turbidity Caused by the presence of suspended matter such as clay, silt, and fine particles of organic and inorganic matter, plankton, and other microscopic organisms. A measure how much light can filter through the water sample. Objectionable for aesthetic reasons. Indicative of clay or other inert suspended particles in drinking water.
May not adversely affect health but may cause need for additional treatment. Following rainfall, variations in groundwater turbidity may be an indicator of surface contamination. Color Can be caused by decaying leaves, plants, organic matter, copper, iron, and manganese, which may be objectionable. Indicative of large amounts of organic chemicals, inadequate treatment, and high disinfection demand. Potential for production of excess amounts of disinfection byproducts. Suggests that treatment is needed.
No health concerns. Aesthetically unpleasing. Represented on a scale of where 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most alkaline, and 7 is neutral.
High pH causes a bitter taste; water pipes and water-using appliances become encrusted; depresses the effectiveness of the disinfection of chlorine, thereby causing the need for additional chlorine when pH is high.
Low-pH water will corrode or dissolve metals and other substances. Odor Certain odors may be indicative of organic or non-organic contaminants that originate from municipal or industrial waste discharges or from natural sources.
Taste Some substances such as certain organic salts produce a taste without an odor and can be evaluated by a taste test. Many other sensations ascribed to the sense of taste actually are odors, even though the sensation is not noticed until the material is taken into the mouth. Below are other science projects associated with groundwater contamination. Date published: October 9, Filter Total Items: 7. Year Select Year Apply Filter. Date published: March 2, Date published: February 6, Date published: November 8, Date published: October 25, Attribution: Water Resources.
Date published: June 8, Date published: June 6, Below are publications associated with groundwater contamination. Year Published: A primer on ground water Most of us don't have to look for water. Baldwin, Helene L. View Citation.
Filter Total Items: 1. Year Published: Ground water and the rural homeowner As the salesmen sang in the musical The Music Man, "You gotta know the territory. Waller, Roger M. Enters environment from natural weathering, industrial production, municipal waste disposal, and manufacturing of flame retardants, ceramics, glass, batteries, fireworks, and explosives.
Enters environment from natural processes, industrial activities, pesticides, and industrial waste, smelting of copper, lead, and zinc ore. West Valley growers use agricultural drainage tiles to drain off salty, mineral-laden waters. Prior to environmental regulations being enacted in the s, military bases and industrial facilities dumped fuels, used solvents and other liquid wastes into pits, where the pollutants leached into the groundwater.
In many of these cases, the pollutants overwhelmed the natural ability of the soils to filter out the pollution, or the pollutants passed through the soil in a shorter time than required for decomposition or consumption by organisms in the soil. In California, nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants, leaching into the soil and from there into the water supply from various sources.
Nitrate occurs naturally in soil and dissipates when the soil is extensively farmed. Irrigation water containing fertilizers is a common culprit as are septic systems, wastewater treatment plants, dairies and natural conditions.
Some groundwater is also polluted with other natural elements leached from the earth, including radon, boron and arsenic. Boron is an element that is an essential micro-nutrient but toxic to plants in slightly greater concentrations. Boron is found in groundwaterin concentrations harmful to plants in the northern and southwestern Sacramento Valley and in parts of the San Joaquin River and Tulare Lake basins.
Mercury, chromium and selenium have been found in wells in the western San Joaquin Valley at concentrations that exceed federal wildlife standards. Arsenic is a semi-metallic element used in wood preservatives, agricultural chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. It is known for its toxicity to humans — ingestion of as little as milligrams, or one thousandth of a gram, usually results in severe poisoning. Arsenic occurs naturally in some soils, which can result in quantities of the substance in groundwater at low concentrations.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency and California have set the arsenic standard for drinking water at 10 parts per billion ppb. Urban pollution comes from leaking tanks and sewers, industrial waste discharges, commercial facilities, failed septic systems and old and current landfills.
One source of pollution is leaking underground fuel tanks, many of them from neighborhood gas stations. The leaking fuel contains a number of chemicals, some of which are associated with cancer, and in some places the tanks have polluted groundwater. Even swimming can pose a risk. Every year, 3. In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other.
Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments. When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water. In certain cases, these harmful algal blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.
Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. Marine ecosystems are also threatened by marine debris , which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Discarded fishing gear and other types of debris are responsible for harming more than different species of marine life.
Meanwhile, ocean acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks, clownfish, and other marine life.
Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:. Tell the federal government, the U. Also, learn how you and those around you can get involved in the policymaking process. Our public waterways serve every American. The mighty bivalves are both, and this former schoolteacher and bartender seeks to inspire a new generation of aquaculturists while putting North Carolina oysters on the map.
The humble bivalves, which concentrate everything from heavy metals to cancer drugs in their tissues, provide an ideal way for scientists to monitor nearshore water health.
Litter, sewage, plastic, and other pollutants do more than just ruin the beauty of the beach. They are closing down coastal areas, destroying marine life, and making people seriously sick. The PFAS-laden firefighting foam used in training exercises at military bases easily slips into groundwater supplies, tainting everything around it.
As droughts parch the Southeast, interstate squabbles heat up over the Tennessee River and the Chattahoochee. Ugly, foul-smelling and sometimes toxic, algal blooms are becoming more common in freshwater ecosystems like rivers, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.
In a move that could open the door to industrial waste and interstate squabbles, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is making its water quality standards voluntary. President Trump revokes the Clean Water Rule and doubles down on his fake weather forecast, while the Bureau of Land Management hitches up its wagons to move west. From fertilizer runoff to methane emissions, large-scale industrial agriculture pollution takes a toll on the environment.
The administration relocates science jobs, refuses to fill others, and tosses a lifeline to polluters while silencing citizens. A growing number of communities—both coastal and inland—are finding themselves underwater. Extreme weather, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts are increasingly to blame. More than craft breweries from across the country, including Brooklyn Brewery and New Belgium Brewing Company, are joining NRDC to explain why clean water is essential for great-tasting beer.
By relying on plants, soil, and natural systems to manage rainfall runoff, green infrastructure tackles urban water woes and boosts climate resilience. After an illegal dumping of close to 2, tons of dangerous sludge and contaminated materials across the street from two schools, a Kentucky community struggles with what to do next.
Ten years after the disaster at a Tennessee power plant, the cleanup crew is seeking justice. At the same time, the Trump administration is weakening protections for this toxic pollution. As the Trump administration ratchets up its rhetoric demanding billions for a wall, American communities along the Mexico border are in need of basic services, like reliable sewage treatment.
The problem of how to dispose of nuclear waste has haunted the United States for six decades. Residents of cities like Pittsburgh and Newark continue to face high levels of this toxic metal in their drinking water supplies. For years the state has ignored its foamy rivers and water supplies contaminated with chemicals called PFASs.
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