Impairments to Water Quality

Module Topics

What is Water Quality? What are Pollutants? Types of Water

Stormwater Wastewater Process water

What is Water Quality?

Water Quality

Water quality is the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water

Did You Know?

In the United States, water utilities treat nearly 34 billion gallons of water every day

In the United States and Canada, the total miles of water pipeline and aqueducts equal approximately one million miles; enough to circle the globe 40 times

Americans drink more than one billion glasses of tap water per day

Children in the first six months of life consume seven times as much water per pound as the average American adult

How We Use Water in the U.S.

Total Water Use: 410,000 million gallons per day

Aquaculture: 2%

Domestic: 1%

Industrial: 4%

Irrigation: 31%

Livestock: less than 1%

Mining: 1%

Public Supply: 11%

Thermoelectric Power: 49%

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344/pdf/c1344.pdf

We Expect our Water to be Safe!

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Clean Water

What are Pollutants?

What Is A Pollutant? The term pollutant is defined very broadly in

the Clean Water Act because it has been through 25 years of litigation It includes any type of industrial, municipal, and

agricultural waste discharged into water dredged soil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage,

garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt and industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste.

Potential Pollutants Affecting Water Quality

Infiltrated ground water pumped from mines to surface water

Stormwater runoff from mine sites, concrete plants, brick factories (with mines), and asphalt plants

Wastewater from truck and mixing equipment washing

Wastewater from spillage at ready mix concrete plants

Process generated wastewater

Infiltration

Infiltration refers to the movement of water into the soil layer The rate of this movement is called the infiltration

rate If rainfall intensity is greater than the infiltration

rate, water will accumulate on the surface and runoff will begin

Infiltration Flow of water from the land surface into the subsurface

Types of Water

Stormwater

Stormwater – the runoff generated from rain or other forms of precipitation

Regulated

Wastewater Water that has been used in

homes, industries, and businesses that is not for reuse unless it is treated

Liquid waste substance derived from industrial, commercial, municipal, residential, agricultural, recreational, or other operations or establishments

Other liquid waste substance containing liquid, gaseous or solid matter and having characteristics which will pollute any waters of the State

Process Water Process Water – the

wastewater generated from various processes at a facility Washing of aggregates Truck washing Mobile equipment

cleaning stations

When stormwater mixes with process water, then the mix must be treated as process water

"Process Generated Wastewater"

Any wastewater used in the slurry transport of mined material, dust control, or processing, including product preparation and washing, exclusive of mining

The term shall also include any other water which becomes co-mingled with such wastewater in a pit, pond, lagoon, mine, or other facility used for treatment of such wastewater

How Could These Pollutants Impact the Watershed?

Changing levels of dissolved oxygen in the water Adding Sediment Affecting the water temperature Changing the flow of receiving waters Changes to water clarity Affects pH level in receiving waters Oil and grease runoff

Water Quality =

Water Standards=

Regulations