Fact I: Irrigation
Irrigation practices include:
- Flood irrigation - water is simply release onto an open field of plants by a pipe
- Drip irrigation - when water is dripped slowly onto either the soil or into the root system (prevents fertilizer runoff)
- Center-pivot - large sprinkler machines go in a circular motion over fields to water plants
- Low-pressure sprinkler systems - Sprinkler systems release water for plants
Fact ii: water conservation
Three ways to conserve water:
- Improving irrigation practices
- Improving industrial and residential water conservation
- Increasing freshwater supplies.
fact iii: types of water pollution
Water pollution types:
- Include point source pollution - locatable and single-source
- Non-point source pollution - dispersed sources
fact iv: what pollutes water
Examples of water pollution include infectious agents, oxygen-demanding wastes, plant nutrients, organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, sediments, heavy metals, and heat
fact v: Eutrophication
Eutrophication -the natural nutrient enrichment of lakes, estuaries, or ponds.
Cultural eutrophication - the unnatural input of plant nutrients into the water due to human activity.
Cultural eutrophication - the unnatural input of plant nutrients into the water due to human activity.
fact vi: Water quality testing
Physical water quality tests - include temperature flow, velocity, and turbidity.
Chemical water quality tests - include testing pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, and phosphates, and hardness. Biological water quality tests - include fecal coliform, a biological assessment, examining benthic macro invertebrates, and evaluating fish species
Chemical water quality tests - include testing pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, nitrites, and phosphates, and hardness. Biological water quality tests - include fecal coliform, a biological assessment, examining benthic macro invertebrates, and evaluating fish species
fact vii: Groundwater and ocean pollution
Groundwater pollution is caused by:
- Mining - many oil reserves are located above water tables and when people mine the reserves the misplacement of Earth could allow the oils to seep into the water
- Industry - air pollution that gets into rain and eventually hits and penetrates the Earth's surface
- Agriculture - runoff and soil fertilizers nutrients seeping into the Earth
- Fracking - injecting a mixture of sand, water, and other materials into the Earth to extract oil
fact viii: Preventing water pollution nationally
6 ways of preventing water pollution:
- Reducing soil erosion
- Reducing fertilizer amount
- Reducing pesticide use
- Moving animal feedlots from sloped or flood zones
- Protecting natural water filtration systems (wetlands and riparian buffer zones)
- Increasing use of clean energy sources
Fact ix: Preventing water pollution internationally
Water pollution can also be decreased by increasing sewage systems in developing countries by installing primary (physical process using screens), secondary (biological process using disinfection methods), and tertiary or advanced (physical and chemical process to remove leftover pollutants) treatment systems.
fact x: government responses to water pollution
Legislation has been passed to improve water quality throughout the United States:
- The Clean Water Act of 1977
- The Water Quality Act of 1987
- The U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974
- Public Health and Security along with Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Acts of 2002 are examples of legislation that have made significant impacts on conservation of quality and quantity.