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Water Pollution
n/a
28
Environmental Studies
12th Grade
03/23/2010

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Term
advanced sewage treatment
Definition
Specialized chemical and physical processes that reduce the amount of specific pollutants left in wastewater after primary and secondary sewage treatment. This type of treatment usually is expensive. See also primary sewage treatment, secondary sewage treatment.
Term
biological oxygen demand(BOD)
Definition
Amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down the organic materials in a given volume of water at a certain temperature over a specified time period.
Term
cultural eutrophication
Definition
Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients (mostly nitrates and phosphates) because of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants. See eutrophication.
Term
dissolved oxygen DO content
Definition
Amount of oxygen gas (O2) dissolved in a given volume of water at a particular temperature and pressure, often expressed as a concentration in parts of oxygen per million parts of water.
Term
eutrophication
Definition
Physical, chemical, and biological changes that take place after a lake, estuary, or slow-flowing stream receives inputs of plant nutrients[[emdash]]mostly nitrates and phosphates[[emdash]]from natural erosion and runoff from the surrounding land basin. See cultural eutrophication.
Term
nonpoint source
Definition
Large or dispersed land areas such as crop fields, streets, and lawns that discharge pollutants into the environment over a large area. Compare point source.
Term
oxygen-demanding wastes
Definition
Organic materials that are usually biodegraded by aerobic (oxygen-consuming) bacteria if there is enough dissolved oxygen in the water. See also biological oxygen demand.
Term
point source
Definition
Single identifiable source that discharges pollutants into the environment. Examples are the smokestack of a power plant or an industrial plant, drainpipe of a meatpacking plant, chimney of a house, or exhaust pipe of an automobile. Compare nonpoint source.
Term
primary sewage treatment
Definition
Mechanical sewage treatment in which large solids are filtered out by screens and suspended solids settle out as sludge in a sedimentation tank. Compare advanced sewage treatment, secondary sewage treatment.
Term
secondary sewage treatment
Definition
Second step in most waste treatment systems in which aerobic bacteria decompose up to 90% of degradable, oxygen-demanding organic wastes in wastewater. This usually involves bringing sewage and bacteria together in trickling filters or in the activated sludge process. Compare advanced sewage treatment, primary sewage treatment.
Term
septic tank
Definition
Underground tank for treating wastewater from a home in rural and suburban areas. Bacteria in the tank decompose organic wastes, and the sludge settles to the bottom of the tank. The effluent flows out of the tank into the ground through a field of drainpipes.
Term
sludge
Definition
Gooey mixture of toxic chemicals, infectious agents, and settled solids removed from wastewater at a sewage treatment plant.
Term
water pollution
Definition
Any physical or chemical change in surface water or groundwater that can harm living organisms or make water unfit for certain uses.
Term
organic chemicals
Definition
to be any that has a carbon-carbon or a carbon-hydrogen bond
Term
heavy metals
Definition
A metal with a specific gravity greater than about 5.0, especially one that is poisonous, such as lead or mercury
Term
inorganic chemicals
Definition
Any substance in which two or more chemical elements other than carbon are combined, nearly always in definite proportions (see bonding), as well as some compounds containing carbon but lacking carbon-carbon bonds
Term
fecal coliform test
Definition
for E. coli. It was designed to reduce or eliminate all gram negative colifrom
Term
Clean Water Act 1972, 1977
Definition
Passed in 1972 and amended in 1977 and 1987, the Clean Water Act was originally known as the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The Clean Water Act is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets water quality standards, handles enforcement, and helps state and local governments develop their own pollution control plans.
Term
Safe Drinking Water Act
Definition
To achieve its goal the SDWA provides water quality standards for drinking-water suppliers, protects underground drinking-water sources, and directs appropriate deep-well injection of wastes.
Term
Water Quality Act
Definition
see clean water act
Term
wetlands
Definition
An area characterized by a high content of soil moisture, such as a swamp or bog.
Term
cholera
Definition
acute illness characterized by watery diarrhea that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera is spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacteria.
Term
oxygen sag curve
Definition
The curve obtained when the concentration of dissolved oxygen in a river into which sewage or some other pollutant has been discharged is plotted against the distance downstream from the sewage outlet
Term
feedlot runoff
Definition
are integrated structures and practices for collecting, storing and treating livestock manure and feed wastes to reduce runoff and water pollution. Controlling runoff from feedlots, barnyards and other livestock facilities helps prevent excess nutrients and pathogens from reaching rivers, streams and lakes.
Term
oligotrophic
Definition
Lacking in plant nutrients and having a large amount of dissolved oxygen throughout. Used of a pond or lake.
Term
plume
Definition
A space in air, water, or soil containing pollutants released from a point source.
Term
HAB
Definition
dense spread of algae which results from changes in the chemistry and/or temperature of lake water. Blooms may be green or red, and are most common in spring or early summer, when primary production outstrips the growth of the consumer organisms.
Term
Exxon Valdez
Definition
ship gained infamy after the March 24, 1989 oil spill in which the tanker, captained by Joseph Hazelwood and bound for Long Beach, California, hit Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million litres) of crude oil.
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