A NATURAL FOCUS with Laurie Sanders

Water Quality

Twenty-five years ago our rivers were polluted, grossly polluted. With agricultural pesticides and fertilizers, with industrial wastes and especially, raw sewage. Enter the Clean Water Act--at the time the most expensive legislation in the country's history. The 1972 Clean Water Act and subsequent environmental legislation mandated industries and cities to end the status quo and stop polluting. Industries would no longer be permitted to dump their toxic wastes directly into rivers.

And cities were now required to build sewage treatment plants which would digest sewage with aerated tanks of bacteria, separate the solids and get the water much cleaner before discharging it into the river. And it's worked.

Our rivers are much cleaner than they were 30 years ago. Most are now swimmable and fishable. But, they're not perfect. Although the goal of the Clean Water Act was to eliminate water pollution by 1985, the water quality of nearly 50% of our streams and rivers is still not meeting the expected standards.

Today, the problem is no longer bad stuff coming from a single source, like a pipe from a factory, but something far more difficult to correct. It's called non-point source pollution; "non-point" because the polluted water coming out of the storm pipe doesn't come from a specific location, but from many places on the landscape.

Because we've modified the landscape--removed the natural vegetation, compacted the soil and built roads, houses and parking lots--a lot of the rainwater and snowmelt can't percolate into the soil. Instead, it runs over the ground, moving rapidly and picking up road salt, oil and gasoline residues, and excess fertilizers and pesticides. And too often, this untreated stormwater flows right into our wetlands and waterways.

Non-point source pollution also includes erosion from construction sites and the sand from our roads, which tend to clog streams and wetlands and smothers aquatic life. It's also leaking septic systems, dog wastes, and sewage overflows during storms that add excess organic material and nutrients to our rivers. When these organics enter a stream, millions of naturally occurring bacteria begin to break them down.

But to do this, the bacteria need oxygen, and there's only so much oxygen dissolved in water. If an excess of organic material is flushed into a river, the bacteria use up the available oxygen very quickly, and the fish and other creatures that live here suffocate. Their dead bodies lead to further bacterial growth and you're left with only a handful of species that can tolerate low levels of oxygen, things like midges, leeches and worms.

And to make matters worse, when bacteria breakdown this extra load of organic material, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are released. Under natural conditions, these nutrients are relatively scarce. However, when lots of nitrogen and phosphorus are available, rivers and ponds develop thick blooms of algae and an unnatural increase in the growth of aquatic plants. These plants tend to choke waterways, which is a problem for boaters and swimmers. It can also mean serious trouble for other types of aquatic life because it reduces light levels.

All these pollutants--fertilizers, pesticides, oil and gasoline, organic wastes and erosion from development degrade our waters. Eliminating these widespread sources of pollution is going to take a long time and a lot of effort. But with better management of urban and agricultural runoff, we should be able to achieve healthier rivers, where we can safely fish, swim and enjoy the natural world.

Questions and Activities after Watching the Video:

1. Where is your community’s sewage treatment plant? When was it built? Updated?How does it work? How about a field trip to see firsthand how your community deals with sewage? How do individual septic systems work?

2. What are some of the "nonpoint" source pollutants that your community inadvertently contributes to the nearest river? These pollutants are difficult to keep out of our rivers. Any ideas?

3. How can you tell that "non-point" source pollution is adversely affecting a nearby river? What are some tests you could use to investigate your river’s water quality?

WebSites: http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/monitoring/monintro.html Another EPA site on non-point source pollution includes a Kids Page (Splash!) and an Education and Outreach page with lists of free publications. Visit http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/wetpubs.html for free publications on wetlands and info on agriculture and wetlands. The e-mail address: wetlands-hotline@epamail.epa.gov Also at EPA: visit office of wetlands, oceans and water bodies for their river corridor and wetlands restoration and Kids page at www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/index.html . The site includes information about wetlands, laws and regulations, wetlands and watersheds, wetlands and water quality and science, education and information resources. Also links to Bill Nye the Science Guy, reading lists, etc. http://www.wla.org/iwa/jump6/resource.html (includes an outstanding bibliography of resources on endangered species, conservation, water quality, monitoring, and curriculum resources with prices, street addresses and e-mail addresses; in addition the Izaak Walton League of America website includes lots of other useful information). The Hands-On Save Our Streams Curriculum is available at this site. Can also be contacted by dialing 1-800-BUG-IWLA for technical questions or orders. http://wsrv.clas.virginia.edu/~sos-iwla/stream-study The "Save Our Streams: site inlcudes macroinvertebrate identification information, rationale, sampling guidelines and a great list of references. http://www.ems.psu.edu/HAMS/streams.html STREAMS (Science Teams in Rural Environments of Aquatic Management Studies): Includes an interdisciplinary curriculum for grades 6-12. 17 topics, including stormwater runoff, erosion and sedimentation, household pollutants, water quality monitoring, groundwater, wetlands, and computer technology. http://www.riverwatch.org Curriculum Resources: Clean Water Action Project, 317 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20003 For information about water pollution and toxins in our water.   Give Water A Hand. 1994. 1-800-928-3700 (H) Includes action guides for school, home, community and a leader guide.   Groundwater Education in America’s Schools. A Catalog of Resource materials for Elementary and Secondary Education Professionals. 1991. By American Ground Water Trust, 6374 Riverside Drive, Dublin, OH 43017. (614) 761-2215 (H)   Outwater, Alice. 1996. Water. A Natural History. NY: Basic Books. This is an excellent book--well-written, well-researched and comprehensive--on the natural history of water, its uses, abuses and recovery in the United States. A great intro for teachers and upper level students. Worth every penny.   Ranger Rick’s NatureScope. 1990. Pollution: Problems & Solutions. Washington, DC: National Wildlife Federation. 84 pp. (H) (Includes a history of pollution, underlying causes, hazardous wastes, air pollution issues, water pollution, and people’s attempts to solve pollution problems. An appendix of terms, pollution law info and bibliography follows. Geared for grades K-8, with selected activities suggested for 6-8)   River Watch Network. Testing the Waters. Vital Signs of a River Montpelier, VT: River Watch Network. (See address and website below) An excellent resource for beginning a watershed survey with students. Includes great overviews, questions and activities on the physical features of rivers (appearance, odor, banks and bottom), temperature, turbidity, pH, nitrate, and fecal coliform bacteria.   River Watch Network. Monitoring Our Rivers. What, Why, How River Watch Network. 1994. Chemical Water Quality Manual (MA Version). (H)   To order, contact: River Watch Network, 153 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602, call 1-802-223-3840 or at riverwatch@rwn.igc.org (H)   Schwartz, Linda 1990. EarthBook for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment. 184 pp.   The Stream Scene: Watersheds, Wildlife and People. 1990. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. (P.O. Box 59, Portland, OR 97207) (H) Geared for grades 6-12, this guide features the water cycle, hydrology, watersheds, riparian areas, water quality and aquatic organisms. General background information is provided for each topic as are suggested activities, many of which are drawn from Project WILD and AquaticWild. Other activities rely on simple equipment; construction information and data sheets are included.   Taylor, Barbara. 1990. Waste and Recycling. A & C Black, London. 32 pp. (Grade 6) (H)   Water: Can We Keep It Fit for Life? By the NY Science, Technology and Society Education Project. 89 Washington Avenue, Room 228, Albany, NY 12234 (518) 486-1726. (H) A great guide for middle school students that includes problem solving exercises and extensions.   Water Matters: An Educator’s Newsletter from MRWA, Charlestown Navy Yard, 100 First Avenue, Boston, MA 02129 (H)   Watershed Guide to Cleaner Rivers, Lakes and Streams: Actions You can Take to Control Non-Point Source Pollution. 1995. CT River Joint Commissions. (H) An informational publication geared for citizens and communities. Available from the CT River Joint Commissions, P.O. Box 1182, Charlestown, NH 03606   Contacts: Bill Randolph, Springfield (MA)Science Museum for a Curriculum Guide for Stream Sampling in Urban Environments  Izaak Walton League of America...1-800-BUG-IWLA

This web page made possible in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management Greenways and Trails Demonstration Grant Program & the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge Challenge Cost Share Program, 1997.