Pollution Effects on Water and Animals

Photos of Children' s Pool by B, Gr. 10

The effects of water pollution are varied and depend on what chemicals are dumped and in what locations.

Many bodies of water near urban areas are highly polluted. This is the result of both garbage dumpedBy people and dangerous chemicals legally or illegally dumped by industries.The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills life that inhabits water based ecosystems.Dead fish, birds, dolphins, seals, and many other animals often wind up on beaches killed by pollution in their habitat.

Did you know???

• Fifty percent or more of marine litter is bottles, food wrappers, and plastic bags.
• Plastics are highly toxic to the marine environment, and to humans.
• One million pieces of plastic per square kilometer floating in specific areas of the Pacific Ocean .
• In the Pacific Ocean there is a patch of plastics the size of Texas .
• Shoppers worldwide are using 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags per year. Plastic bags take 20 to 100 years to break down.

 

 

Composition of an average dump, by Breanna and team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•  One quart of oil can contaminate 250,000 gallons of water.

•  In Southern California , storm water systems carry millions of gallons of polluted runoff to the ocean everyday.

•  More than 1 million birds, more than 100,000 whales, seals, turtles, and fish worldwide are killed by plastic debris each year. These deaths occur through entanglement, suffocation, and starvation by ingestion.

How you can help...

• Conserve water by turning off the tap when water is not necessary. This helps prevents water shortages.
• Be careful about what you throw down the sink. Don't throw paints, oils or other forms of litter down the drain.
• Do not use too much pesticide or fertilizer. This will prevent runoffs of the material into nearby water sources.
• Don't throw litter into rivers, lakes, or oceans. Help clean up any litter you see on beaches or in rivers and lakes, make sure it is safe to collect the litter and put it in a nearby trashcan.

 

Rivers and Lakes, by Jacqueline D

There would be no life on earth without fresh water. Many people become sick or die because they cannot have clean water to drink. In an unspoiled river, oxygen helps to break down small amounts of waste. If a lot of waste is put into the water, all the oxygen is used up and the fish and plants die.

Even fresh water is not pure. Three chief sources that cause water to be polluted are

1. industrial wastes,

2.. sewage, and

3. nonpoint sources.

Wildlife an plants are harmed by water with chemicals in it. Chemicals and oil which is spilled stops oxygen from getting into the water.

Quagga Mussels

Qagga mussels rapidly multiply and clog pips and pumping machinery. They spread so much that is causes way too many problems. It was once thrught that they were only a problem in the Great Lakes, but the mussel larvae clings to the bottom of boats and has spread to San Vicente in San Diego. B y Zack R.

Banner from Arts Alive, by x

 

 

 

 

 

Rainfall at Muir School, January 2008, by Ben K.

 

Acid Rain

Acid rain is a mixture of wet and dry deposition; it affects us in many different ways. The biggest problem is our health.

In some areas where the weather is dry it makes it easier for the acid chemicals to mix with dust and smoke, after mixing they go to the ground through dry deposition, sticking to the ground, building, homes, cars, and trees.

In the non-living things it can decay building materials and paints.

In the U.S. and Canada due to acid rain we see 550 premature deaths, 1,520 emergency room visits, 210,070 asthma symptom days.

By Jaime Ch.. Gr. 11

Flouride, by Zack R

Our water supply has a small amount of fluoride naturally.and we also began adding more fluoride to water in 2007l. Lead is not a problem in San Deigo. Lead pipes are not used in any of the City's water supply systems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo from trip to Chula Vista Nature Center

 

 

 

Pathogenic Contamination Project, by Garrett

It's rrare to have an outbreak of water borne pathogens, organism that live in and thrive in water. When they happen tmmmmcan bebe devastating. The 93 Milwaukee Wisonsin suffred an outbreakof cryphsporidium, and over 900,000 got sick and 100 died. Pathogenic contamination Project aims to avoid this problem Funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Public Entity, Risk Institute. The pppp titles “Protecting our Water: a Proposal for Preventing Pathogenic Contamination of Drinking Water Sources” is a major outcome of the project which describes how pathogens spread, how to spot them, and how to prevent them . It also includes six case studies about how communities take action to prevent this.

Ocean Pollution

Pollution in the ocean is a major problem that is affecting the ocean and the rest of the earth too.  Pollution in the ocean directly affects ocean organisms and indirectly affects human health and resources. Oil spills toxic wastes, and dumping of other harmful materials are all major sources of pollution in the ocean., By Zach , Gr. 11