Water Pollution and the Efforts Being Done to Stop It

Samantha Revolinsky

Independent Research
June 6th, 2016
Ocean Lakes High School
Mrs. Graves

WHAT I KNEW/WANTED TO KNOW

Everyone has heard it. About 71% of Earths surface is covered in water with only 2.5%
of it being fresh water. Only 1.2% of that 2.5% of fresh water is actually available for use. This
small amount of water has to quench the mouths of 7.4 billion human beings not to mention
billions of animals and fresh water needed for recreational and agricultural purposes. This is
hard for ones head to wrap around. It is even harder to wrap ones head around the fact that
most of the surface water in that 1.2% cannot actually be used. Why is that? Water pollution has
affected almost every body of water on Earth, making much of it unsafe. This is just the reason I
decided to do my research on water pollution, the contamination of water bodies. It affects
everyone and everything. But as the human population grows each year, pollution does as well
and the amount of safe water decreases.
Nature has always been a large chunk of my life, so at an early age I gained respect for
the world we live in. By living in Virginia Beach, a city located on the Atlantic Ocean, I have a
personal connection specifically to water. Spending most of my childhood swimming at the
beach or fishing in the local rivers I understand why water is such an essential part of life, not
just for surviving but for enjoyment.
At a young age I gained respect for nature but as I have made my way through middle
school and high school I have begun to dedicate my life towards conserving this beautiful Earth
and the water that feeds its life. During eighth grade my mother introduced me to Clean the Bay
Day (something I still participate in), a day where the people up and down the east coast come

together to collect trash, preventing it from entering our waterways. Not only was this an
enjoyable activity but I witnesses humans damaging habits. It was because of this that in my
freshman year of high school I joined Project Green Teens, an organization made up of dedicated
teenagers that strive to improve the environment and the mindset of the people in the Virginia
Beach community. Through this there have been many projects such as Oyster Planting and
planting flowers in places around the city. Project Green Teens also strives to educate its
members on being mindful of the environment, respecting it and doing ones best to conserve it.
A presentation was given by one of its members at my school teaching about global warming and
its effects on the Earth. Being a member of this organization I felt as if I had a certain duty to
Earth. I was to protect it and convince other people to do the same before it was too late.
In the middle of freshman year when I heard of a program that would take ten students to
Alaska to research global warming with the United States Park Service I jumped at the
opportunity. I immediately applied and got accepted. It was through an organization known as
No Barriers Youth, one that teaches its students the connection between the culture of an area and
to the environment. The first part of the three step program was education. At Ocean Lakes, the
only school in the country that year to be accepted into the program, the Advanced Placement
Environmental teacher taught nine students and myself the basics of global warming; what
causes it and what it affects. After completion of this course it was time to embark on the
journey to Alaska. There, we did research with the park service on glacial recession and research
on its effects on marine life with an aquarium in Seaward Alaska. It impacted my life greatly to
see the deterioration of the Earth first-hand. It was because of this trip that I realized I wanted to
go into a career that allowed me to be an environmental ambassador, although I do not know for
certain what that will be. After traveling to Alaska the group had the responsibility of educating

the community. We did this in two ways. The first was hosting a booth at the Hampton Roads
Environmental Expo, where we got the people to make commitments to one thing they could
change in their life to lessen their footprint on the Earth. At this expo we were also able to learn
ourselves. I walked around to the various booths each representing a different organization
making the same commitment to reduce their footprint and help in some way. From the
expedition we began working on our second outreach to the Virginia Beach community. The ten
students including myself were to present our trip to the school during Founders Week, each
focusing on a different aspect of the environment and global warming. This marked the end of
our journey, but the beginning of mine.
After this once in a lifetime experience I was left with a craving for more. I wanted to
educate more people about the environment. But what about it? Well I thought back to my time
on the boat in Alaska researching the effects of glacial melt on marine life. I decided that I
would focus on water pollution, more specifically how our sewage system is connected. I could
do this through symposium, an annual event for the Math and Science Academy at Ocean Lakes
giving students an opportunity to dive into a topic they love either through research or an
experiment. Because I had done research on the warming side of things and thoroughly enjoyed
it, I realized that I would enjoy continuing this research, but on pollution. During the planning
process of my sophomore year symposium I thought about what really grabs peoples attention,
for I was striving to educate the public. I did not want to be just another trifold board that people
glance at and continue to walk past, learning nothing. It was then that I decided to create a
working model of the common sewage system, a way for people to understand how their habits
not only in public but in their home affect the waterways. I could not display all of the research I
had done just through this model so I put together the dreaded trifold board as a back piece to my

model display. This symposium project generated a lot of positive response. Because I enjoyed
creating the model sewage system and was deeply engaged in the topic of water pollution I spoke
with my biology teacher about continuing this project into my junior year of high school.
I learned so much from doing my symposium, but it just skimmed the surface. I focused
on three main topics of water pollution. I differentiated and explained the effects of point source
water pollution and nonpoint source water pollution. Point source pollution is from one direct
source while nonpoint source cannot be traced back to a source, but is a combination of different
types of pollutions. I researched the general ways that these pollutions affect the environment.
With this I found ways that people of the community can help such as being cautious as to what
products are used and responsible ways for disposing of harmful substances. The last main topic
I researched is the structure of the sewage systems. I learned that the sewage system from
housing and buildings is one part and the storm drain system is completely different. The
material in sewage systems go through a factory to be filtered before being released into the
waterways while storm drains are directly released. This is a major issue, because this means
there is a constant flow of chemicals that are harmful to the balance of the waterways and marine
life.
After the symposium sophomore academy students were assigned this I-Search paper. I
was to pick a topic I was could dive into, so of course I chose water pollution. Already having a
basic understanding of water pollution I decided to go deeper into the effects on the environment.
I wanted to know how to prevent water pollution and what individual organizations were doing
to combat it. Another question I posed after I learned what the community efforts were is what
the government was doing. What laws have been put in place to prevent this ever growing

problem? I then asked what I could be doing, what changes I could make in my life to further
my commitment towards protecting the Earth. With these questions I began my research.

THE STORY OF MY SEARCH

My search took about a month. At various points during the month I would sit down to
emerge myself in the research. I first googled the definition of water pollution to refresh my
mind and from there I did I found a very useful site that provided the different types of water
pollution. I stayed on this site to guide my first question of the effects of the different types of
pollution. I took each type and searched the general definition then general facts on how they
have affected water use by humans and animals.
My next question to answer was how to prevent water pollution. I learned lots of new
things researching this question. Most sites provided the same information which justified that
my findings were most likely valid.
The next topic researched was the individual organizations that have been created to help
the problem on a larger scale. I found two main programs or companies to focus on. The Seabin
Project I had heard about through social media shown to me by my mother. When I first watched
the video of how it worked I did not think much of it. Yes it was indeed interesting, but I did not
know what to do with the fact of knowing it exists. When I created this research question I
immediately thought back to the video. It proved to somewhat difficult to do research on this
company because the website online had minimal information regarding what they did, how it
worked, and so on. I dug a little more and soon found articles that talked about the Seabin
Project explaining current partnerships with other countries and also a social media account on
Instagram. With the bits of information I was able to gather I pieced together a summary of what

this organization is doing. I knew that there had to be other companies with the same goals of
cleaning up the waterways so I simply google searched machines cleaning trash from waterways.
A few webpages down was the Waterwheel. This was much easier to do research on because
there were various sites and articles speaking about the waterwheel, each providing various
information. I was able to find how much it has helped since being built, reasons for being built,
and future plans for another machine just like it. I was then able to answer my question about
efforts of individual organizations.
What laws have been put in place to help the environment? I searched this broad
question because I knew there would be very little information if I specified it to help prevent
water pollution. I am glad I went the broader route because I found laws that covered a general
range of things regarding pollution which allowed me to focus in on more specific laws and
partnerships with coastal states. I was able to find all of this information on a government run
site which was very helpful. Laws were not only listed with their number and name but a
general summary and reasons for being put in place. I surprised myself. When I had just posed
the question I predicted that not many laws have been put in place to protect the environment
when in reality environmental protection has become one of this countries recent priority. I
assume that this is due to the rising concern of global warming. Many of the laws were passed
from the 90s to present day and because of the ending of the 44th presidential term I was curious
about the presidential candidates view on the topic. Given the two main candidates, republican
Donald Trump and democrat Hillary Clinton, I went to each of their campaign websites hoping
to find the answer. Donald Trump was very bland in this area, for he believes global warming
and environmental issues are a government hoax (3). With this no further research needed to be

done regarding Trump. Hillary Clinton on the other hand made it clear that helping the
environment is her number one concern.
After gathering enough information I felt comfortable enough for an interview. I created
an email to send out. But after considering my options for people to interview I decided on
someone I personally know. It was the AP Environmental teacher, Mrs. Wood that traveled to
Alaska with us. I sent her a request to interview her and immediately I got a response telling me
to call her. I got my questions ready, mostly asking about her personal opinions, and then called,
which lasted about fifteen minutes. I received answers to my questions, but not as thoroughly as
I would have preferred. This could have been solved by emailing her all of the questions,
making her more inclined to answer with longer responses.
By the end of the month I had all of my research completed. I was able to find many
sources that adequately answered my questions: effects of the different types of pollution,
individual organizations as well as laws created to combat it, and general pollution prevention.

THE SEARCH RESULTS

The definition of Water Pollution is: contamination of water bodies. Pollutants are
directly and indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove
harmful compounds. There are two different types of water pollution: point source and nonpoint source. Point source is from a direct place while nonpoint source pollution cannot be
traced back to one source. In the Chesapeake Bay and the Mississippi River nonpoint source
pollution is greater than point source.
One type of water pollution is surface water pollution which is the pollution of aquatic
systems above ground. Another type is oxygen depletion when microorganisms in an area

increase to the point of using up all available oxygen due to too much biodegradable material
being added to the water. There are two types of oxygen depletion: hypoxia and anoxia.
Hypoxia has less than three milligrams of oxygen per liter of water causing living things to
evacuate the area while creatures on the seabed are usually able to survive. Anoxia has no
presence of oxygen not supporting life. Depletion naturally occurs during the summer when the
rate of oxygen production and supply from surface waters are lower than the rate of oxygen
depletion from decomposition processes of zooplankton fecal matter and the remains of algae
blooms. During the winter natural oxygen depletion does not normally occur due to wind and
water currents disturbing the decaying material in the water column, the area between the bottom
and surface of a body of water.
Ground water contamination is another form of water pollution when material seeps
through the soil and into the groundwater. The material can be man-made or it can occur
naturally. Examples of man-made pollutants are: pesticides/fertilizers, road salt, motor oil,
septic tanks, and landfills. These pollutants cause the groundwater to be unsafe for human use.
Seepage can also occur naturally with mineral depositing by rock and soil. Originally the
pollution of ground water was not evident for people thought that the sediment layers were
effective filters but it was realized in the 1970s that they are not. Once ground water is
contaminated it is extremely hard to fix.
Total suspended solids or TSS make up most of the water pollution. They are particles
larger than two microns found in the water column. Naturally the particles can be sediment,
plankton and algae. Heavier materials can settle in areas of little to no flow smothering benthic
organisms and eggs. Materials that cannot settle are known as colloidal solids. High levels of
these suspended solids can decrease dissolved oxygen levels and increase the water temperature,

also because these particles absorb heat. This heat is transferred through the water as
conduction. With the heat water cannot hold as much oxygen as cold water would be able to.
This drop causes stratification, layering of the water column, causing hypoxia or anoxia in lower
levels because of decomposition. To measure TSS filter paper is weighed and one liter of water
is poured through the paper. After the paper is dry it is reweighed and the change in weight is the
TSS expressed in ppm (milligrams of solids per liter of water)(9).
Microbiological water pollution is usually natural a natural form of pollution from
microorganisms that often causes organisms to become ill. This is commonly found in
developing countries.
Chemical pollutions or discharge can be air emissions that get rained down, runoff from
roads, farmland, and household chemicals not treated in plants, direct pipeline discharges, and
from drilling and mining. These move through the food chains concentrating in the latter
predators causing mutations and death (7).

Prevention
Water pollution will never cease but it can be decreased through simple changes in ones
everyday life. Most of what can be done involves events in the home. The main thing that one
can do is to avoid depositing pills or foreign objects down the toilet. Instead of this common
method of ridding of medicine many pharmacies will accept expired or unneeded medicine and
dispose of it properly. If this is not available then disposing of it in plastic bags with solid
garbage is the best solution. Chemicals such as detergents and soaps should also not be disposed
of down the drain. In some states it is mandatory to dispose of it through chemical pickups. If
this is not offered in the city or state then using phosphate free products is best. The chemicals in

medicine and these products are not filtered out through sewage plants, but continue through the
cycle into the water ways. This deposit of chemicals and excess nutrients can lead to
stratification and in some cases hypoxia. There are also a few ways to be environmentally
friendly in the kitchen. One should avoid the use of garbage disposals and get rid of the material,
if possible with the solid waste. Fats and oil should be kept in a jar and disposed of in the same
way. As said earlier phosphate free detergent is helpful during the washing of dishes, as well as
dishwashers that use the minimal amount of water possible. In the garden avoid the use of
pesticides and fertilizers. This can be helped through the planting of many flowers and shrubs.
If in an area where debris is common, creating a row of plants can prevent the flow of trash into
storm drains long enough for one to pick them up and dispose of the garbage properly. In areas
of erosion it is best to have many plants to minimize the amount of sediment also going in the
storm drain. Buildup of sediment in water ways can cause many issues. As an everyday activity
to minimize pollution entering our waterways one should pick up after their pets preventing
bacterial contamination and pick up and litter seen. What to do regarding vehicles? Keeping up
with the maintenance of a vehicle drastically minimizes its effect on the environment. One can
also use car washes instead of washing the vehicle themselves. Car washes are required to use
the sewage systems which get filtered, instead of going into the storm drain systems which gets
deposited directly into waterways (8).

Efforts of Individual Organizations

I researched two organizations that have dedicated their companies towards cleaning up
waterways. The first is the Seabin Project, an Australian based company that made an automated
trash bin. It catches floating trash, oil, fuel, and detergents. They recycle the trash making
new Seabins with 40% plastics they captured in the oceans and 60% gathered from land. They

sell the Seabin to mainly docks, harbors, and even locations in residential waterways. With the
sale of the product they strive in educating the buyers and even schools in their local area about
pollution and the effects of it on the marine systems. After improving their first prototype many
times, to a stronger and more effective bin that floats with the water level it has become and
international project. La Grande Motte is hoping to carry this educational over to France as well
as getting involved in the development of the Seabin Project by recently signing a collaboration
agreement (6).
The second organization to make a difference is the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. As
well as many other awareness programs and projects they installed an Inner Harbor Water
Wheel, known to the locals as "Mr.Trash Wheel" at the end of the Jones Fall River in the
Baltimore Harbor. Its goal is to pick up floating debris and minimize the pollution in their local
waterways. Using the natural current of the river the water wheel is turned lifting debris from
the surface of the water. When the current is not strong enough to turn the wheel, solar panels
set up on the back of the machine keep it running. The debris and floating trash that is gathered
is deposited into a dumpster barge. Once this barge is full it is towed away and replaced with an
empty one. Since its installation in 2014 204 tons of trash has been collected: 257,070 plastic
bottles, 327,819 polystyrene containers, 7,498,000 cigarette butts, 4,980 glass bottles, 173,600
grocery bags, 244,409 chip bags (2).
Because of its success over $500,000 is being raised to build a second water wheel. It is going to
be built at the end of Harris Creek, a piped waterway running underneath the city of Canton that
opens into the Baltimore Harbor. Tons of trash exits this waterway into the harbor annually. By
building another water wheel they are hoping to eliminate this completely (1).

Laws (4)(5)

DP2 Law (1990) Pollution Prevention Act: "Environmental Protection Agency must
establish a source reduction program which collects and disseminates information,
provides financial assistance to states, and implements the other activities..."
Reason: With the millions of tons of pollution created by the United States it
needs to control the billions of dollars regulating it because there are many cost
effective ways companies can reduce pollution.

National Pollution Prevention Policy: Summed up this gives the

guidelines to prevent pollution.

At the source it should be prevented whenever possible.

Pollution that is made should be recycled whenever possible.

Pollution that cannot be recycled should be treated in an environmentally

safe manner whenever possible.

Disposal or other release into the environment should be only used if

nothing else is possible and in an environmentally safe manner as possible.

2010-2014 Pollution Prevention Strategic Plan: Identifies opportunities to

reduce pollution: emission of greenhouse gases; the use of hazardous materials; and the
use of natural resources, while contributing to a more sustainable economy.

Executive Orders:

-EO13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade: Promotes sustainable
acquisition and procurement of products and services by federal agencies.
-EO13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance:
Establishes integrated strategy towards sustainability and makes reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions a priority in federal government.

-EO13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management:
Requires widespread use of environmental management systems as frame work for managing
and improving sustainable practices and requires federal agencies to purchase environmentally
friendly products and services
Clean Air Act: Prevent and control air pollution through National

Ambient Air Quality standards

Clean Water Act: Restore and maintain integrity of U.S. waters and limits

discharges to U.S. waters through National Pollutant Discharge System

Safe Drinking Water Act: Protect U.S. drinking water and supplies from

contaminants and establishes safe standards

Oil Pollution Act of 1990: Prevent and clean up oil spills in U.S. waters

and establishes fund for response costs and requires vessels and facilities to make plans
for responding to oil spills
-To enforce these rules inspections and penalties are conducted. If an industry is found to
have emissions above the limit and neighboring industry can agree to keep theirs below
the level balancing it out.
-Penalties: A letter asking the industry to fix the behavior is sent, come to compliance
legally, and financial penalties and lawsuits with a legal charge in the most serious
situation.
Coastal Zone Management Act: Protect coastal zones, requires that states

develop coastal management plans

Hillary Clinton's Standpoint:
"Every child and every family in America deserves clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and
a safe and healthy place to live. This is a justice issue. And as president, it will be a national
priority for us."
Clean Energy Challenge ($60 billion): Partners with states and cities giving tools and resources
to expand clean energy and cut carbon pollution

Interview

I asked Mrs. Wood various questions hoping to get her overall opinion regarding water pollution.
I learned that the water pollution in this area is mostly due to the nutrient deposits cause by the
local agriculture. She believes that landowners should be worked with to set up buffer zones
between their agricultural land and waterways. Because of the actions not being taken she
believes that pollution is more of the individuals fault rather than the governments. She believes
that in some areas the local governments are taking the appropriate measures to prevent
pollution. In the Chesapeake Bay area the local government is giving grants to land owners that
wish to restore the buffer zone and go environmentally friendly. Education about environmental
issues has also increased, even into the lower levels of school as early as elementary. Over the
years the attitude towards pollution and global environmental issues has changed. Now people
are more aware, thanks to the education. People are also more involved in helping the
environment especially in this area with grass planting projects and people are taking ownership
of issues. In her own life she has done a lot of little things to help minimize pollution such as
having a garden and a rain barrel as well as educating her own son about the environment and
how to be a responsible citizen.

MY GROWTH AS A RESEARCHER
I learned quite a bit about researching, as I had only done two somewhat important
research projects before this. The most important thing that I learned was how to organize what I
was researching. This helped dramatically throughout my research and construction of the paper.
Also, from this point on I will be doing all of my research in about-point-react format, as it made
it my life a lot easier when formatting my paper.

WORKS CITED
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)

CANTON WATER WHEEL. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cantonwaterwheel.com/

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://baltimorewaterfront.com/
On Trump's Foreign Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hillaryclinton.com/
Pollution Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pollutionissues.com/Ho-Li/Laws-andRegulations-United-States.html

5.) Pollution Prevention Law and Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.epa.gov/p2/pollution-prevention-law-and-policies
6.) The Seabin Project - In-Water Automated Marina Rubbish Collector. (n.d.). Retrieved
from http://www.seabinproject.com/#about
7.) SeaWeb - Ocean Briefing Book. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.seaweb.org/resources/briefings/toxic.php
8.) 6 Ways You Can Help Keep Our Water Clean. (2016, January 05). Retrieved from
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/6-ways-you-can-help-keep-our-water-clean
9.) Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids & Water Clarity - Environmental Measurement
Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fondriest.com/environmentalmeasurements/parameters/water-quality/turbidity-total-suspended-solids-water-clarity/
10.)
Water pollution control legislation. (n.d.). Washington : U.S. Govt. Print. Off.