ASSIGNMENT OF WATER

POLLUTION
“Ground Water Pollution”

Prepared By;
Iqra Tahir 12

Natasha Javed 18

Presented To;
Dr. Iftikhar Ahmad

College Of Earth and Environmental Science

Punjab University
1.0 WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans groundwater).

Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water; and, in almost all
cases the effect is damaging either to individual species and populations, but also to the
natural biological communities.
Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies
without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
1.2 WATER POLLUTION CATEGORIES

I. Point Source Pollution

It refers to contaminants that enter a waterway through a discrete conveyance, such as a pipe or
ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant.

II. Non-Point Source Pollution

Non-point source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a
single discrete source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of
contaminants gathered from a large area. The leaching out of nitrogen compounds from
agricultural land which has been fertilized is
. 

1.3 GROUNDWATER

Groundwater comes from rain, snow, sleet, and hail that soak into the ground. The water
moves down into the ground because of gravity, passing between particles of soil, sand, gravel
or rock until it reaches a depth where the ground is filled, or saturated, with water. The area
that is filled with water is called the saturated zone and the top of this zone is called the water
table. The water table may be very near the ground's surface or it may be hundreds of feet
below.

Groundwater and surface water sometimes trade places. Groundwater can move through the
ground and into a lake or stream. Water in a lake can soak down into the ground and become
groundwater.
Groundwater is stored in the ground in materials like gravel or sand. It's kind of like the earth is a
big sponge holding all that water. Water can also move through rock formations like sandstone
or through cracks in rocks.

An area that holds a lot of water, which can be pumped up with a well, is called an aquifer. Wells
pump groundwater from the aquifer and then pipes deliver the water to cities, houses in the
country, or to crops.

Most groundwater is clean, but groundwater can become polluted, or contaminated. It can
become polluted from leaky underground tanks that store gasoline, leaky landfills, or when
people apply too much fertilizer or pesticides on their fields or lawns. When pollutants leak,
spill, or are carelessly dumped on the ground they can move through the soil.
1.4 GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION

Groundwater as a source of drinking water, and still more use it to supply their factories with
process water or their farms with irrigation water. However, if all water uses such as irrigation
and power production are included, only about 25 percent of the water used nationally is derived
from groundwater. It is critical that their groundwater be unpolluted and relatively free of
undesirable contaminants.

A groundwater pollutant is any substance that, when it reaches an aquifer, makes the water
unclean or otherwise unsuitable for a particular purpose. Sometimes the substance is a
manufactured chemical, but just as often it might be microbial contamination. Contamination
also can occur from naturally occurring mineral and metallic deposits in rock and soil.
1.5 TYPES OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

A groundwater pollution caused by human activities usually falls into one of two categories:

 Point-source pollution, and

 Nonpoint-source pollution

Fertilizers and pesticides applied to crops

eventually may reach underlying
aquifers, particularly if the aquifer is
shallow and not "protected" by an
overlying layer of low permeability
material, such as clay. Drinking-water
wells located close to cropland
sometimes are contaminated by these
agricultural chemicals.

Point-source pollution refers to contamination originating from a single tank, disposal site, or
facility. Industrial waste disposal sites, accidental spills, leaking gasoline storage tanks, and
dumps or landfills are examples of point sources. Chemicals used in agriculture, such as
fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are examples of nonpoint-source pollution because they are
spread out across wide areas. Similarly, runoff from urban areas is a nonpoint source of
pollution.

Because nonpoint-source substances are used of larger impact on the general quality of water in
an aquifer than do point sources, particularly when these chemicals are used in areas that overlie
aquifers that are vulnerable to pollution. If impacts from individual pollution sources such as
septic system drain fields occur over large enough areas, they are often collectively treated as a
nonpoint source of pollution.

1.5.1 Natural Substances

Some groundwater pollution occurs naturally. The toxic metal arsenic and can be present in
groundwater at concentrations that exceed safe levels for drinking water.

Radon gas is a radioactive product of the decay of naturally occurring uranium in the Earth's
crust. Groundwater entering a house through a home water-supply system might release radon
indoors where it could be breathed.
1.5.2 Petroleum-Based Fuels

One of the best known classes of groundwater contaminants includes petroleum-based fuels such
as gasoline and diesel.

Gasoline consists of a mixture of various hydrocarbons (chemicals made up of carbon and

hydrogen atoms) that evaporate easily, dissolve to some extent in water, and often are toxic.
Benzene, a common component of gasoline, is considered to cause cancer in humans.

Aquifers in industrialized areas are at

significant risk of being contaminated by
chemicals and petroleum products. In
most developed countries, various laws
attempt to prevent land and water
pollution, and to clean up contaminated
areas when they occur. Developing
countries and countries in economic
distress are less likely than developed
nations to assess the risk of groundwater
contamination by land-use activities.

1.5.3 Chlorinated Solvents

Another common class of groundwater contaminants includes chemicals known as chlorinated

solvents. One example of a chlorinated solvent is dry-cleaning fluid, also known as per chloro-
ethylene. These chemicals are similar to petroleum hydrocarbons in that they are made up of
carbon and hydrogen atoms, but the molecules also have chlorine atoms in their structure.

As a general rule, the chlorine present in chlorinated solvents makes this class of compounds
more toxic than fuels. Unlike petroleum-based fuels, solvents are usually heavier than water, and
thus tend to sink to the bottoms of aquifers. This makes solvent-contaminated aquifers much
more difficult to clean up than those contaminated by fuels.
1.6 METHODS OF CLEANUP OF GROUNDWATER

The various ways to respond to site contamination can be grouped into the following categories:

1. Containing the contaminants to prevent them from migrating from their source;

2. Removing the contaminants from the aquifer;

3. Remediating the aquifer by either immobilizing or detoxifying the contaminants while

they are still in the aquifer;

4. Treating the groundwater at its point of use; and

5. Abandoning the use of the aquifer and finding an alternative source of water

1.6.1 Containment of Ground Water

Several ways are available to contain groundwater contamination: physically, by using an

underground barrier of clay, cement, or steel; hydraulically, by pumping wells to keep
contaminants from moving past the wells; or chemically, by using a reactive substance to either
immobilize or detoxify the contaminant. When buried in an aquifer, zero-valent iron (iron metal
filings) can be used to turn chlorinated solvents into harmless carbon dioxide and water.

1.6.2 Removal of Contaminants from Groundwater

The most common way of removing a full range of contaminants (including metals, volatile
organic chemicals, and pesticides) from an aquifer is by capturing the pollution with
groundwater extraction wells. After it has been removed from the aquifer, the contaminated
water is treated above ground, and the resulting clean water is discharged back into the ground or
to a river. Pump-and-treat, as this cleanup technology is known, can take a long time, but can be
successful at removing the majority of contamination from an aquifer.

Another way of removing volatile chemicals from groundwater is by using a process known as
air sparging. Small-diameter wells are used to pump air into the aquifer. As the air moves
through the aquifer, it evaporates the volatile chemicals. The contaminated air that rises to the
top of the aquifer is then collected using vapor extraction.
1.6.3 Bioremediation 

It is a treatment process that uses naturally occurring microorganisms to break down some forms
of contamination into less toxic or non-toxic substances. By adding nutrients or oxygen, this
process can be enhanced and used to effectively clean up a contaminated aquifer. Because
bioremediation relies mostly on nature, involves minimal construction or disturbance, and is
comparatively inexpensive, it is becoming an increasingly popular cleanup option.

Some of the newest cleanup technologies use surfactants (similar to dishwashing detergent),
oxidizing solutions, steam, or hot water to remove contaminants from aquifers.

1.6.4 Treatment of Groundwater

Depending on the complexity of the aquifer and the types of contamination, some groundwater
cannot be restored to a safe drinking quality. Under these circumstances, the only way to regain
use of the aquifer is to treat the water at its point of use. For large water providers, this may mean
installing costly treatment units consisting of special filters or evaporative towers called air
strippers. Domestic well owners may need to install an expensive whole-house carbon filter or
a reverse osmosis filter, depending on the type of contaminant.

1.7 PREVENTION OF GROUNDWATER POLLUTION

Groundwater pollution can not be completely prevented. However, there are a number of steps
that residents can take in order to help ensure that their risks are minimized and that their home
environment is not likely to cause any potential contamination.

For instance, instead of using deicing salts residents can choose to use sand or kitty litter which
won’t leach into the ground. Proper storage of potential contaminants like pesticides, weed killer,
and automotive chemicals is imperative. Minimal use of these items is recommended and
protective ground cover where appropriate can help eliminate the risk of soil absorption.

Preventing groundwater contamination from a septic system started with the proper installation
of septic system. Since most residents inherit their septic systems with their property current and
regular inspections are required. If the septic system accepts waste from a garbage disposal the
inspection should happen every year.

Residents should be careful about what they put into their septic system. Chemical additives and
household chemicals can cause damage to the septic system and result in groundwater pollution.