Introduction to water pollution

Presented by: Om Kumar

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9555111859
Distribution of water on earth
THE PROPERTIES OF WATER, A UNIQUE
SUBSTANCE
• Water has a number of unique properties that
are essential to life and that determine its
environmental chemical behavior. Many of
these properties are due to water’s polar
molecular structure and its ability to form
hydrogen bonds.
 Hydrological cycle
• The central focus of hydrology is hydrological cycle
consisting of the continuous processes. water evaporates
from oceans and land surfaces become water vapour that
is carried over the earth by atmospheric circulation. the
water vapor condense and precipitate on oceans and land
surfaces. The precipitated water may be intercepted by
vegetation became overland flow over the ground
surface, infiltrate into the ground, flow through the soil as
subsurface flow or discharge as surface runoff.
Evaporation from land surface comprises evaporation
directly from soil and vegetation surfaces, and the
transpiration through plant leaves.
Hydrological Cycle

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Global Hydrological cycle
 Continue…
• The global hydrological cycle can be represented
as a system containing three subsystems:
• (A).The atmospheric water system
• (B). The surface water system
• And Subsurface water system
General types of water pollutants
 Introduction
❖The environment will be viewed as consisting of
five sphere the hydrosphere, atmosphere,
geosphere, biosphere and anthrosphere.
❖Water composes one of the five “spheres” in
which environmental chemistry is discussed.
❖Water has a number of unique properties that are
essential to life and that determine its
environmental chemical behavior. Many of these
properties are due to water’s polar molecular
structure and its ability to form hydrogen bond.s
 Elemental Pollutants
• Trace elements: Those element that occur at very
low level of a few parts per million or less in a
given system. Some of these are recognized as a
nutrient required for animal and plant life,
including some are essentials at low levels but
toxic at higher levels.
Trace elements in natural water
Heavy metals

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Dr. Om Kumar
Metalloids

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 Inorganic pollutants

• Cynide
• Carbon dioxide,
• Hydrogen sulfide
• Nitrite
• And sulfite.
 Stratification of Lakes

Water’s unique temperature-density relationship results in the formation of distinct layers within
nonflowing bodies of water, as shown in above figure. During the summer a surface layer
(epilimnion) is heated by solar radiation and, because of its lower density, floats upon the bottom
layer, or hypolimnion. This phenomenon is called thermal stratification. When an appreciable
temperature difference exists between the two layers, they do not mix, but behave independently
and have very dif-ferent chemical and biological properties. The epilimnion, which is exposed to
light, may have a heavy growth of algae. As a result of exposure to the atmosphere and (during
daylight hours) because of the photosynthetic activity of algae, the epilimnion contains relatively
higher levels of dissolved oxygen and generally is aerobic.
Major aquatic chemical process
Chelating agents are common potential water pollutants. These
substances can occur in sewage effluent and industrial wastewater
such as metal plating wastewater. Chelates formed by the strong
chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) have been shown
to greatly increase the migration rates of radioactive 60Co from pits
and trenches used for disposal of intermediate-level radioactive waste.
 Microorganisms in Water
• Microorganisms compose a diverse group of organisms
generally capable of existing as single cells that can be seen
only under a microscope. Microscopically small single-celled
microorganisms, consisting of bacteria, fungi, and algae are of
the utmost importance in water for a number of reasons.
• Through their ability to fix inorganic carbon, algae and
photosynthetic bacteria are the predominant producers of the
biomass that supports the rest of the food chain in bodies of
water.
• As catalysts of aquatic chemical reactions, bacteria mediate
most of the significant oxidation-reduction processes that occur
in water.
• By breaking down biomass and mineralizing essential elements,
especially nitrogen and phosphorus, aquatic microorganisms
play a key role in nutrient cycling.
Aquatic microorganisms are essential for the major biogeochemical
cycles.
• Aquatic bacteria are responsible for the breakdown and
detoxification of many xenobiotic pollutants that get into the
hydrosphere.

In a highly simplified form, the production of organic

matter by algal photosynthesis is described by the reaction
Nitrogen cycle
 RADIONUCLIDES IN THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT

• The massive production of radionuclides(radioactive isotopes) by

weapons and nuclear reactors since World War II has been
accompanied by increasing concern about the effects of
radioactivity upon health and the environment. Radionuclides are
produced as fission products of heavy nuclei of such elements as
uranium or plutonium. They are also produced by the reaction of
neutrons with stable nuclei.
• Radionuclides are formed in large quantities as waste products in
nuclear power generation. Their ultimate disposal is a problem that
has caused much controversy regarding the widespread use of
nuclear power.
Radionuclides in water
 CPCB

Already discussed in class…

CPCB is monitoring 445 rivers in 29 States and
6 Union Territories in the country.
• Check CPCB website…
The water quality management is one of the major problems in India.
Increasing demands of water for human consumption, irrigation and growing
industrial activities has improved the water quality of rivers due to declining
flows in rivers and depleting waste levels of subsurface resources.
 Types of Water pollution
• Surface waters may have following types of
pollutions:
• (A) Suspended solids: The inorganic suspended solids blanket the
stream bed effecting benthos (flora and fauna at bottom) organisms.
While the organic solids create sludge banks and decompose
causing odours and pathogens.
• (B)Floating solids including oils, grease: floating materials obstruct
passage of light and aeration which are vital for flora and fauna and
self purification of water.
• (C). Organic matter: Biological decomposition of waste organic
matter in stream depletes dissolved oxygen content of water which
may stifle the fish and aquatic life due to lack of oxygen.
• (D) Inorganic dissolves salt
• (E) Acid, alkalis, toxic chemicals and heavy metals: Adverse affect
on human , animal life and plants.
 Types of Water pollution
• (F)Radioactive materials: Adverse affect on all biological
beings.
• (H)Microorganisms: Pathogenic bacteria, viruses, etc are
health hazards.
• (i) Thermal pollution: Heat depletes the dissolves oxygen
in water adversely affecting fishes. Higher temperature
of water also adversely affecting fishes.
 Factors responsible for depletion of
ground water
• Over the years people have witnessed a lots of problems due to
over exploitation of ground water. This is due to various factors
like:
• Industrialization
• Urbanization
• Green in population
• Technological development
• Water markets
• Notion of priority of use
• Policy intervention
 Rain water harvesting
• Rainwater harvesting is the accumulation and deposition of rainwater for
reuse before it reaches the aquifer. Uses include water for garden, water
for livestock, water for irrigation, and indoor heating for house etc.
• In many places the water collected just redirected to a deep pit with
percolation. the harvested water can be used as drinking water as well as
for storage and other purpose like irrigation.
• In urban areas the construction of houses foot paths and roads has left
little exposed earth for water soak in. In parts of the rural area of India
flood water quickly flows to the rivers which then dry up soon after the
rain drops. if this water can be held back it can seep into the ground and
recharge the ground water supply. this has became a very popular method
of conserving water especially in the urban areas. Rain water harvesting
essentially means collecting rainwater on the roofs of building and
storing it underground for later use. It is essential to stop the decline the
ground water level arrest sea water ingress that is prevent sea water from
moving landward and conserve surface water run of during rainy season.
• Realizing the importance of recharging ground water the CGWB central
Ground Water Board)is taking steps to encourage it through rainwater
harvesting in Delhi and other cities India.
 Ground water quality features of the Country

❖ Ground water is an essential and vital component of our life support

system. The ground water resources are being utilized for drinking,
irrigation and industrial purposes. There is growing concern on
deterioration of ground water quality due to geogenic and anthropogenic
activities.
❖ The quality of ground water has undergone a change to an extent that the
use of such water could be hazardous. Increase in overall salinity of the
ground water and/or presence of high concentrations of fluoride, nitrate,
iron, arsenic, total hardness and few toxic metal ions have been noticed in
large areas in several states of India.

• Ground water contains wide varieties of dissolved inorganic chemical

constituents in various concentrations as a result of chemical and
biochemical interactions between water and the geological materials
through which it flows and to a lesser extent because of contribution from
the atmosphere and surface water bodies.
 Inland salinity

• Inland salinity in ground water is prevalent

mainly in the arid and semi arid regions of
Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat and to a
lesser extent in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya
Pradesh Maharashtra, Karnataka , Bihar and
Tamil Nadu. About 2 lakh sq.km area has been
estimated to be affected by saline water of
Electrical Conductivity in excess of 4000 μS/cm.
There are several places in Rajasthan and
southern Haryana where EC values of ground
water is greater than 10000 μS /cm making water
non-potable.
 Coastal salinity
❖ Coastal areas represent zones where land and sea meet
and comprises variety of complex environments including
deltas, estuaries, bays, marshes, dunes and beaches.
Coastal aquifers have boundaries in contact with seawater
and are always under dynamic equilibrium with it.
Withdrawal of fresh ground water from these aquifers
may result in inequilibrium resulting in intrusion of saline
water in coastal aquifers.

❖ The Indian subcontinent has a dynamic coast line of

about 7500 km length. It stretches from Rann of Kutch in
Gujarat to Konkan and Malabar coast to Kanyakumari in
the south to northwards along the Coromandal coast to
Sunderbans in West Bengal .
• Some of the options available for removal of
salinity from drinking water are –
• i) Electrodialysis
• ii) Reverse Osmosis
• iii) Ion exchange
 Fluoride
• Fluorine is the lightest member of the halogen group of elements.
Fluorite (CaF2) is a common fluoride mineral. This mineral has a
rather low solubility and occurs in both igneous and sedimentary
rocks. Apatite (Ca5 ( Cl, F, OH ) ( PO4)3,) commonly contains
fluoride. Most fluorides are sparingly soluble and are present in
natural water in small amounts.
• High concentration of fluoride in ground water beyond the
permissible limit of 1.5 mg/L is a major health problem in India.
• Nearly 90% of rural population of the country uses ground water
for drinking and domestic purposes and due to excess Fluoride in
ground water a huge rural population is threatened with health
hazards of Fluorosis.
Occurrence of Ground water problem in India
Some of the options available for removal of fluoride from drinking water are –
Adsorption ( Activated Alumina)
ii. Ion Exchange
iii. Nalgonda Technique
iv. Membrane ( Reverse Osmosis)
v . Electro dialysis
vi. Alternate Fluoride free aquifer
 Arsenic
• Arsenic and its compounds are widely used in
pigments, as insecticides and herbicides, as an alloy in
metals and chemical warfare agents. Though synthetic
organic compounds have now replaced arsenic in most
of the uses, arsenic is still an element of interest in
terms of environmental quality.
• Arsenic is a metalloid. The common valancy of arsenic
in unpolluted ground water of geogenic origin are +III
& +V as hydrolysis species The dissociation constant of
As(III) and As(V) acids are quite different .
• Organic arsenic compounds such as methyl arsenic acid
and dimethyl arsenic acid are not common in ground
water.
• The occurrence of Arsenic in ground water was first
reported in 1980 in West Bengal in India. In West Bengal,
79 blocks in 8 districts have Arsenic beyond the permissible
limit of 0.01 mg/L. About 16 million people are in risk
zone. The most affected districts are on the eastern side of
Bhagirathi river in the districts of Malda, Murshidabad,
Nadia, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas and
western side of the districts of Howrah, Hugli and
Bardhman.
• The occurrence of Arsenic in ground water is mainly in the
intermediate aquifer in the depth range of 20-100m. The
deeper aquifers are free from Arsenic contamination. Apart
from West Bengal, Arsenic contamination in ground water
has been found in the states of Bihar, Chhatisgarh and Uttar
Pradesh &Assam. Arsenic in ground water has been
reported in 12 districts In Bihar, 5 districts in U.P and one
district each in Chhatisgarh & Assam states.
The remedial options available for getting Arsenic free
water are
Development of ground water from Arsenic free aquifers
2. Piped water supply from surface water sources.
3. Dilution of ground water with surface water
4. Treatment of ground water for removal of arsenic using
adsorption (Activated alumina /Granulated ferric hydrated
oxide) or precipitation and coagulation technique.
5. Rain water harvesting
 Iron(Fe)
• Iron in an essential element for both plant and animal metabolism. Both
ferrous and ferric iron are wide spread minor component of most
sediments. Soil development processes result in increase in iron content.
The concentration of iron in natural water is controlled by both physico
chemical and microbiological factors. In aqueous solution iron is subject to
hydrolysis and iron hydroxides are formed during these reactions,
especially the ferric form having very low solubility.
• High concentration of Iron in ground water has been observed in more than
1.1 lakh habitations in the country. The highest value( 49 mg/L) has been
found in a hand pump at Bhubaneswar. Ground water contaminated by iron
has been reported from Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and
Karnataka. Localized pockets are observed in states of Bihar, UP, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Kerala
and North Eastern States.
The remedial methods available for removing Iron from drinking water are-
i) Chemical Oxidation
ii) Aeration
iii) Ion exchange method
 Nitrate
• Aqueous geochemical behaviour of nitrogen is strongly
influenced by vital importance of the element in plant
and animal nutrition. The most common contaminant
identified in ground water is dissolved nitrogen in the
form of nitrate (NO3).
• Nitrate in ground water generally originates from
nitrogen sources on the land surface in the soil zone or
shallow subsoil zones where nitrogen rich wastes are
buried. In some situations nitrate that enters the ground
water system originates as nitrate in wastes or fertilizers
applied on the land surface. These are direct nitrate
sources. In other cases nitrate originates by conversion of
organic nitrogen
 Nitrate
• Nitrate is a very common constituent in the ground
water, especially in shallow aquifers. The source is
mainly from man made activities. In India, high
concentration of nitrate( more than 45 mg/l) has
been found in many districts of Andhra Pradesh,
Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra ,
Orissa. Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West
Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The highest value being
3080 mg/L found in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
The remedial methods available for removing Nitrate
from drinking water are-
1. Reverse Osmosis
2. Ion Exchange
3. Bio remediation
4. Blending
 NOISE POLLUTION (REGULATION AND
CONTROL) ROLES, 2000
• Keeping in the view the deleterious effects of increasing
ambient noise levels on human health and physiological
levels and physiological well being of the people , Noise
Pollution(Regulation and control) Rules, 2000 was
passed in 14th February 2000 by Ministry of Environment
and Forests with aim of maintaining the ambient air
quality.
• Under the rules, a responsibility is imposed on the state
government to categorize the areas into industrial,
commercial, residential or silence areas/zones for the
purposes of implementation of noise standards for
different araes.
 Noise Levels
Area Code Category of Day time Night time
Area/Zones in
DB
A Industrial Area

B Commercial Area

C Residential Area

D Silence Zone

Note
Day time shall mean 6.00 a.m to 10.00 p.m
Night time shall mean 10.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m
 NOISE POLLUTION (REGULATION AND
CONTROL) (Amendment) Rules, ROLES, 2002
• NOISE POLLUTION (REGULATION AND
CONTROL) Rules, 2000 got amendment in 2002
whereby a new provision is added which gave a power to
the concerned authority under the rule to permit use of
loud speakers or public address systems during night
hours ( Between 10.00 p.m to 12.00 midnight) on or
during any cultural or religious festive occasion for a
period not exceeding 15 days in all during a calendar
year.
Origin and age of Ground water
 Soil Pollution
• The term soil is derived from the Latin word solum, which
means the floor.
• Geologist considered soil to be the product of rock
weathering.
• Soil science society of America ,1970 soil is
• (i) the unconsolidated mineral on the immediate surface of
the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of
lands plants.
• (ii) Unconsolidated mineral matter on the surface of the
earth that has been subjected to and influenced by genetic
and environmental factors of parent material, climate, macro
and microorganism and topography , all acting period of
time and producing a product that is soil. that differs from
the material it from it is derived in many physical, chemical
,biological and morphological properties and characteristics.
Composition of soil
 Soil Degradation
• After the green revolution of 1960s and 1970s, the
1980s and beyond became the decades of Resource
crunch and awareness because of general decline
and/or stagnation in soil productivity.
• Food grain production per capita decreased
significantly in some parts of the world , especially
Africa, the Near East and Asia during the period
(1980s and beyond).
• Although some of this decline was due to periodic
droughts, much of it was due to improper use and
poor management and exploitive farming practices,
resulting in land degradation)(by wind and water
erosion, nutrient depletion, salinization, etc.).
 Cause of soil pollution

• Discharge of industrial waste into the soil

• Rupture of underground storage tank
• Excess application of pesticides, herbicides, or
fertilizer
• Petroleum hydrocarbon, Heavy metals
• Indiscriminate use of fertilizer
• Dumping of large quantities of solid waste
• Deforestation and soil erosion
 Effects of soil pollution

• 1. Reduced soil fertility

• Reduced nitrogen fixation
• Ecological imbalance
• Releases of pollutant gases
• Public health problem
• Pollution of drinking water sources
• Foul smell and releases of gases
❖The process leading to soil degradation are generally
triggered by excessive pressure on land to meet the
growing demands of rapidly growing population for
food, fodder, and fiber.

❖Various anthropogenic activities , such as the

introduction of large scale irrigation canals, deforestation
lead to accelerated soil degradation , through
salinization, flooding, drought, erosion, waterlogging,
etc. these processes , in turn reduce agricultural
productivity leading to social insecurity and political
instability.
 THANK YOU!

Om Kumar, [email protected],contact: 9555111859,9798430493

https://www.facebook.com/om.kumar.9803
Eutrophication
BOD