Lecture 20

Water: Pollution & Treatment 

Today's objectives -

• To identify the major sources and types of water pollution.
• To learn how our waste water is treated.
• To learn how water pollution has effected the Great Lakes.

Vocabulary -

Water pollution –
Residency time –
point source –
non-point source –
BOD [biochemical oxygen demand] –
Nutrients –
eutrophication –
Pathogens & infectious agents –
Toxins –
                heavy metals –
                organics –
Sewage –
Primary treatment –
Secondary treatment –
Tertiary treatment –
Septic tank –

Lecture Outline -

What is water pollution
Residency times
Pollution sources
            point and non-point
Pollution types
            BOD – “biochemical oxygen demand” – oxygen depletion
            Nutrients – eutrophication
            Pathogens and Infectious agents
            Toxins
Sewage treatment
Pollution in the Great Lakes
            “it was bad – it’s getting better”