Land Use & Water Quality

Background Information

Parking Lots & Roads

Impervious surfaces like parking lots create a lot of runoff! Runoff is considered a leading cause of surface water pollution. When precipitation falls or melts, the water from roads & parking lots is typically diverted through a stormwater management system that may include ditches, culverts, basins, or underground pipes - regardless, this runoff makes its way into nearby bodies of surface water. The pollution issue is cause by whatever else this runoff water carries along with it: road salts, soil, litter (especially plastics), gas & oil, animal waste, and a range of other potential contaminants. These substances can be very harmful to aquatic life, including fish, frogs, birds, and turtles.

Lawns, Playing Fields & Golf Courses

Fertilizers and other lawn chemicals are commonly applied in parks, on playing fields, lawns, and golf courses. While these support lush green growth, they have major ecological downsides! When it rains (or other forms of precipitation fall), these sometimes toxic chemicals are carried through the water cycle. Where do they end up? In ponds, streams, rivers, and groundwater! This can harm wildlife, make water unsafe for drinking, and trigger a process called "eutrophication." Eutrophication is caused by the accumulation of nutrients in the water that leads to increased algae and plant growth - more nutrients might sound like a good thing, but this can turn a waterway into a pea soup sludge that chokes out other life forms and upsets the ecological balance, and uses up the oxygen from water, which is also critical for aquatic life. Pesticides & herbicides applied on these lands are also a danger to fish, amphibians, waterfowl, and the groundwater below the surface.

Ports, Marinas & Yacht Clubs

Where heavy boat traffic exists, there is unfortunately bound to be leakage and spillage of oil and other petroleum products. Litter may also be concentrated near waterways in areas that are busy and highly trafficked. Shoreline alteration that impacts habitat is also common.

Industry

Many forms of industry are built on large waterways. After production, goods need to be transported; therefore, boats, barges, and trains are used on or near the water. The petroleum products that fuel these transport systems sometimes spill or leak. Water is also drawn directly from rivers to be used in industrial processes. The returned water may not be the same temperature as the river. Industrial wastes are usually kept near the site or sometimes expelled into water sources, either by accident or because, as thought years ago, there is so little waste and so much water, what could happen. (Dilution is not the solution to pollution!)

Electric Plants

Electric plants are often built next to water sources. In the case of nuclear power plants, water is drawn from the source and circulated as a coolant in the the power generating process. When the water is expelled (released back to the water source) it is much warmer than the natural water temperature in the surrounding areas. This changes the ecology and can be detrimental to native species, or promote the growth of plants and animals not normally found in these waters, which has rippling effects in the food web. In the case of hydroelectric power plants, dams are built that completely reengineer the natural processes of a river or stream with significant ecological impacts.

Water & Sewage Treatment

Some rivers are used as municipal source water, meaning water is drawn from the river and filtered and treated at a water treatment plant to make potable water for a community to use. Sewage treatment facilities, on the other hand, release their effluent (the finished water from the sewage treatment process) directly into nearby rivers and streams. While effluent has been "cleaned," the it often still contains pollutants that are difficult to remove in the sewage treatment process - chlorine, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, excess nutrients, and other chemicals.

Agriculture (Circuses, Kennels, Pets & Zoos too!)

Many animals in a small space means a lot of waste! Animal waste can contaminate water if allowed to runoff or leach into groundwater due to excess nutrients & bacteria. In addition to manure, on farms chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides are commonly applied and can easily move through the water cycle, causing harm to wildlife and making water unsafe for drinking.

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