Effects of Sewage Disposal
Enjoying the scenic horizon while out at sea, one must remember there is a hidden and imperative responsibility waiting to ruin the precious itinerary for which you have planned. If uncared for, this responsibility can grow, and expand, and build up until it explodes, literally OR figuratively, and cause a health issue from hell. This responsibility that every fisherman, boat enthusiast, and commercial cruise-line knows all too well is none other than…sewage disposal at sea. A sailboat, for instance, has certain serious regulations with which it must abide in order to maintain an environmental and even a fundamental social standing.
The law
In response to growing fears of the "death" of our nation's bodies of water, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act of 1972 (amended in 1987). This law addresses a wide spectrum of water pollution problems, including marine sewage from boats in navigable U.S. waters including coastal waters up to three miles offshore. The law further provides for "no discharge" by boats operated in enclosed lakes and reservoirs or in rivers not capable of interstate navigation. States may apply to the EPA to have certain other waters declared "no discharge zones" if discharge of treated sewage would be harmful. In short, boats with installed toilets must have an operable Coast Guard approved marine sanitation devices (MSDs) designed to either hold sewage for pump-out ashore or for discharge in the ocean beyond the three mile limit, or to treat the sewage to Federal standards prior to discharge. All boats built since 1977 with installed toilets must have an operable approved type I, II or III MSD. Since 1980, all boats (including those built before 1977) with in...
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...ystem. He told us that they also, abiding by law, have to go out pass the 3 miles offshore limit to dump sewage. Also, they have to go 25 miles offshore to dump regular waste products such as plastics and common household rubbish. For the regular trash, the submarine has an onboard system in which the trash is super compacted into a metal cylinder approximately 4 feet tall and 1 foot wide. Then weights are placed in the bottom to ensure it stays at the bottom (25 miles out at sea on the Pacific is around 3 miles deep, and on the Atlantic, much less than a mile) and does not cause any immediate environmental repercussions. This is still harming wildlife, but it could be a lot worse if they just dumped raw trash out at sea. The tour of the submarine was a very interesting and cramped one, and one that has opened our eyes to the proper disposal of waste products.
Our oceans take a large beating every day by the extremely large amount of pollution humans produce. Our society easily dumps their waste into the oceans to dispose of the excessive amount of garbage, sewage, and chemicals, but this small and simple solution is creating an even bigger problem. The way humans dispose of their wastes is causing the death of our beloved marine life. Not only are we killing off our animals, our food source, and our resources, we are also minimizing our usable water. By having a better understanding of the problem on the severe dumping, it will be easier to find ways to help minimize the pollution that is going into the ocean.
You ever wonder where the stuff you flush down the toilet goes? Or where the water goes after you brush your teeth? Or what's under those manholes that has sewage written on it? What happens when you throw wasted in the garbage? You probably don't but all of the content that is discarded throughout the day gets sent to a sewage plant through the pluming system that is connected to your house. There are sewage plants located throughout New York City. One of these plants that I visited is located under Riverbank State Park. The question of the our that I plan on answering is "How is New York City's sewage and garbage treated?"
The Clean Water Act of 1972 (CWA) was originally the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948. The original objective behind this act was to “to prepare comprehensive programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of interstate waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters.” (U.S Fish and Wild Life Service, 2013). Throughout the duration of this paper the various amendments and their effects will be discussed, those involved both on the side of support and opposition and what influenced the amendments to be made and passed.
Fifty-million plastic bags enter the Australian waters every year, causing the death of thousands of sea creatures. Imagine you went on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. As you arrive, it is clear to see garbage floating on the ocean and you can only imagine what rubbish lies beneath the surface. This disturbs me! What are we doing to our beautiful, yet innocent marine life?
The plastic apocalypse is upon us. Our oceans are currently burdened by massive expanses of floating plastic products and shreds extending farther than the eye can see in multiple locations. The biggest of these, located in the North Pacific Ocean,1 is known by many as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This dangerous collection of trash is surrounded by the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre,1 or a series of circling currents located in the Southern Hemisphere that carry plastics and other slow-degrading garbage and trap them inside its bounds.2 This specific Garbage Patch stretches from North America to Japan and the plastic-to-water ratio varies throughout.1 Because of this phenomenon, plastic is being distributed throughout oceans and deposited
Jamaica Bay or also known as Dead Horse Bay has a toxic past filled with pollution and decaying carcasses (Roberts,2010). For over a decade, Jamaica Bay has been the main dumping site for waste treatments plants, oozing contaminants from a nearby landfill, runoff from the Belt Parkway and airplane fuel (Roberts,2010). To address this issue of pollution, finding the source of the contaminate would help reduce the continuous depletion of Jamaica Bay. One contaminate in particular has been an issue and it has proven hard to get rid of. Plastic waste litters the estuary and the bay area. The source of the plastic waste is the Combined Sewer Overflow(CSO). The discharge or overflow
There is a lot of trash that can get into the ocean, like glass bottles, aluminum cans, and
The Chesapeake Bay is polluted with agricultural waste. We see things like 1.5 billion pounds of chicken waste that no one wants to take responsibility for. Ignoring standards, a waterway was tested for E. coli; the standard is 125 FCU/100ml of water. Yet this waterway’s level was at 48392 FCU/100ml. An industry that will go to great lengths to make sure that Congress doesn’t impose sanction against them.
More and more ways are being discovered to help treat water pollution around the world, but what needs to happen is to stop the pollution. Around the world water pollution is a definite obstacle; luckily South Carolina has everything it needs to make sure the local community household water is clean and sanitary for use. Lots of countries around the world have no access to clean water or the technology to filter their water. “Water pollution has increased in both developed and developing countries, undermining economic growth as well as the physical and environmental health and quality of life for billions of people” (Tortajada and Cecilia). In the local community water pollution has also continued to increase over the years, before 1970 all waste water was distributed directly into the Charleston Harbor. Because of this the harbor already had pollution even before people began to litter. Now polluting the Charleston Harbor is plastic bottles, Styrofoam, and many other man-made products people carelessly threw out their car windows or left on the grown. There are many more ways to clean the water and prevent pollution today than there were in from 1950-1970.
While a beautiful sunset on the beach can be astounding, a spectacular scene is not the only benefit oceans provide. Without the oceans, we would not have adequate amounts of oxygen to breathe or enough protein to eat. The Earth's climate would not be inhabitable for human beings and many animals. The oceans supply medicines, food and drinking water which arise from ocean processes. Out of the five oceans, the Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest and deepest ocean. It spreads over an area of 165.2 million square kilometers. More than 25,000 islands float within the Pacific. Within the Pacific Ocean lies an unusual island, an island that is more than twice the size of Texas and is earth’s largest landfill, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (McLendon). Society is unaware that the excess use of plastic and other non-biodegradable materials has ended up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and is the main source of ocean pollution. The solutions, ranging from manual clean-up to eliminating any further obliteration to the Garbage Patch, will reduce the amount of effluence the world has to endure.
The ocean is an abundant source of life. It is home to thousand of different creatures, provides a great source of food, and provides the earth with about one half of the oxygen needed to sustain life. (National Geographic) Pollution especially plastic, is a catastrophic problem. Ironically plastic, which is a material designed to last forever is generally used for things we tend to throw away. Every year about one hundred to two hundred billion pounds of plastic are manufactured. Only 31% of that plastic is actually recycled. Biomass packaging estimates 10% of that plastic ends up in the ocean annually. About 20% of it coming from ships and other platforms, and the other 80% coming from land derived sources, such as international garbage dumping, winds or tides either way it finds its way to the ocean.(Biomass Packaging Co., et al)
Phase one in process of waste water treatment begins in the home, local businesses and community. Waste water from these buildings and surrounding areas travel through a pipe, or sewer which is sloped downward, and with the assistance of gravity, travels toward the waste water treatment plant. However, in larger communities or communities with unevenly leveled terrain, waste water cannot keep getting deeper to rely on gravity to transport the waste water and must pumped up by the assistance of a lift station so it may continue to travel to the water treatment plant. Once the waste water arrives at the waste water treatment plant, the first step is the removal of large debris such as diapers, underwear or other non-biological...
Solid waste can be classified in different types, depending on their source, household waste is generally classified as municipal waste; industrial waste as hazardous waste or hospital waste as infections waste. It quite obvious that South Africa environment is deteriorated by the illegal dumping area that around here. Solid waste is a major problem this country is facing at the moment. The province that is experience this major problem is Gauteng province, this an urban area am taking about, and since it’s clear that over population is the cause of the problem. Gauteng province is an over populated than rural area .solid waste pollution is refuse or garbage that people use in their everyday life in their house, such as plastic
Wastes are the products of our consumptions in our daily life routines such as lunch, work, school and other things we do. Little things such as throwing out a piece of paper, we are producing waste by the seconds. After we consume a product we usually throw out what’s left that can’t be consumed any further. Results in producing waste, substance that are born after it’s been use or consume by us. At the end of each day we throw out a bag full of garbage, all of the materials in that bag (paper towels, cans, leftover foods and many other material’s) all of these are waste. Hospitals produce medical waste such as use needles for treating patients. Corporations produce papers, plastics, tires, steels, cans and many other type of solid waste which contribute to the pollutions that cause health risk and other environmental issues.
The average resident produces seven and a half pounds of garbage every day that is buried down in landfills and litters lands costing a great amount of money. Nowadays, people face no more critical trouble than the need to save the weakening environment, mainly in urban areas, where solid wastes are uselessly dumped. It has been observed that cities have no controlled structure for garbage disposal. Each year, millions of dollars are spent picking up litter and more is thrown away in valuable materials that could be recycled. As humanity develops new technology and equipment, the level of waste increases every day. Due to the fact that there is a huge problem with garbage disposal, government representatives must contribute to resolving this issue.