Effects of Nitrate on Water Quality

908 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Water pollution effects short note

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to spare. This is the reality – especially when regarding the amount of freshwater available. Fact: The earth contains only 3.5% freshwater. Fact: 98.8% of all freshwater is shielded from our grasp in glaciers or groundwater. Fact: Only 0.0003% of the Earth’s water is accessible for consumption. With such a minute quantity of freshwater available, the high amount of pollution contaminating this water is appalling. Water quality levels are decreasing, hurting us as well as the countless organisms depending on freshwater habitats to be safe homes. One of the main contaminants, nitrates, which spring from mainly manmade sources, are especially treacherous…

Many people are unaware of the impact of nitrate ions in freshwater habitats. Nitrate presence is imperative for plant growth and development. This is because nitrogen is a key ingredient in the nucleic acid structure of plants. The natural level of nitrate concentration in freshwater is 1 milligram/Liter (mg/L). However, due to agricultural activity, these levels are rapidly increasing.

Increasing levels of nitrates are tipping the balance of freshwater habitats. The typically gradual rate of eutrophication (the dramatic growth of plants and algae) is accelerating because of the excessive presence of this nutrient. Due to eutrophication, algal blooms, which are clusters of algae, form at the water’s surface. These algal clusters block the sunlight from reaching the other aquatic organisms beneath the water’s surface. Additionally, eutrophication distorts the dissolved oxygen levels, and causes hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The solution to preventing excess buildup of nitrates in freshwater bodies is to cut them off at the source....

... middle of paper ...

... into the watershed. The world is filled with a multitude of locations which contain the proper geography for the construction of wetlands. All that is left is to implement these habitats at a global level.

Implementing constructed wetlands at the global level is completely doable. The low construction and management costs of CW make it an affordable solution. Managing the habitats requires much less attention than other nitrate-desalination procedures. As long as we fulfill our duty and avoid littering on these habitats, the wetland productivity will remain high. CW provide the perfect solution to disposing of excess nitrates in a clean, natural way. Additionally, countless biological life can depend on CW to provide safe housing. With the power of constructed wetlands, freshwater habitats will thrive and prosper for future generations.

Works Cited

google.com

Show More
Related

  • Relation of Nitrogen and Nitrates to Hypoxia

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

    Currently, the United State’s Gulf of Mexico experiences an annual, seasonal “dead zone” as a result of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a low level of dissolved oxygen (<2mg/L) in an area of water. Hypoxia is typically temporary and seasonal, but the low oxygen levels can be devastating to aquatic organisms. Hypoxia occurs in many oceanic waters worldwide, but there is a growing area of concern in our Gulf of Mexico coast. Hypoxia is largely caused by nitrogen fertilizer application for agriculture, with heavy concentrations coming from the Midwestern US. Nitrogen mobilizes as nitrate, and is transported via surface water runoff. The runoff enters tile-drain supported ditches, enters streams and joins the Mississippi river, eventually reaching the gulf. Nitrate mobilization is a problem for human health, and ag. runoff is also often attributed to the contamination of surface and well-water sources in rural areas. High levels of nitrates restrict the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. This can harm humans, and is the major cause of infant methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome”. The safe drinking level standard is 10mg/L.

    Read More

  • Abiotic Factors Of The Louisiana Coastline

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...n, the Louisiana wetlands are an extremely valuable asset to the State of Louisiana and the United States. The continual loss of Louisiana wetlands has the potential to have an immensely negative effect on the economy at a state and national level. Over 2 million people live in the Louisiana coastal parishes (Field et al., 1991). The majority of people living on the Louisiana coast make their living from things that are directly related to the wetlands. The Louisiana wetlands make up the largest wetland community in America and is being lost at a rate greater than the other wetland communities in the country. The suggested strategies that are being taken into consideration could be helpful but it seems that the State of Louisiana is not as concerned as it should be given the future consequences and much like climate change coastal erosion is not being taken serious.

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Wetland Habitat Evaluation

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    Office of Water (2006) Wetlands: Protecting Life and Property from Flooding, Washington: Environmental Protection Agency

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Buckeye Lake

    1275 Words  | 3 Pages

    The algal growths in the lake feed on phosphorus mostly caused by fertilizer runoff from farms and local residences. Microcystin, a toxin that causes liver problems, is produced by the growths have caused major health concerns for wildlife and people using the lake. It is our moral obligation to clean up this mess or it will continue to harm the wildlife and environment in and the lake, as we are the one’s solely responsible for it. Organizations such as the Ohio EPA and Buckeye Lake for Tomorrow, have taken a notice to the pollution of Buckeye Lake and are formulating plans to return the lake to its former glory. Our plan is to provide a short term solution for the lake via the process of dredging, while a much larger and permanent solution is put in

    Read More

  • The Loss of Coastal Wetlands

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    This paper introduces the environmental concerns of the loss of coastal wetlands. The paper will discuss the significance of wetlands and the devastation that is occurring because of human activity. Wetlands are an essential element of our environment both ecological and societal; conservation will be essential for the preservation of these precious ecosystems.

    Read More

  • The Animal's Impact On The Everglades

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 18th and 19th centuries, drainage of the wetlands was an idea. From then on, human activities like agriculture and building have been the center of elimination for these wetlands. Pollution has also been a factor in this, along with natural

    Read More

  • The Effects of Ocean Pollution on the Environment

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Pollution comes in many forms. In the ocean we dump a variety of substances, including human wastes, chemicals from fertilizers, oil, and trash such as plastic which all contribute to the growing issue of our ocean pollution. In addition to, our usable waters are finite. More than 97.5 percent of the water on this planet is undrinkable salt water; the remaining 2.5 percent has two-thirds of the usable fresh water locked up in glaciers, snow, and permafrost. Of the one-third of freshwater that is available for human use, 20 percent is used for industrial use. (“Water Pollution”) “In effect, water pollution reduces the volume of water available for use by human and other populations.” (Robin Clarke, Jannet King) Knowing that there are approximately 7.2 billion people and growing on this planet with only 0.83 percent of available for our use wouldn’t you want to do everything possible to help put an end to water pollution? (worldometers)

    Read More

  • Methemoglobinemia in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems

    1920 Words  | 4 Pages

    In recent years, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) have been employed to minimize water usage and environmental nutrient loading due to intensive fish farming. The recirculating of water throughout an RAS relies upon nitrifying microorganisms to transform ammonia and nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is generally non-toxic to the fish species being raised. Additionally, as recirculating aquaculture systems have evolved, stocking densities have been pushed to their limit. As these RAS are pushed to their limits, problems with...

    Read More

  • The Effects of Pollution in Water

    405 Words  | 1 Pages

    Today's waters are constantly being treated like sewage dumps or trash cans. We use them as garbage cans every day polluting the water more and more. "Pollution is often by way of rivers, drains and outflow pipes." Causing an outflow of sewage into our ocean waters. This is not only affecting the community but also the marine life and other sea creatures living in the ocean." This pollution includes human sewage and domestic waste water, factory outflows of acids and poisonous metals, engine oil from roadside drains and garages, farm chemicals washed off the land by rain, building-site rubble, nuclear waste from power plants, and oil from wells, refineries, and tankers." Stating that most of today's waste is from factory or factory ran products that shouldn't be polluting the water

    Read More

  • The Biogen Cycle: The Nitrogen Cycle And The Cycle Of Life

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans often take the water cycle for granted and assume that fresh water will always be available for drinking, cooking, farming, etc. Unfortunately, the ways in which society uses water is contributing to the reduction in fresh water available for human use. First of all, the use of hydroelectric power, though a clean source of energy, is negatively affecting the ecosystems in which the plant is stationed. The waterway must be dammed in order to maximize the potential energy of the water, but this often affects the function of the waterway upstream and downstream. For example, the build-up of water above the dam may create a lake where silt can build up while a lack of water below the dam eliminates habitats. Moreover, plants and aquatic animals that previously inhabited the waterway “may find themselves with too much or too little water, and migrating fish cannot get through the dams” (Humans and the water cycle). Not only does hydroelectricity disrupt the water cycle, but irrigation does as well. “Irrigation is the artificial watering of land that does not get enough water through rainfall” (Humans and the water cycle). Most countries that use irrigation have dry land or they require more water to grow more plants for their increasing population. The issue with irrigation is that it removes relatively clean water from its natural source and essentially pollutes it. The fertilizer in

    Read More

  • The Global Water Crisis

    2639 Words  | 6 Pages

    Freshwater in the world makes up only a small portion of water on the planet. While the percentage of water in the world is nearly 70%, only 2.5% is consumable. Even further, only <1% is easily accessible to basic human needs. According to National Geographic, “by 2025, an estimated 1.8 billion people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the world's population living in water-stressed regions as a result of use, growth, and climate change.” With this current trend, water will become more immersed in environmental, economic, political, and social changes. Many of these in later years shall need to be addressed as tension rises:

    Read More

  • The Water Crisis and Solutions

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    Freshwater is quite scarce, but it is even scarcer than one might think: about seventy percent of all freshwater is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland and is unavailable to humans. Most of the remainder is present as soil moisture or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater. It is not economically feasible to extract this waster for use as drinking water. This leaves less than one percent of the world’s fresh water that is available to humans. It includes the water found in lakes, reservoirs, groundwater that is shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. These freshwater sources are the only sources that are frequently replenished by rain and snowfall, and therefore are renewable. At the current rates of consumption, however, this supply of fresh water will not last. Pollution and contamination of freshwater sources exacerbate the problem, further reducing the amount of freshwater available for human consumption. Something must be done if humans want to even survive in the near future: the lack of clean drinking water is already the number one cause of disease in the world today. The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Protecting Our Natural Resource- Water

    2372 Words  | 5 Pages

    Water is the most priceless resource on our planet. Billions of gallons flow through our rivers and lakes. Millions of gallons are consumed by humans each day. Our world’s surface is seventy percent water. With so much water around us, how can 1.1 billion people still lack access to clean water (Cooper, Water Shortages)? People are already using fifty four percent of all the freshwater available on this planet (Cooper, Water Shortages). We cannot afford to neglect something so essential to our very survival. We must defend our most important natural resource—water.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Water Scarcity

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Smith, Zachary A., and Grenetta Thomassey. Freshwater Issues: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print

    Read More

  • Water Shortage in India: Problems and Solutions

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).

    Read More

More about Effects of Nitrate on Water Quality

Open Document