Transcript THE EFFECT THAT FARM RUNOFF HAS ON OUR WATER SYSTEM

THE EFFECT THAT FARM RUNOFF
HAS ON OUR WATER SYSTEM
Michelle Ajumobi, Rebecca Williams
Hope Johnson, Olivia Griffin
For years runoff has been an
ignored issue in NC
• For many years the dilemma of runoff from
farms has been ignored , until recently,
when water quality in the Pasquotank area
began to rapidly decrease.
THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER
QUALITY
• Water is a pivotal
aspect of human life
and health to the
environment. Water
is essential to human
life and to the health
of the environment.
• In order for an
environment to be
deemed healthy, the
water quality must
support a community
of organisms. If water
quality is not
maintained, the
ecosystems will
gradually deteriorate.
HOW WATER QUALITY IS
MEASURED
• Biological: bacteria,
algae
• Chemical: pH,
dissolved oxygen,
biological oxygen
demand, nutrients
(including nitrogen
and phosphorus),
organic and inorganic
compounds (including
toxicants)
• Physical:
temperature, turbidity
and clarity, color,
salinity, suspended
solids, dissolved
solids
• Aesthetic: odors,
taints, color, floating
matter
PH LEVEL , WHATS THAT ?
• The pH level is a
calculation of the
balance of a liquid's
acidity and its
alkalinity.
• The lower a liquid's
pH number, the
higher its acidity; the
higher the number,
the more alkaline it is.
Alkalinity refers to how well a water body can neutralize
acids. Alkalinity measures the amount of alkaline
compounds in water, such as carbonates (CO 3 2- ),
bicarbonates (HCO 3 - ), and hydroxides (OH - ).
Why SHOULD WE BE
CONCERNED?
• In the Pasquotank River Basin,
water qualities are not up to
standard. In fact, after measuring
the waters pH it was 4.00, this is
a very dangerous number for the
ph level , and if drank can lead to
serious side effects , even death
Can this affect anything other than
human life?
• Yes , as a matter of
fact , along with
contributing to the
harm of human
health, this issue also
can greatly affect the
water quality .
• Which can kill off
Submerged Aquatic
Vegetation , which
then in turns , kills off
organisms that thrive
on it.
• Along with
killing off
SAV, runoff
from farms
also can
lead to the
extreme
thriving of
algae ,
which
steals
oxygen
from the
water that
fish need
to survive
on…
But that’s not all…
•
CAUSE OF DECLINE IN PH
What makes
LEVELS
the ph levels
so low is run
off , even
though the
acidity in the
water is also
caused by
other means ,
run off from
farms seems to
be the primary
cause.
THIS COMES FROM FARMS?
• Yes, Insecticides,
herbicides, and
fungicides are used to
kill agricultural pests.
These chemicals can
enter and
contaminate water
through runoff, and
atmospheric
deposition.
• They can poison fish
and wildlife, and
destroy the habitat
that animals use for
protective cover.
RUNOFF , HOW IT WORKS
What Is Runoff??
• When water from rainfall
flows across the
landscape, it washes soil
particles, bacteria,
pesticides, fertilizer, and
other toxic materials into
our lakes, streams, and
groundwater. This is
called "nonpoint source
pollution" or "polluted
runoff."
• Non point source
pollution comes from a
diverse number of
activities in our daily lives
including fertilizing lawns
and farm fields, and
plowing our fields for
crops( note these are just
some of the activities)
THESE ARE CHEMICALS FOUND IN FERTILIZER, THAT
DRASTICALLY DECREASE THE REPRODUCTION AND
LIVES OF SAV
Iron (Fe)
Lead (Pb)
Manganese (Mn)
Mercury (Hg)
Molybdenum (Mo)
Nickel (Ni)
Selenium (Se)
Aluminum (Al)
Antimony (Sb)
Arsenic (As)
Barium (Ba)
Berylium (Be)
Silver (Ag)
Thallium (Tl)
Boron (B)
Cadmium (Cd)
Chromium (Cr)
Cobalt (Co)
Vanadium (V)
Copper (Cu)
Uranium (U)
Zinc (Zn)
SO WHY DO I CARE
ABOUT THIS AGAIN ?
• SAV supplies food and
shelter for diverse
communities of waterfowl,
fish and shellfish.
• It produces oxygen and
absorbs nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus
• It filters and traps sediment,
which pollute the water
.
•
YOU CAN HELP DECREASE RUN
By using non-toxic
OFF…..
substitutes wherever
possible
• Promote
environmental
education.
• Plant more land
• Get your community
vegetation by the waters
groups involved.
edge to help reduce the
amount of runoff that
goes into the water
• Buy chemicals only in
the amount you expect
to use, and apply them
only as directed. More is
not better.
SEE WHAT YOU KNOW..
• In the Pasquotank River
Basin, water qualities are
…….up to standard?
NOT
POSSIBLY
TOTALLY
Without the livelihood of SAV, marine
animals ……thrive in their ecosystems
WON’T
WILL
THE END
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!
SOMEONE WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION!!
MAYBE U SHOULD GO BACK TO
SCHOOL……
TOTALLY RIGHT
YOU WERE PAYING ATTENTION!
Work Sited page
• http://bcn.boulder.co.u • http://www.epa.gov/o
s/basin/natural/wqter
wow/nps/agriculture.h
ms.html
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