Ganga

Predicting Water Quality
Classroom Activity WQ1

Improving water quality depends on an understanding of both point and non-point sources of pollution which affect the water body or waterway. The identification of point sources is frequently straightforward although can be time consuming. Industrial discharges and wastewater treatment plants contribute known quantities of pollutants (in the United States such information is generally publicly available), or industry-wide averages are available through the EPA. Understanding the effects of non-point sources of pollution is more challenging, although again, much information exists to describe the effects of agriculture, urban runoff and other land covers within the watershed of the river or lake.

A point source and landscape analysis of the watershed is the first step taken by regulators to develop a program for testing the water quality of an aquatic system. This allows for a more efficient sampling strategy that will lead to a better understanding of the sources of pollution degrading the system.

Activity Module (in pdf)

Resources
    Topographic maps: Topozone and USGS resellers.
     Computer generated maps: ESRI ; a search for "GIS Freeware"
     Industry pollutants:Environmental Protection Agency's,
    National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
     Effluent guidelines: EPA


For additional information or assistance with this activity please contact David Black