Article: Wading in Waste
Author: Michael A. Mallin
An increasing number of beaches and shellfish beds have been contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms coming from animal and human waste. This contamination was caused by waterborne microbes moving downstream with animal feces, "when it rains, the water flows over these surfaces, picking up animal feces and other pollutants and washing them into drainage ditches or storm drains, many of which lead directly to urban lakes, coastal creeks or beach areas". These microbes can lead to health problems like liver disease, respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cellulitis, ear infections, and more serious diseases like hepatitis. In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2004 Coastal Trends Report, it was noted that 153 million Americans, about 53% of the U.S's population, lived in counties bordering seacoasts and the Great Lakes, which makes up only 17% of the U.S continental land area. It is hard to pinpoint where the runoff is specifically coming from classified since it originates from a wide area rather than a single source, making it a non-point source pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that this type of pollution is the leading cause of water-quality problems in the U.S.
It's extremely important that we solve this problem. Not only is it damaging the health of humans, it is destroying our environment. "Smart growth" strategies can restore polluted coastlines and provide economic benefits. "The adoption of reasonable controls on coastal development would safeguard the shoreline economy as much as it would protect the public’s health". One way to avoid more contamination would be to separate sewer and storm drains so that heavy rains will not cause overflow, leading to dumping untreated human waste into rivers and lakes. Another solution to this contamination would be to pave more parking lots with porous surfaces so that automobiles still have the structural support to drive on it but water would be able to pass through it. Also, minimizing extensive pavement and impervious surfaces would help since water would soak into the ground instead of running off as runoff. In addition, a solution that would greatly improve conditions would be to preserve, or if possible, expand, wetlands. Wetlands are crucial to the filtration of contaminated water. If we enlarge them, we can maintain the natural filtering of storm water runoff. It is proven that watersheds with extensive wetland coverage do not experience an increase in bacteria after rainfall because the water would be filtered through wetlands. To conclude, there are many ways that we could be improving current conditions, many of them simple changes. We can truly fix this problem if we work together and stick to it.
Author: Michael A. Mallin
- A growing number of beaches and shellfish beds along the coast have been contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms coming from animal and human wastes
- Waterborne microbes moving downstream with animal feces can cause liver disease, respiratory infections, and other disorders; such illnesses are common in third world countries with poor sanitation, but in the U.S, the problem comes from unwise growth, not poverty
- Construction of homes, roads, mall, and parking lots has disrupted the natural drainage systems in coastal areas
- Wastes once filtered by forests/wetlands are now contaminating beaches
- "Smart growth" strategies can restore polluted coastlines and provide economic benefits
- "The adoption of reasonable controls on coastal development would safeguard the shoreline economy as much as it would protect the public’s health"
- In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2004 Coastal Trends Report, they noted that 153 million Americans (53% of the U.S's population) lived in counties bordering seacoasts and the Great Lakes, which makes up only 17% of the U.S continental land area
- Forests/farmland become resorts, residential subdivisions, strip malls, restaurants, office complexes and industrial parks
- Construction companies are draining wetlands and covering formerly vegetated soils with asphalt, concrete and housing materials
- Resulting landscape is dominated by impervious surfaces that do not let water soak through
- "When it rains, the water flows over these surfaces, picking up animal feces and other pollutants and washing them into drainage ditches or storm drains, many of which lead directly to urban lakes, coastal creeks or beach areas"
- Sewage treatment plants remove harmful bacteria and other contaminants from their effluent, but storm water runoff is rarely treated
- This runoff is classified as non-point source pollution, since it originates from a wide area rather than a single source
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that this type of pollution is the leading cause of water-quality problems in the U.S
- "Storm water runoff carries fertilizers, pesticides, heavy metals and petro chemicals, but it is the disease-causing microbes the bacteria, viruses and protozoa derived from feces that pose the principal threat to human health"
- Urban runoff was the most commonly cited source of the pollution invading shellfish beds
- Microbial pollution also poses a threat to people involved in recreational activities like swimming, surfing, etc.; if fecal organisms contaminate a body of water, then anyone in the water risks infection by microbes entering through the mouth, eyes, nose, or open wounds
- Water contact can cause illnesses like: gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cellulitis, ear infections, respiratory infections, and more serious diseases like hepatitis
- Microbes can survive for long periods of time in sediments because they are protected from UV radiation and have access to nutrients
- Poorly designed sanitation systems can contribute to microbial pollution; solution is to separate sewer and storm water drains so heavy rains will not cause overflows, dumping untreated human waste into rivers/lakes
- Water is more polluted in wet years corresponding to El Niño than in dry years as a result of increased runoff
- Urban runoff and septic seepage are not the only culprits behind microbial pollution; waste from livestock farms with large numbers of cattle and poultry raised in close confinement helps contribute too
- Solutions: stop clear-cutting, wetlands drainage, and minimize extensive pavement/impervious surfaces
- Wetlands need to be preserved, and if possible, enlarged to maintain the natural filtering of storm water runoff
- Watersheds with large wetland coverage do not experience an increase in bacteria after rainfall
- Pave parking lots with porous concrete so automobiles still have enough structural support and water can still pass through
An increasing number of beaches and shellfish beds have been contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms coming from animal and human waste. This contamination was caused by waterborne microbes moving downstream with animal feces, "when it rains, the water flows over these surfaces, picking up animal feces and other pollutants and washing them into drainage ditches or storm drains, many of which lead directly to urban lakes, coastal creeks or beach areas". These microbes can lead to health problems like liver disease, respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cellulitis, ear infections, and more serious diseases like hepatitis. In the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2004 Coastal Trends Report, it was noted that 153 million Americans, about 53% of the U.S's population, lived in counties bordering seacoasts and the Great Lakes, which makes up only 17% of the U.S continental land area. It is hard to pinpoint where the runoff is specifically coming from classified since it originates from a wide area rather than a single source, making it a non-point source pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that this type of pollution is the leading cause of water-quality problems in the U.S.
It's extremely important that we solve this problem. Not only is it damaging the health of humans, it is destroying our environment. "Smart growth" strategies can restore polluted coastlines and provide economic benefits. "The adoption of reasonable controls on coastal development would safeguard the shoreline economy as much as it would protect the public’s health". One way to avoid more contamination would be to separate sewer and storm drains so that heavy rains will not cause overflow, leading to dumping untreated human waste into rivers and lakes. Another solution to this contamination would be to pave more parking lots with porous surfaces so that automobiles still have the structural support to drive on it but water would be able to pass through it. Also, minimizing extensive pavement and impervious surfaces would help since water would soak into the ground instead of running off as runoff. In addition, a solution that would greatly improve conditions would be to preserve, or if possible, expand, wetlands. Wetlands are crucial to the filtration of contaminated water. If we enlarge them, we can maintain the natural filtering of storm water runoff. It is proven that watersheds with extensive wetland coverage do not experience an increase in bacteria after rainfall because the water would be filtered through wetlands. To conclude, there are many ways that we could be improving current conditions, many of them simple changes. We can truly fix this problem if we work together and stick to it.