Water pollution sp 09

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Carlisle Water Treatment Plant

The Carlisle Water Plan was created in 1853. Updates on the facilities have been done in 1932, 1949, 1965, 1993 and in 2002. The Water Plant provides clean water for the Borough of Carlisle and North Middleton. The Conodoguinet Creek is the provider of water, which then is treated to meet Federal and Sates regulations for clean water. In case of an emergency the Plant has connections with South Middleton and North Middleton, which can provide up to 1,500,000 gallons per day of clean water. In order to assure that the water is completely safe and clean there are tests preformed to check taste and color of the water to make sure they meet the Safe Drinking Water Act. To meet the demand of the clean water the plant is open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day.

Partnership for Safe Water Program

The Partnership for Safe Water Program is a completely voluntary organization that motive is to maintain and prevent water treatment facilities. This organization is made up of the DEP, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Section American Water Works Association. There are three stages in this process and Carlisle just finished phase three. Phase three is where weaknesses are identified where bacteria might be getting into the clean water. Currently 110 treatment plants that are serving 5.2 million people are a part of this program. This program, though fairly new, has helped create a safer drinking water for a growing population.

Water Contaminants

Agricultural Runoff

Agricultural Runoff is one of the leading contributors to water quality impacts on surveyed lakes and rivers in the United States. http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:zTfmf90Te_QJ:www.epa.gov/owow/nps/Ag_Runoff_Fact_Sheet.pdf+agricultural+runoff+water+quality+carlisle&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us In Carlisle it is the most significant potential contributor to the contamination of local water sources such as the Conodoguinet Creek. Agricultural runoff is the result of both crop growth and animal feeding operations.

Crops

Soil sedimentation is the most prevalent source of water contamination due to agricultural runoff. Rainwater washes soil off fields polluting streams and water sources nearby. This excess soil clouds water and damages aquatic plants by eliminating their source of sunlight. This soil can also clog the gills of fish and other aquatic wildlife.

Fertilizers and pesticides attached to these soil particles also have an adverse effect on water quality. The agricultural industry has become increasingly dependent on the use of fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers contain high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous. When phosphorous is carried into water sources it leads to accelerated eutrophication of these waters, limiting their use for fisheries, drinking, and recreation (Lal).

Animal Feeding Operations

Farmers confine animals to small areas in order to make feeding and maintaining these animals more efficient. These areas then become sources of animal waste. If farmers don’t properly maintain their animal feeding operations, this waste which carries bacteria and viruses as well as oxygen-demanding organic compounds, runs off into nearby water sources. Animal waste can also seep into and contaminate groundwater.

Urban Runoff

The permeable and varied nature of the terrain in natural landscapes allows water to seep into and filter through the ground and therefore runoff tends to reach water sources gradually. In cities and urban landscapes, water flows directly over the land on the surfaces of roads, bridges, and parking lots. As water drains into sewage systems, it gains speed causing erosion and widening stream channels. This damage results in “lower water depths during non-storm periods, higher than normal water levels during wet weather periods, increased sediment loads, and higher water temperatures.”

Urban runoff carries pollutants from a number of sources. Lawn care chemicals, roadway pollutants such as excess oil and gas, bacteria from failing sewage systems are the main contributors to water quality problems. All of these pollutants flow into local water sources harming the fish and wildlife populations, damaging native vegetation, and contaminating drinking water sources.

Industrial Discharge

During fall semester 2008, students researched specific sources of industrial discharge including the Huntsdale Fish Hatchery, the Land O Lakes factory, the Harrisburg Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility, and P.H. Glatfelter Company. The link to view their research is below: http://wiki.dickinson.edu/index.php?title=Local_Water_Quality_Fa_08