NREM 904 Contemporary Issues in Environmental Geoscience

December 9, 2022

NREM 904 Contemporary Issues in Environmental Geoscience

Order Number	636738393092
Type of Project	ESSAY
Writer Level	PHD VERIFIED
Format	APA
Academic Sources	10
Page Count	3-12 PAGES

Instructions/Descriptions

NREM 904 Contemporary Issues in Environmental Geoscience

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CONTENTS

Integrated Water Resources Management; Groundwater Resources Assessment and Management; Wastewater Treatment Technologies; Engineered Sanitary Landfills and Solid Waste Handling; Groundwater Risk Assessment and Remediation; Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

WATER RESOURCES

Natural resources of water that are useful.

Uses: Agricultural, industrial, domestic, recreational, environmental uses.

97% of water on earth is found in ocean as saline water. 3% only is fresh water, 2/3 of the freshwater is frozen in ice, remaining is unfrozen as groundwater with only a small fraction present above the ground or in the air.

Freshwater is a renewable resource; however, groundwater is decreasing in supply particularly in Asia, South America and North America.

The framework of allocating water resources to users is known as water rights.

SOURCES OF FRESHWATER

Surface water: rivers, lakes, freshwater wetland.

Groundwater

Frozen water

Desalination

Brazil, Russia, Canada has the largest supply of freshwater.

WORLD POPULATION

Was 6.2 billion in 2000; is estimated (UN) to reach 9.8 billion in 2050.

Thus, water demand will continue to increase and there should be a corresponding increase in water conservation and recyling.

Water resources should therefore, be properly managed.

There will be need to balance access to water with the importance of managing water in a sustainable way, taking into account the impact of climate change and other environmental and social variables.

GROUNDWATER

Water found in the zone of saturation where the void spaces are completely filled by water.

It is contained in aquifers.

Groundwater is preferred to surface water because it can be used without treatment.

GROUNDWATER ASSESSMENT

Assessment of groundwater resources yields knowledge necessary for their informed management and governance.

ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER INCLUDES:

Hydrogeological characterization.

Social, economic and environmental aspects that are needed to understand the resource and its state, in accordance with purpose of the assessment.

Groundwater is connected to many goods and services people depend on including food and energy production.

Over the years, groundwater situations have changed rapidly due to intensive use of the resource, particularly for irrigation and domestic water supply, coupled with climate change.

Changes in quality and quantity can lead to the environmental degradation of the ecosystems.

GROUNDWATER AND ECOSYSTEMS

Groundwater plays an integral role in sustaining certain types of aquatics, terrestrial, and coastal ecosystem.

The services provided by these ecosystems are therefore also directly or directly dependent on the availability and state of groundwater resources.

Increased groundwater abstraction, increased groundwater contamination and climate variability are affecting the functioning of ecosystems and thereby jeopardize the services provided by these ecosystems.

GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT

Sustainable groundwater management means, management of groundwater sub-basins to provide for long-term benefits without resulting in or aggravating conditions that cause significant economic, social or environmental impacts such as long-term overdraft, land subsidence, ecosystem degradation, saltwater encroachment etc.

STEPS IN GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT

STEP 1

Locate and identify water wells, and collect groundwater level, and groundwater quality data. Plot this information on maps for use in steps 2 – 5.

STEP 2

Determine the amount of groundwater that is extracted by each well or otherwise removed from the groundwater basin.

Total the amount of groundwater extracted by all wells and add whatever other water is removed from the basin (evapotranspiration, exports, consumptive use and surface water outflow).

Compare this total to the total amount of water that comes into the basin (see step 4).

STEP 3:

Prepare maps and graphs that show:

Past groundwater levels and water quality.

Present or recent groundwater levels, groundwater quality, and rates of groundwater extraction.

Recent precipitation.

Surface water imports.

Changes in groundwater levels and groundwater quality and

Water exported from the basin.

STEP 4:

Determine the total amount of water that flows into the basin through precipitation and surface water imports and the total amount of water that flows out of the basin.

This is called water budget.

The difference between the inflow and the outflow will result in a change in groundwater level during the water year. If inflow exceeds outflow, groundwater levels will rise and vice versa.

INFLOW – OUTFLOW: Change in storage.

STEP 5:

Use drillers log and other data to estimate Specific Yield

(Sy):

Specific yield is an estimate of the amount of water that is available from an unconfined aquifer.

The specific yield can be used to calculated the amount of groundwater in storage, and the decline in groundwater level that will occur when a specific amount of groundwater is extracted by wells (see step 4).

STEP 6:

Project future rates of extraction and estimate the rate of decline of groundwater levels and possible changes in groundwater quality.

Use the Sy values obtained in step 5 to calculate the estimated change in groundwater level that will occur when an estimated amount of groundwater is extracted.

Groundwater quality data can be used to estimate the effect of such extraction on the movement of chemical constituents, either natural or man-made.

Determine whether groundwater extraction is likely to cause subsidence. If yes, prepare a subsidence monitoring programme.

STEP 7:

Develop a plan for managing groundwater supplies, such a plan may require reduction in extractions so the long-term change in storage does not cause water quality or quantity problems.

Such as management plan could include a reduction in the amount of groundwater extracted by specific wells either through a reduced rate of pumping or by restricting the length of time the pump can be turned on.

Such reductions would have to be voluntary except enforced by an agency.

WATER POLLUTION CONTROL METHODS

Water is the ultimate source and conduit for accumulation and dispersal of environmental pollutants.

Therefore, the well-being of plants and animals on planet earth is dependent on the quality of water.

Different standards are set for different uses of water.

However, these standards are commonly abused through contamination of water sources.

Contamination is commonly from discharge of sewage, organic, biological, industrial and hazardous waste products.

Control of water pollution may be achieved by;

Wastewater control and storage.

Avoiding direct discharge of untreated effluents to water bodies and strict adherence to domestic urban and industrial norms of water management protocols.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROCESS

Wastewater is any water that has been affected by human use.

It is used water of domestic, commercial, agricultural source, including storm water.

Wastewater can pollute water bodies through chemicals, metals, plant nutrients, waste heats and pathogens.

Such contamination can spread infectious diseases or alter physical chemical and biological characteristics of water.

Wastewater treatment is thus very necessary before its discharge into water sources.

Water Quality is Shown in the Table Below.

(After Narayanan, 2011)

Substances	Undesirable Effects	Maximum Allowed Level (mg/L)
Chloride	Taste and smell	200
Flouride	Fluorosis	1
Phenols	Taste	0.001
Detergents	Taste and foaming	0.2
Hydrogen sulphide	Taste and odour	0.5
Calcium	Water hardness	50
Magnesium	Water hardness	30
Copper	Taste	0.5
Iron	Taste and odour	0.1
manganese	Taste and odour	0.05
Zinc	Taste and odour	5
Ammonia	Growth of organism pH	0.05

Substances that impair water.

Wastewater treatment is necessary to control parameters such as turbidity, DO, BOD, Coliforms, acidity and toxic substances in surface and groundwater upon its discharge.

The treatment processes consist of several levels of purification as follows:

Primary treatment

Secondary treatment

Tertiary treatment

PRIMARY TREATMENT:

At the level of primary treatment, about 60% of suspended solids (SS) and 30% of BOD are expected to be removed,

Dissolved impurities are not removed.

SECONDARY TREATMENT:

Here about 80% of SS and BOD is removed. In many countries, this is minimum level of treatment required.

TERTIARY TREATMENT:

Necessary when a high degree of purification is designed. In addition to total solids and BOD, dissolved impurities like NO3 and PO4 are also eliminated.

Nearly 99% of all impurities from sewage are removed.

The effluent from tertiary treatment is almost of drinking water quality. Tertiary treatment is expensive.

Whatever the level of treatment, the last step in each case is disinfection before discharging the water into a body of surface water.

Disinfection is achieved through chlorination or ultraviolent irradiation and ozonation in modern water, treatment plants.

Ultra violate sterilization refers to the oxidizing and germ-killing effects of sunlight.

The application of ozone-unlike that of chlorine-does not produce harmful reaction products such as haloforms.

Excess ozone can easily be decomposed into oxygen.

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Due to its high redox potential, the impact of ozone on microorganisms is much stronger than that of any other chemical disinfectant currently in use.

The action of ozone on living cells is believed to be primarily in the form of an oxidative attack on the cell walls which eventually causes the cell to LYSE, i.e., to release its contents.

TREATMENT PROCESSES

Primary Treatment: Aims at removing materials that can either float or settle readily under gravity. The processes involve screening, grit removal and sedimentation, pre-treatment for coagulation, flocculation, settling and sludge removal. Finally, a simple post treatment with chlorine.

NREM 904 Contemporary Issues in Environmental Geoscience

RUBRIC

Excellent Quality

95-100%

Introduction

45-41 points

The context and relevance of the issue, as well as a clear description of the study aim, are presented. The history of searches is discussed.

Literature Support

91-84 points

The context and relevance of the issue, as well as a clear description of the study aim, are presented. The history of searches is discussed.

Methodology

58-53 points

With titles for each slide as well as bulleted sections to group relevant information as required, the content is well-organized. Excellent use of typeface, color, images, effects, and so on to improve readability and presenting content. The minimum length criterion of 10 slides/pages is reached.

Average Score

50-85%

40-38 points

More depth/information is required for the context and importance, otherwise the study detail will be unclear. There is no search history information supplied.

83-76 points

There is a review of important theoretical literature, however there is limited integration of research into problem-related ideas. The review is just partly focused and arranged. There is research that both supports and opposes. A summary of the material given is provided. The conclusion may or may not include a biblical integration.

52-49 points

The content is somewhat ordered, but there is no discernible organization. The use of typeface, color, graphics, effects, and so on may sometimes distract from the presenting substance. It is possible that the length criteria will not be reached.

Poor Quality

0-45%

37-1 points

The context and/or importance are lacking. There is no search history information supplied.

75-1 points

There has been an examination of relevant theoretical literature, but still no research concerning problem-related concepts has been synthesized. The review is just somewhat focused and organized. The provided overview of content does not include any supporting or opposing research. The conclusion has no scriptural references.

48-1 points

There is no logical or apparent organizational structure. There is no discernible logical sequence. The use of typeface, color, graphics, effects, and so on often detracts from the presenting substance. It is possible that the length criteria will not be reached.