Water Webquest

1. Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives (in) it.
The 7 types of water pollution are...

• surface water - the natural water sources of the earth including rivers, lakes, and oceans.
• groundwater - the water underground in our earth in the soil and under rock beds like aquifers. The water is polluted from pesticide contamination and can harm our drinking water.
• oxygen depleting - There are micro-organisms that live in water and feed on biodegradable substances. But when there are too many biodegradable substances added, the number of the micro-organisms multiply and they use up too much of the oxygen. Causing good organisms to die off and harmful substances to grow in our water supply.
• nutrients - Essential for plant growth and development that are found in waste water and fertilizers. This can cause weed and algae buildup in the water, clog filters, and be harmful for living organisms in the water.
• microbiological - micro-organisms that can live in the water and kill off other organisms. These killers are like bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. These can causes humans to catch some deadly diseases as well.
• suspended matter - Substances that will not break down in the water and are too big to mix with the water molecules. This can cause a lot of silt at the bottom of the water system and be deadly for organisms that live there.
• chemical - Industrial and agricultural work uses a lot of harmful chemicals that can run off in to the water systems. These chemicals include metals, solvents, pesticides, and petroleum.

2. A point source of pollution is pollution that comes from a single discrete place, like a pipe. A non-point source of pollution is comes from oil, pet waste, pesticide, herbicide, fertilizer, road salt, bacteria, sediment, and any other contaminant that ends up on the ground naturally or from human activity. 

3. Three types of pollution are pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. They tie into our project because we are trying to grow organic plants on a green roof and we will not be using any type of products that would be harmful to any organisms in any way.

4. Consequences of water pollution would be death of aquatic animals, disruption of food chains, diseases, and destruction of ecosystems.

5. To improve the quality of water after it has been polluted, you can get a good filtration system. Boiling your water before using it is also a safe way to do it. The Clean Water Act did stop many Rivers and Seas from being over polluted, but much needs to be done to keep them clean and unpolluted.
How i can help prevent water pollution is by recycling any harmful products and dispose of them correctly, use all natural organic products. Whether it is for cleaning or using outside. And lastly, i could help inform people of how big this issue really is and it can be prevented.


Organic planting on a green roof. Very safe for the water and ecosystem.