Heavy Metals - Heavy metals represent problems in terms of groundwater pollution. The best way to identify their presence is by a lab test of the water or by contacting county health departments. There are concerns of chronic exposure to low levels of heavy metals in drinking water.
Turbidity - Turbidity refers to suspended solids, i.e. muddy water, is very turbid. Turbidity is undesirable for three reasons:
- aesthetic considerations,
- solids may contain heavy metals, pathogens or other contaminants,
- turbidity decreases the effectiveness of water treatment techniques by shielding pathogens from chemical or thermal damage, or in the case of UV (ultra violet) treatment, absorbing the UV light itself.
Organic Compounds - Water can be contaminated by a number of organic compounds, such as chloroform, gasoline, pesticides, and herbicides from a variety of industrial and agricultural operations or applications. These contaminants must be identified in a lab test. It is unlikely groundwater will suddenly become contaminated, unless a quantity of chemicals is allowed to enter a well or penetrating the aquifer. One exception is when the aquifer is located in limestone. Not only will water flow faster through limestone, but the rock is prone to forming vertical channels or sinkholes that will rapidly allow contamination from surface water. Surface water may show great variations in chemical contamination levels due to differences in rainfall, seasonal crop cultivation, md industrial effluent levels. Also, some hydrocarbons (the chlorinated hydrocarbons in particular) form a type of contaminant that is especially troublesome. These are a group of chemicals known as dense nonaqueous phase liquids, or DNAPLs. These include chemicals used in dry cleaning, wood preservation, asphalt operations, machining, and in the production and repair of automobiles, aviation equipment, munitions, and electrical equipment. These substances are heavier than water and they sink quickly into the ground. This makes spills of DNAPLs more difficult to handle than spills of petroleum products. As with petroleum products, the problems are caused by groundwater dissolving some of the compounds in these volatile substances. These compounds can then move with the groundwater flow. Except in large cities, drinking water is rarely tested for these contaminants. Disposal of chemicals that have low water solubility and a density greater than water result in the formation of distinct areas of pure residual contamination in soils and groundwater. These chemicals are typically solvents and are collectively referred to as Dense Non- Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs). Because of their relatively high density, they tend to move downward through soils and groundwater, leaving small amounts along the migratory pathway, until they reach an impermeable layer where they collect in discrete pools. Once the DNAPLs have reached an aquitard they tend to move laterally under the influence of gravity and to slowly dissolve into the groundwater, providing a long-term source for low level contamination of groundwater. Because of their movement patterns DNAPL contamination is difficult to detect, characterize and remediate.
Pathogens - These include protozoa, bacteria, and viruses. Protozoa cysts are the largest pathogens in drinking water, and are responsible for many of the waterborne disease cases in the U.S. Protozoa cysts range is size from 2 to 15 ,am (a micron is one millionth of a meter), but can squeeze through smaller openings. In order to insure cyst filtration, filters with a absolute pore size of lpm or less should be used. The two most common protozoa pathogens are Giardia Zamblia (Giardia) and Cryptosporidium (Crypto). Both organisms have caused numerous deaths in recent years in the U.S. and Canada, the deaths occurring in the young and elderly, and the sick and immune compromised. Many deaths were a result of more than one of these conditions. Neither disease is likely to be fatal to a healthy adult, even if untreated. For example in Milwaukee in April of 1993, of 400,000 who were diagnosed with Crypto, only 54 deaths were linked to the outbreak, 84% of whom were AIDS patients. Outside of the US. and other developed countries, protozoa are responsible for many cases of amoebic dysentery, but so far this has not been a problem in the U.S., due to the application of more advanced wastewater treatment technologies. This could change during a survival situation. Tests have found Giardia and/or Crypto in up to 5 % of vertical wells and 26% of springs in the U.S.
Bacteria are smaller than protozoa and are responsible for many diseases, such as typhoid fever,' cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery. Pathogenic bacteria range in size from 0.2 to 0.6 pm, and a 0.2 pm filter is necessary to prevent transmission. Contamination of water supplies by bacteria is blamed for the cholera epidemics, which devastate undeveloped countries from time to time. Even in the U.S., E. coli is frequently found to contaminated water supplies. Fomately, E. coli is relatively harmless as pathogens go, and the problem isn't so much with E. coli found, but the fear that other bacteria may have contaminated the water as well. Never the less, dehydration from diarrhea caused by E. coli has resulted in fatalities. One of hundreds of strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli, E. coli 0157:H7 is an emerging cause of food borne and waterborne illness. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness. E. coli 0157:H7 was first recognized as a cause of illness during an outbreak in 1982 traced to contaminated hamburgers. Since then, most infections are believed to have come from eating undercooked ground beef. However, some have been waterborne. The presence of E. coli in water is a strong indication of recent sewage or animal waste contamination. Sewage may contain many types of disease-causing organisms. Since E. coli comes from human and animal wastes, it most often enters drinking water sources via rainfalls, snow melts, or other types of precipitation, E. coli may be washed into creeks, rivers, streams, lakes, or groundwater. When these waters are used as sources of drinking water and the water is not treated or inadequately treated, E. coli may end up in drinking water. E. coli 0157:H7 is one of hundreds of strains of the bacterium E. coli. Although most strains are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals, this strain produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness. Infection often causes severe bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps; sometimes the infection causes non-bloody diarrhea. Frequently, no fever is present. It should be noted that these symptoms are common to a variety of diseases, and may be caused by sources other than contaminated drinking water. In some people, particularly children under 5 years of age and the elderly, the infection can also cause a complication, called hemolytic uremic syndrome, in which the red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail. About 2%-7% of infections lead to this complication. In the U.S. hemolytic uremic syndrome is the principal cause of acute kidney failure in children, and most cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome are caused by E. coli 0157:H7. Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a life-threatening condition usually treated in an intensive care unit. Blood transfusions and kidney dialysis are often required. With intensive care, the death rate for hemolytic uremic syndrome is 3 %-5%. Symptoms usually appear within 2 to 4 days, but can take up to 8 days. Most people recover without antibiotics or other specific treatment in 5-10 days. There is no evidence that antibiotics improve the course of disease, and it is thought that treatment with some antibiotics may precipitate kidney complications. Antidiarrheal agents, such as loperamide (Imodium), should also be avoided. The most common methods of treating water contaminated with E. coli is by using chlorine, ultra-violet light, or ozone, all of which act to kill or inactivate E. coli. Systems, using surface water sources, are required to disinfect to ensure that all bacterial contamination is inactivated, such as E. coli. Systems using ground water sources are not required to disinfect, although many of them do. According to EPA regulations, a system that operates at least 60 days per year, and serves 25 people or more or has 15 or more service connections, is regulated as a public water system under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). If a system is not a public water system as defined by EPA's regulations, it is not regulated under the SDWA, although it may be regulated by state or local authorities. Under the SDWA, EPA requires public water systems to monitor for coliform bacteria. Systems analyze first for total coliform, because this test is faster to produce results. Any time that a sample is positive for total coliform, the same sample must be analyzed for either fecal coliform or E. coli. Both are indicators of contamination with animal waste or human sewage. The largest public water systems (serving millions of people) must take at least 480 samples per month. Smaller systems must take at least five samples a month, unless the state has conducted a sanitary survey - a survey in which a state inspector examines system components and ensures they will protect public health - at the system within the last five years.
Viruses are the 2nd most problematic pathogen, behind protozoa. As with protozoa, most waterborne viral diseases don't present a lethal hazard to a healthy adult. Waterborne pathogenic viruses range in size from 0.020-0.030 pm, and are too small to be filtered out by a mechanical filter. All waterborne enteric viruses affecting humans occur solely in humans, thus animal waste doesn't present much of a viral threat. At the present viruses don't present a major hazard to people drinking surface water in the U.S., but thls could change in a survival situation as the level of human sanitation is reduced. Viruses do tend to show up even in remote areas, so a case can be made for eliminating them now.
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