Water Cycle, Pollution

Fresh water is a finite resource. We cannot easily or cost effectively create more fresh water than what is already within the global water cycle. Like energy efficiency in the 1970's, conserving water in building operations is often easy to implement because of the inefficiency in our current systems.
Keyword(s)

quality, filter, hardness

Introduction

It is important to understand that fresh water is part of a finite recycling loop on the planet. Fresh water once polluted is extremely difficult to clean due in part to the dispersion of the pollutant throughout the cycle, and the inaccessibility of many fresh water sources.

Below is a digram depicting the cycle of freshwater. The most relevant components for buildings is the surface runoff, infiltration, and groundwater reservoirs. Water pollution can take many forms. Pollutants can include chemicals, biological constituents, and/or changes to water characteristics.

Chemicals that can pollute water include both natural and synthetical varieties. Organic chemicals are waste products of organic processes like animal waste decomposition (nitrates, nitrites) that can combine with and become a part of the food chain. Natural occuring constituents like Calcium can produce hard water which has led to a remediation strategy that releases another natural constituent, Sodium to be released in excess quantities into the environment causing saline pollution.

Synthetic chemicals include over 60,000 new chemicals that have been produced since World War 2. Pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed on agriculture run-off into waterways. Heavy metals like Mercury and Cadmium from batteries leach from landfills into groundwater reservoirs. Unused medicines get flushed down the toilet causing an excess of anti-biotics in urban wastewater effluent.

Biological contaminants can develop and flourish based on existing water pollution (for example organic waste effluent) or occur naturally when conditions permit. Numerous bacteria and viral organisms make fresh water their home.

Finally, water characteristics can be altered that impact ecosystems in a variety of ways. Hard water is treated and produces a pollution as a byproduct. Water used in cooling processes is often released into the environment, although clean, with an increased temperature that can affect the downstream ecosystem.