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90-497: It was one of the first organizations with a congressional mandate to consider water resources on a watershed basis, rather than along political boundaries. The Commission was created by an act of the United States Congress in 1940. Congress amended the law in 1970, creating an interstate compact . ICPRB accomplishes its mission through a variety of actions to conduct, coordinate, and cooperate in studies and programs in

180-476: A lake or ocean . A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the drainage divide , made up of a succession of elevated features, such as ridges and hills . A basin may consist of smaller basins that merge at river confluences , forming a hierarchical pattern . Other terms for a drainage basin are catchment area , catchment basin , drainage area , river basin , water basin , and impluvium . In North America, they are commonly called

270-484: A sink , which may be a permanent lake, a dry lake , or a point where surface water is lost underground . Drainage basins are similar but not identical to hydrologic units , which are drainage areas delineated so as to nest into a multi-level hierarchical drainage system . Hydrologic units are defined to allow multiple inlets, outlets, or sinks. In a strict sense, all drainage basins are hydrologic units but not all hydrologic units are drainage basins. About 48.71% of

360-414: A watershed , though in other English-speaking places, "watershed" is used only in its original sense, that of the drainage divide line. A drainage basin's boundaries are determined by watershed delineation , a common task in environmental engineering and science. In a closed drainage basin, or endorheic basin , rather than flowing to the ocean, water converges toward the interior of the basin, known as

450-425: A "critical condition" with urgent need for additional sewage treatment facilities. By 1958, ICPRB is gathering and tabulating information from about 85 stream sampling stations operated by cooperating agencies, municipalities and industries. The following year, ICPRB publishes its first "Potomac River Water Quality Network," holds a "first-of-its-kind" silt control conference and sponsors a study of sediment sources in

540-435: A CWT plant, rather than perform treatment on site, due to constraints such as limited land availability, difficulty in designing and operating an on-site system, or limitations imposed by environmental regulations and permits. A manufacturer may determine that using a CWT is more cost-effective than treating the waste itself; this is often the case where the manufacturer is a small business. CWT plants often receive wastes from

630-569: A consistent and usable format for researchers and those working on the watershed in the Tidal Potomac Integrative Analysis Project. In 2002, ICPRB's successful American Shad Restoration Project is completed, restoring the population of this historically significant fish that once flowed freely in the Potomac but had been decimated by pollution, overfishing, and blockage over the past century. In 2004, along with other partners in

720-449: A drainage basin, and there are different ways to interpret that data. In the unlikely event that the gauges are many and evenly distributed over an area of uniform precipitation, using the arithmetic mean method will give good results. In the Thiessen polygon method, the drainage basin is divided into polygons with the rain gauge in the middle of each polygon assumed to be representative for

810-540: A drainage boundary is referred to as watershed delineation . Finding the area and extent of a drainage basin is an important step in many areas of science and engineering. Most of the water that discharges from the basin outlet originated as precipitation falling on the basin. A portion of the water that enters the groundwater system beneath the drainage basin may flow towards the outlet of another drainage basin because groundwater flow directions do not always match those of their overlying drainage network. Measurement of

900-435: A lot of waste-waters such as paper and pulp production have created environmental concern, leading to development of processes to recycle water use within plants before they have to be cleaned and disposed. An industrial wastewater treatment plant may include one or more of the following rather than the conventional treatment sequence of sewage treatment plants: Brine treatment involves removing dissolved salt ions from

990-602: A lubricant and coolant. Contaminants include hydraulic oils , tallow and particulate solids. Final treatment of iron and steel products before onward sale into manufacturing includes pickling in strong mineral acid to remove rust and prepare the surface for tin or chromium plating or for other surface treatments such as galvanisation or painting . The two acids commonly used are hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid . Wastewater include acidic rinse waters together with waste acid. Although many plants operate acid recovery plants (particularly those using hydrochloric acid), where

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1080-445: A major source of industrial wastewater. Many of these plants discharge wastewater with significant levels of metals such as lead , mercury , cadmium and chromium , as well as arsenic , selenium and nitrogen compounds ( nitrates and nitrites ). Wastewater streams include flue-gas desulfurization , fly ash , bottom ash and flue gas mercury control. Plants with air pollution controls such as wet scrubbers typically transfer

1170-817: A particular problem in treating waters generated in wool processing. Animal fats may be present in the wastewater, which if not contaminated, can be recovered for the production of tallow or further rendering. Textile dyeing plants generate wastewater that contain synthetic (e.g., reactive dyes, acid dyes, basic dyes, disperse dyes, vat dyes, sulphur dyes, mordant dyes, direct dyes, ingrain dyes, solvent dyes, pigment dyes) and natural dyestuff, gum thickener (guar) and various wetting agents, pH buffers and dye retardants or accelerators. Following treatment with polymer-based flocculants and settling agents, typical monitoring parameters include BOD, COD, color (ADMI), sulfide, oil and grease, phenol, TSS and heavy metals (chromium, zinc , lead, copper). Industrial applications where oil enters

1260-419: A pollution abatement program (1945), an intensive survey of industrial pollution (1946), and definition of a set of "Minimum Water Quality Criteria" (1946) by which Potomac streams and waterways may be judged suitable or unsuitable for several principal water uses. Concurrent to Congress enacting the first Federal Water Pollution Control Act (1948), ICPRB initiates a continuous water-quality sampling program in

1350-1156: A pre-treatment system to remove some pollutants (e.g., toxic compounds), and then discharge the partially treated wastewater to the municipal sewer system. Most industries produce some wastewater . Recent trends have been to minimize such production or to recycle treated wastewater within the production process. Some industries have been successful at redesigning their manufacturing processes to reduce or eliminate pollutants. Sources of industrial wastewater include battery manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, electric power plants, food industry , iron and steel industry, metal working, mines and quarries, nuclear industry, oil and gas extraction , petroleum refining and petrochemicals , pharmaceutical manufacturing, pulp and paper industry , smelters, textile mills , industrial oil contamination , water treatment and wood preserving . Treatment processes include brine treatment, solids removal (e.g. chemical precipitation, filtration), oils and grease removal, removal of biodegradable organics, removal of other organics, removal of acids and alkalis, and removal of toxic materials. Industrial facilities may generate

1440-412: A wastewater rich in hardness ions which are readily precipitated out, especially when in admixture with other wastewater constituents. Wood preserving plants generate conventional and toxic pollutants, including arsenic, COD, copper, chromium, abnormally high or low pH, phenols, suspended solids, oil and grease. The various types of contamination of wastewater require a variety of strategies to remove

1530-559: A wide variety of manufacturers, including chemical plants, metal fabrication and finishing; and used oil and petroleum products from various manufacturing sectors. The wastes may be classified as hazardous , have high pollutant concentrations or otherwise be difficult to treat. In 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published wastewater regulations for CWT facilities in the US. The specific pollutants discharged by organic chemical manufacturers vary widely from plant to plant, depending on

1620-409: Is adopted in 2018. The plan describes a shared vision for the basin, identifies water resources issues of interstate and/or basin wide significance, and recommends actions for achieving the shared vision. Drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth , or flows into another body of water , such as

1710-575: Is calculated from stream macroinvertebrate samples collected and counted by state, federal, and local agencies and other groups. 2010s - In 2011, scientists at ICPRB conduct a survey of freshwater mussels in the mainstem of the River. These sensitive creatures are good indicators of a healthy waterway. Having baseline information can help determine the future shifts in water quality. The Potomac River Basin Comprehensive Water Resources Plan

1800-480: Is referred to as " watershed management ". In Brazil , the National Policy of Water Resources, regulated by Act n° 9.433 of 1997, establishes the drainage basin as the territorial division of Brazilian water management. When a river basin crosses at least one political border, either a border within a nation or an international boundary, it is identified as a transboundary river . Management of such basins becomes

1890-494: Is similar for other highly scaling industrial wastewaters. Wastewater generated from agricultural and food processing operations has distinctive characteristics that set it apart from common municipal wastewater managed by public or private sewage treatment plants throughout the world: it is biodegradable and non-toxic, but has high Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS). The constituents of food and agriculture wastewater are often complex to predict, due to

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1980-600: Is the Dead Sea . Drainage basins have been historically important for determining territorial boundaries, particularly in regions where trade by water has been important. For example, the English crown gave the Hudson's Bay Company a monopoly on the fur trade in the entire Hudson Bay basin, an area called Rupert's Land . Bioregional political organization today includes agreements of states (e.g., international treaties and, within

2070-789: Is used as a regulatory parameter in some discharge permits. Metal pollutant discharges may include chromium , copper , lead , nickel and zinc . The inorganic chemicals sector covers a wide variety of products and processes, although an individual plant may produce a narrow range of products and pollutants. Products include aluminum compounds; calcium carbide and calcium chloride; hydrofluoric acid; potassium compounds; borax; chrome and fluorine-based compounds; cadmium and zinc-based compounds. The pollutants discharged vary by product sector and individual plant, and may include arsenic, chlorine, cyanide, fluoride; and heavy metals such as chromium, copper, iron, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc. Fossil-fuel power stations , particularly coal -fired plants, are

2160-442: Is well-suited to facilitate solutions. In a basin of nearly 15,000 square miles (39,000 km), including five principal political jurisdictions and more than five-million residents relying on its water for domestic, industrial and agricultural water supply purposes, a technically skilled agency must assist the multiple interests in solving water resources problems. With more than one-million acres of federally owned or managed land in

2250-682: The African Great Lakes , the interiors of Australia and the Arabian Peninsula , and parts in Mexico and the Andes . Some of these, such as the Great Basin, are not single drainage basins but collections of separate, adjacent closed basins. In endorheic bodies of water where evaporation is the primary means of water loss, the water is typically more saline than the oceans. An extreme example of this

2340-792: The Continental Divide , northern Alaska and parts of North Dakota , South Dakota , Minnesota , and Montana in the United States, the north shore of the Scandinavian peninsula in Europe, central and northern Russia, and parts of Kazakhstan and Mongolia in Asia , which totals to about 17% of the world's land. Just over 13% of the land in the world drains to the Pacific Ocean . Its basin includes much of China, eastern and southeastern Russia, Japan,

2430-681: The Korean Peninsula , most of Indochina, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Philippines, all of the Pacific Islands , the northeast coast of Australia , and Canada and the United States west of the Continental Divide (including most of Alaska), as well as western Central America and South America west of the Andes. The Indian Ocean 's drainage basin also comprises about 13% of Earth's land. It drains

2520-432: The groundwater . A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. Industrial wastewater treatment#Industrial sectors Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for treating wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment,

2610-851: The pulp and paper industry is generally high in suspended solids and BOD. Plants that bleach wood pulp for paper making may generate chloroform , dioxins (including 2,3,7,8-TCDD ), furans , phenols and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Stand-alone paper mills using imported pulp may only require simple primary treatment, such as sedimentation or dissolved air flotation . Increased BOD or COD loadings, as well as organic pollutants, may require biological treatment such as activated sludge or upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors . For mills with high inorganic loadings like salt, tertiary treatments may be required, either general membrane treatments like ultrafiltration or reverse osmosis or treatments to remove specific contaminants, such as nutrients. The pollutants discharged by nonferrous smelters vary with

2700-422: The Potomac basin and make management recommendations based on sound scientific data. Working collaboratively with other organizations, staff develop ecosystem indicators and analysis that is consistent basin-wide. Projects include: The agency’s technical expertise is magnified by a communications program that extends the impacts and results of ICPRB’s projects to the region’s public. Work in protecting and improving

2790-553: The US, interstate compacts ) or other political entities in a particular drainage basin to manage the body or bodies of water into which it drains. Examples of such interstate compacts are the Great Lakes Commission and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency . In hydrology , the drainage basin is a logical unit of focus for studying the movement of water within the hydrological cycle . The process of finding

Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-596: The areas of water quality , water supply , living resources, and land resources. The Section for Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac River (CO-OP), a special section of the Commission, was created as a technical operations center for management and coordination among the regional utilities to avoid water supply shortages in the Washington metropolitan area during droughts. The ICPRB Commissioners represent

2970-531: The auspices of the ICPRB, a group of citizens organizes the Citizens Council for a Clean Potomac (1956). As the U.S. Public Health Service declares the Potomac River unsafe for swimming, ICPRB estimates that on the average, 60 million cubic feet of sediment is deposited annually within the metropolitan Washington reach of the Potomac estuary (1957). Chairman Harold A. Kemp indicates Potomac River pollution has reached

3060-533: The base metal ore. Bauxite smelters generate phenols but typically use settling basins and evaporation to manage these wastes, with no need to routinely discharge wastewater. Aluminum smelters typically discharge fluoride , benzo(a)pyrene , antimony and nickel , as well as aluminum. Copper smelters typically generate cadmium , lead, zinc, arsenic and nickel, in addition to copper, in their wastewater. Lead smelters discharge lead and zinc. Nickel and cobalt smelters discharge ammonia and copper in addition to

3150-628: The base metals. Zinc smelters discharge arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, selenium and zinc. Typical treatment processes used in the industry are chemical precipitation, sedimentation and filtration. Textile mills , including carpet manufacturers, generate wastewater from a wide variety of processes, including cleaning and finishing, yarn manufacturing and fabric finishing (such as bleaching , dyeing , resin treatment, waterproofing and retardant flameproofing ). Pollutants generated by textile mills include BOD, SS, oil and grease, sulfide, phenols and chromium. Insecticide residues in fleeces are

3240-460: The basin with the U.S. Geological Survey . 1960s - In 1963, ICPRB issues two reports on sediment sources and an urban sediment control program. 1970s - ICPRB's Compact is amended in 1970, extending its authority to include water supply and water-related land use. In 1975, an ICPRB conference focuses on rising dollar and energy costs associated with Washington, D.C. metro area sewage treatment. 1980s - ICPRB initiates regional discussion of

3330-406: The basin, it can form tributaries that change the structure of the land. There are three different main types, which are affected by the rocks and ground underneath. Rock that is quick to erode forms dendritic patterns, and these are seen most often. The two other types of patterns that form are trellis patterns and rectangular patterns. Rain gauge data is used to measure total precipitation over

3420-543: The basin, the Commission organizes and leads the formation of a voluntary partnership between water utilities and state and federal agencies known as the Potomac River Basin Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership which will focus on protecting the water quality of the river as the source of drinking water for millions of people that live in the basin. ICPRB developed an index of stream health known as Chessie BIBI in 2008. It

3510-533: The basin, the federal government has an interest in the waters of the basin. An agency that provides for coordinated state and federal water resources management actions can accomplish this if properly supported. Such an agency exists in the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. 1940s - The Commission's first (1943) report on the condition of Potomac basin waters precipitates adoption of

3600-440: The basin. By 1949, ICPRB is given credit for coordination with local authorities to "radically" improve conditions on the Potomac's Shenandoah River tributary, recently referred to as a "biological desert" due to pollution from industrial waste . 1950s - ICPRB issues a major report describing the polluted Washington area Potomac and publishes the results of a study it sponsored on North Branch industrial wastes (1954). Under

3690-434: The basin’s major challenges, including water quality impairments, water supply, flooding, groundwater use, and nonpoint source pollution . The Commission can complete a range of surveys and assessments designed to increase the knowledge of the ecosystem that allows for more efficient resources management. With the mainstem of the Potomac River forming interstate boundaries, a cooperative, non-regulatory regional organization

Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-632: The bioaccumulation of strontium by Scenedesmus spinosus ( algae ) in simulated wastewater. The study claims a highly selective biosorption capacity for strontium of S. spinosus, suggesting that it may be appropriate for use of nuclear wastewater. Oil and gas well operations generate produced water , which may contain oils, toxic metals (e.g. arsenic , cadmium , chromium , mercury, lead), salts, organic chemicals and solids. Some produced water contains traces of naturally occurring radioactive material . Offshore oil and gas platforms also generate deck drainage, domestic waste and sanitary waste. During

3870-416: The captured pollutants to the wastewater stream. Ash ponds , a type of surface impoundment, are a widely used treatment technology at coal-fired plants. These ponds use gravity to settle out large particulates (measured as total suspended solids ) from power plant wastewater. This technology does not treat dissolved pollutants. Power stations use additional technologies to control pollutants, depending on

3960-540: The commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, the states of Maryland and West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the federal government. These individuals, appointed by their respective jurisdictions, set policy and provide guidance for the Commission, as an interstate compact agency. Complementing the commissioners is a professional staff that has gained a strong reputation for delivery of sound science and analysis that arms decision-makers at various government levels with

4050-511: The contamination. Most industrial processes, such as petroleum refineries , chemical and petrochemical plants have onsite facilities to treat their wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into sewers or into rivers, lakes or oceans. Constructed wetlands are being used in an increasing number of cases as they provided high quality and productive on-site treatment. Other industrial processes that produce

4140-639: The differences in BOD and pH in effluents from vegetable, fruit, and meat products and due to the seasonal nature of food processing and post-harvesting. Processing of food from raw materials requires large volumes of high grade water. Vegetable washing generates water with high loads of particulate matter and some dissolved organic matter . It may also contain surfactants and pesticides. Aquaculture facilities (fish farms) often discharge large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as suspended solids. Some facilities use drugs and pesticides, which may be present in

4230-430: The discharge of water from a basin may be made by a stream gauge located at the basin's outlet. Depending on the conditions of the drainage basin, as rainfall occurs some of it seeps directly into the ground. This water will either remain underground, slowly making its way downhill and eventually reaching the basin, or it will permeate deeper into the soil and consolidate into groundwater aquifers. As water flows through

4320-644: The disposal of FOG in the sewer system. Food processing activities such as plant cleaning, material conveying, bottling, and product washing create wastewater. Many food processing facilities require on-site treatment before operational wastewater can be land applied or discharged to a waterway or a sewer system. High suspended solids levels of organic particles increase BOD and can result in significant sewer surcharge fees. Sedimentation, wedge wire screening, or rotating belt filtration (microscreening) are commonly used methods to reduce suspended organic solids loading prior to discharge. Glass manufacturing wastes vary with

4410-441: The drainage area is dependent on the soil type. Certain soil types such as sandy soils are very free-draining, and rainfall on sandy soil is likely to be absorbed by the ground. However, soils containing clay can be almost impermeable and therefore rainfall on clay soils will run off and contribute to flood volumes. After prolonged rainfall even free-draining soils can become saturated , meaning that any further rainfall will reach

4500-692: The drainage basin to the mouth, and may accumulate there, disturbing the natural mineral balance. This can cause eutrophication where plant growth is accelerated by the additional material. Because drainage basins are coherent entities in a hydrological sense, it has become common to manage water resources on the basis of individual basins. In the U.S. state of Minnesota , governmental entities that perform this function are called " watershed districts ". In New Zealand, they are called catchment boards. Comparable community groups based in Ontario, Canada, are called conservation authorities . In North America, this function

4590-671: The drilling process, well sites typically discharge drill cuttings and drilling mud (drilling fluid). Pollutants discharged at petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants include conventional pollutants (BOD, oil and grease, suspended solids ), ammonia, chromium, phenols and sulfides. Pharmaceutical plants typically generate a variety of process wastewaters, including solvents, spent acid and caustic solutions, water from chemical reactions, product wash water, condensed steam, blowdown from air pollution control scrubbers, and equipment washwater. Non-process wastewaters typically include cooling water and site runoff. Pollutants generated by

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4680-821: The eastern coast of Africa, the coasts of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf , the Indian subcontinent , Burma, and most parts of Australia . The five largest river basins (by area), from largest to smallest, are those of the Amazon (7 million km ), the Congo (4 million km ), the Nile (3.4 million km ), the Mississippi (3.22 million km ), and the Río de la Plata (3.17 million km ). The three rivers that drain

4770-457: The ever increasing discharge standards, there has been an emergence of the use of advance oxidation processes for the treatment of brine. Some notable examples such as Fenton's oxidation and ozonation have been employed for degradation of recalcitrant compounds in brine from industrial plants. Reverse osmosis may not be viable for brine treatment, due to the potential for fouling caused by hardness salts or organic contaminants, or damage to

4860-408: The exposure to air and water that inevitably occurs when the tailings are disposed of in large impoundments. The resulting acid mine drainage , which is often rich in heavy metals (because acids dissolve metals), is one of the many environmental impacts of mining . The waste production from the nuclear and radio-chemicals industry is dealt with as Radioactive waste . Researchers have looked at

4950-407: The facts and technical data to resolve issues concerning the watershed. The staff efforts focus on four primary areas of involvement: The drinking water and water resources knowledge of the staff is used to coordinate the water supply withdrawals of the three major metropolitan area water utilities that rely on Potomac River water for nearly 500 million US gallons (1.9 gigalitres) per day to meet

5040-857: The following industrial wastewater flows: Industrial wastewater could add the following pollutants to receiving water bodies if the wastewater is not treated and managed properly: The specific pollutants generated and the resultant effluent concentrations can vary widely among the industrial sectors. Battery manufacturers specialize in fabricating small devices for electronics and portable equipment (e.g., power tools), or larger, high-powered units for cars, trucks and other motorized vehicles. Pollutants generated at manufacturing plants includes cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, cyanide, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, silver, zinc, oil and grease. A centralized waste treatment (CWT) facility processes liquid or solid industrial wastes generated by off-site manufacturing facilities. A manufacturer may send its wastes to

5130-433: The geologic formations that harbour economically valuable metals such as copper and gold very often consist of sulphide-type ores. The processing entails grinding the rock into fine particles and then extracting the desired metal(s), with the leftover rock being known as tailings. These tailings contain a combination of not only undesirable leftover metals, but also sulphide components which eventually form sulphuric acid upon

5220-567: The greatest portion of western Sub-Saharan Africa , as well as Western Sahara and part of Morocco . The two major mediterranean seas of the world also flow to the Atlantic. The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico basin includes most of the U.S. interior between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains , a small part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan , eastern Central America ,

5310-435: The ground and along rivers it can pick up nutrients , sediment , and pollutants . With the water, they are transported towards the outlet of the basin, and can affect the ecological processes along the way as well as in the receiving water body . Modern use of artificial fertilizers , containing nitrogen (as nitrates ), phosphorus , and potassium , has affected the mouths of drainage basins. The minerals are carried by

5400-744: The ground at its terminus, the area can go by several names, such playa, salt flat, dry lake , or alkali sink . The largest endorheic basins are in Central Asia , including the Caspian Sea , the Aral Sea , and numerous smaller lakes. Other endorheic regions include the Great Basin in the United States, much of the Sahara Desert , the drainage basin of the Okavango River ( Kalahari Basin ), highlands near

5490-409: The industry include acetone , ammonia, benzene, BOD, chloroform, cyanide, ethanol , ethyl acetate , isopropanol , methylene chloride , methanol , phenol and toluene. Treatment technologies used include advanced biological treatment (e.g. activated sludge with nitrification), multimedia filtration , cyanide destruction (e.g. hydrolysis ), steam stripping and wastewater recycling. Effluent from

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5580-619: The islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf, and a small part of northern South America. The Mediterranean Sea basin, with the Black Sea , includes much of North Africa , east-central Africa (through the Nile River ), Southern , Central, and Eastern Europe , Turkey , and the coastal areas of Israel , Lebanon , and Syria . The Arctic Ocean drains most of Western Canada and Northern Canada east of

5670-1751: The mineral acid is boiled away from the iron salts, there remains a large volume of highly acid ferrous sulfate or ferrous chloride to be disposed of. Many steel industry wastewaters are contaminated by hydraulic oil, also known as soluble oil. Many industries perform work on metal feedstocks (e.g. sheet metal, ingots ) as they fabricate their final products. The industries include automobile, truck and aircraft manufacturing; tools and hardware manufacturing; electronic equipment and office machines; ships and boats; appliances and other household products; and stationary industrial equipment (e.g. compressors, pumps, boilers). Typical processes conducted at these plants include grinding , machining , coating and painting, chemical etching and milling , solvent degreasing , electroplating and anodizing . Wastewater generated from these industries may contain heavy metals (common heavy metal pollutants from these industries include cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, silver and zinc), cyanide and various chemical solvents, oil, and grease. The principal waste-waters associated with mines and quarries are slurries of rock particles in water. These arise from rainfall washing exposed surfaces and haul roads and also from rock washing and grading processes. Volumes of water can be very high, especially rainfall related arisings on large sites. Some specialized separation operations, such as coal washing to separate coal from native rock using density gradients , can produce wastewater contaminated by fine particulate haematite and surfactants . Oils and hydraulic oils are also common contaminants. Wastewater from metal mines and ore recovery plants are inevitably contaminated by

5760-476: The minerals present in the native rock formations. Following crushing and extraction of the desirable materials, undesirable materials may enter the wastewater stream. For metal mines, this can include unwanted metals such as zinc and other materials such as arsenic . Extraction of high value metals such as gold and silver may generate slimes containing very fine particles in where physical removal of contaminants becomes particularly difficult. Additionally,

5850-506: The most water, from most to least, are the Amazon, Ganges , and Congo rivers. Endorheic basin are inland basins that do not drain to an ocean. Endorheic basins cover around 18% of the Earth's land. Some endorheic basins drain to an Endorheic lake or Inland sea . Many of these lakes are ephemeral or vary dramatically in size depending on climate and inflow. If water evaporates or infiltrates into

5940-472: The particular wastestream in the plant. These include dry ash handling, closed-loop ash recycling, chemical precipitation , biological treatment (such as an activated sludge process), membrane systems, and evaporation-crystallization systems. Technological advancements in ion-exchange membranes and electrodialysis systems has enabled high efficiency treatment of flue-gas desulfurization wastewater to meet recent EPA discharge limits. The treatment approach

6030-410: The pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into sewers or into rivers, lakes or oceans . This applies to industries that generate wastewater with high concentrations of organic matter (e.g. oil and grease), toxic pollutants (e.g. heavy metals, volatile organic compounds ) or nutrients such as ammonia . Some industries install

6120-576: The prime mover is concentrated salt water. As a result, evaporation systems typically employ titanium or duplex stainless steel materials. Brine management examines the broader context of brine treatment and may include consideration of government policy and regulations, corporate sustainability , environmental impact, recycling, handling and transport, containment, centralized compared to on-site treatment, avoidance and reduction, technologies, and economics. Brine management shares some issues with leachate management and more general waste management . In

6210-471: The problem posed by invasive aquatic weed, hydrilla (1983). After Maryland (1985) and the District of Columbia (1986) initiate a phosphate detergent bans, ICPRB recommends (1987) expanding such bans basin-wide. 1990s - Maryland, West Virginia and ICPRB sign (1993) cooperative agreement on program to restore water quality to the North Branch. 2000s – In 2001, the ICPRB combined decades of data into

6300-418: The rainfall on the area of land included in its polygon. These polygons are made by drawing lines between gauges, then making perpendicular bisectors of those lines form the polygons. The isohyetal method involves contours of equal precipitation are drawn over the gauges on a map. Calculating the area between these curves and adding up the volume of water is time-consuming. Isochrone maps can be used to show

6390-468: The recent years, there has been greater prevalence in brine management due to global push for zero liquid discharge (ZLD)/minimal liquid discharge (MLD). In ZLD/MLD techniques, a closed water cycle is used to minimize water discharges from a system for water reuse . This concept has been gaining traction in recent years, due to increased water discharges and recent advancement in membrane technology. Increasingly, there has been also greater efforts to increase

6480-882: The recovery of fresh water or salts. Brine treatment systems may also be optimized to reduce electricity consumption, chemical usage, or physical footprint. Brine treatment is commonly encountered when treating cooling tower blowdown, produced water from steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), produced water from natural gas extraction such as coal seam gas , frac flowback water, acid mine or acid rock drainage , reverse osmosis reject, chlor-alkali wastewater, pulp and paper mill effluent, and waste streams from food and beverage processing. Brine treatment technologies may include: membrane filtration processes, such as reverse osmosis ; ion-exchange processes such as electrodialysis or weak acid cation exchange ; or evaporation processes, such as brine concentrators and crystallizers employing mechanical vapour recompression and steam. Due to

6570-516: The recovery of materials from brines, especially from mining, geothermal wastewater or desalination brines. Various literature demosntrates the vaibility of extraction of valuable materials like sodium bicarbonates, sodium chlorides and precious metals (like rubidium, cesium and lithium). The concept of ZLD/MLD encompasses the downstream management of wastewater brines, to reduce discharges and also derive valuable products from it. Most solids can be removed using simple sedimentation techniques with

6660-484: The region’s resources can be effective only when the public is educated about the reasons for those actions and their role in the preservation of those resources. To that end, the Commission: The ICPRB works with numerous partners throughout the basin using cooperative skills for encouraging multiple jurisdictions to coordinate actions on water resource issues. This brings to the watershed needed action to address

6750-625: The responsibility of the countries sharing it. Nile Basin Initiative , OMVS for Senegal River , Mekong River Commission are a few examples of arrangements involving management of shared river basins. Management of shared drainage basins is also seen as a way to build lasting peaceful relationships among countries. The catchment is the most significant factor determining the amount or likelihood of flooding . Catchment factors are: topography , shape, size, soil type, and land use (paved or roofed areas). Catchment topography and shape determine

6840-425: The reverse osmosis membranes from hydrocarbons . Evaporation processes are the most widespread for brine treatment as they enable the highest degree of concentration, as high as solid salt. They also produce the highest purity effluent, even distillate-quality. Evaporation processes are also more tolerant of organics, hydrocarbons, or hardness salts. However, energy consumption is high and corrosion may be an issue as

6930-461: The river rather than being absorbed by the ground. If the surface is impermeable the precipitation will create surface run-off which will lead to higher risk of flooding; if the ground is permeable, the precipitation will infiltrate the soil. Land use can contribute to the volume of water reaching the river, in a similar way to clay soils. For example, rainfall on roofs, pavements , and roads will be collected by rivers with almost no absorption into

7020-534: The solids recovered as slurry or sludge. Very fine solids and solids with densities close to the density of water pose special problems. In such case filtration or ultrafiltration may be required. Although flocculation may be used, using alum salts or the addition of polyelectrolytes . Wastewater from industrial food processing often requires on-site treatment before it can be discharged to prevent or reduce sewer surcharge fees. The type of industry and specific operational practices determine what types of wastewater

7110-418: The speed with which the runoff reaches a river. A long thin catchment will take longer to drain than a circular catchment. Size will help determine the amount of water reaching the river, as the larger the catchment the greater the potential for flooding. It is also determined on the basis of length and width of the drainage basin. Soil type will help determine how much water reaches the river. The runoff from

7200-623: The thirst of the capital region. Throughout the basin, project expertise includes: Water quality issues addressed by Commission staff include supporting highly complex studies and projects that reap benefits both for the Potomac basin and for the Chesapeake Bay drainage, of which the basin comprises a major part. Project expertise includes: Staff in the aquatic life section of ICPRB work to evaluate and report on biological communities and how they respond to stream, river and estuarine conditions. Staff carefully measure and analyze aquatic life data in

7290-415: The time taken for rain to reach the river, while catchment size, soil type, and development determine the amount of water to reach the river. Generally, topography plays a big part in how fast runoff will reach a river. Rain that falls in steep mountainous areas will reach the primary river in the drainage basin faster than flat or lightly sloping areas (e.g., > 1% gradient). Shape will contribute to

7380-477: The time taken for runoff water within a drainage basin to reach a lake, reservoir or outlet, assuming constant and uniform effective rainfall. Drainage basins are the principal hydrologic unit considered in fluvial geomorphology . A drainage basin is the source for water and sediment that moves from higher elevation through the river system to lower elevations as they reshape the channel forms. Drainage basins are important in ecology . As water flows over

7470-404: The treated industrial wastewater (or effluent) may be reused or released to a sanitary sewer or to a surface water in the environment. Some industrial facilities generate wastewater that can be treated in sewage treatment plants . Most industrial processes, such as petroleum refineries , chemical and petrochemical plants have their own specialized facilities to treat their wastewaters so that

7560-626: The type of glass manufactured, which includes fiberglass , plate glass , rolled glass , and glass containers, among others. The wastewater discharged by glass plants may include ammonia, BOD, chemical oxygen demand (COD), fluoride , lead, oil, phenol, and/or phosphorus. The discharges may also be highly acidic (low pH) or alkaline (high pH). The production of iron from its ores involves powerful reduction reactions in blast furnaces. Cooling waters are inevitably contaminated with products especially ammonia and cyanide . Production of coke from coal in coking plants also requires water cooling and

7650-444: The types of products manufactured, such as bulk organic chemicals, resins, pesticides, plastics, or synthetic fibers. Some of the organic compounds that may be discharged are benzene , chloroform , naphthalene , phenols , toluene and vinyl chloride . Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which is a gross measurement of a range of organic pollutants, may be used to gauge the effectiveness of a biological wastewater treatment system, and

7740-459: The use of water in by-products separation. Contamination of waste streams includes gasification products such as benzene , naphthalene , anthracene , cyanide, ammonia, phenols , cresols together with a range of more complex organic compounds known collectively as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The conversion of iron or steel into sheet, wire or rods requires hot and cold mechanical transformation stages frequently employing water as

7830-442: The waste stream. Although similarities to seawater or brackish water desalination exist, industrial brine treatment may contain unique combinations of dissolved ions, such as hardness ions or other metals, necessitating specific processes and equipment. Brine treatment systems are typically optimized to either reduce the volume of the final discharge for more economic disposal (as disposal costs are often based on volume) or maximize

7920-908: The wastewater stream may include vehicle wash bays, workshops, fuel storage depots, transport hubs and power generation. Often the wastewater is discharged into local sewer or trade waste systems and must meet local environmental specifications. Typical contaminants can include solvents, detergents, grit, lubricants and hydrocarbons. Many industries have a need to treat water to obtain very high quality water for their processes. This might include pure chemical synthesis or boiler feed water. Also, some water treatment processes produce organic and mineral sludges from filtration and sedimentation which require treatment. Ion exchange using natural or synthetic resins removes calcium , magnesium and carbonate ions from water, typically replacing them with sodium , chloride , hydroxyl and/or other ions. Regeneration of ion-exchange columns with strong acids and alkalis produces

8010-756: The wastewater. Dairy processing plants generate conventional pollutants (BOD, SS). Animal slaughter and processing produces organic waste from body fluids, such as blood , and gut contents. Pollutants generated include BOD, SS, coliform bacteria , oil and grease, organic nitrogen and ammonia . Processing food for sale produces wastes generated from cooking which are often rich in plant organic material and may also contain salt , flavourings , colouring material and acids or alkali . Large quantities of fats, oil and grease ("FOG") may also be present, which in sufficient concentrations can clog sewer lines. Some municipalities require restaurants and food processing businesses to use grease interceptors and regulate

8100-641: The world's land drains to the Atlantic Ocean . In North America , surface water drains to the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes basins, the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, the Canadian Maritimes , and most of Newfoundland and Labrador . Nearly all of South America east of the Andes also drains to the Atlantic, as does most of Western and Central Europe and

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