Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 4.1 A Portion of a Clogged Water Pipe from Rural Iowa
Source: Iowa Rural Water Association.
Pesticides and herbicides: These come from agriculture,
irrigation, and storm water runoff as well as residential runoff.
Organic chemical contaminants: These include synthetic and
volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial
processes and petroleum production and can also come from
gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems.
Radioactive materials: These can occur naturally or as a result
of oil and gas production or mining activities.
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Chemicals in Source Water
Low levels of man-made chemicals turned up in a number of source
water and public water supplies before and after treatment, accord-
ing to a report released in December 2008 by the National Water-
Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS). 4
For the study, scientists tested water in nine rivers, all of which
are sources of public water systems, for the presence of 260 common
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