Identification of water pollution in Denver Co Rivers
Water in Denver Co Rivers need to be conserved from the various pollutants that pollute it. There is need to eradicate E. coli bacteria and nutrients pollution which has been detected in Denver Co Rivers from a recently conducted research. It is important to note that no oil or gas pollution has been detected in the water. This research took samples in 29 locations in eight rivers in the flood zone. The highest levels of E. coli were detected in Big Thompson and Boulder Creek river watershed. Other areas with high levels of E. coli are areas in the South Platte Basin, to the Nebraska line. Levels of E. coli which are higher than 126 parts per milliliter are usually considered unsafe.
There is need to reduce oil spills even though the state is tackling, about 40,000 gallons of oil spills from well and storage facilities from the Basin of South Platte. This is important in spite of the fact that no oil spills contamination has been detected from these tests. This is reassuring because much attention has been focused on gas and oil spills operations.
Sewage pollution should be controlled to curb the E. coli bacteria contamination. It is estimated that about 20 million gallons of raw sewage are poured into the rivers untreated together with another 150 million to 270 million gallons of sewage which is partially untreated. This happens because there are sewer lines which are out of commission. It could also be because some sewer lines are flooded while others have sewer lines ripped out which is pretty catastrophic.
There should also be reduction of nutrient pollution. Phosphorus levels have increased steadily since 1992 when the city banned phosphate detergents use. The phosphorus which is contributing pollution is mostly from human waste. The level of nitrates is also increasing even though it is still below the federal safety limits of 10 milligrams per liter. High levels of these nutrients can cause human birth defects and reduced underwater oxygen (Oden, Wendy, p.30).
The effects of recreations in the water
Visitors use associated activities such as bathing, dish washing, stock animal use and wastewater production near lakes and streams can cause degradation of water quality. The recreational impact assesses patterns of nutrients and E. coli pollution resulting directly from the recreational activities in Denver Co Rivers.
The E. coli bacteria directly originating from recreation activities are minimal. A multiple linear regression approach can be used to model in order to establish the background of nutrients concentration with the basin concentrations as the explanatory variables. The nitrogen concentration increases after elevation while phosphorus concentration increases with basin size. These observed concentrations when compared with modeled concentrations show that concentrations are observed at only a few locations. This, therefore, indicates that most of the pollution originates from natural background conditions and as a result of recreational activities. I, therefore, feel that recreation activities are not a threat for water conservation.
Conclusion
There is need to double our effort in water conservation since pollution levels seem to be rising over the years. This is usually experienced after flooding because waste from the streets, sewage and industries is washed into the rivers. The increase in population has also led to an increase in the volume of treated sewage released into rivers. To the best of my knowledge, therefore, we are not cleaning up our act.
Works cited
Ian Douglas. Cities: An Environmental History. I.B:Tauris, 2013. Print.
Oden, Wendy.” Where the polluters meet the public.” Colorado Business Magazine 20 Jan 1995: 1-34. Print.
