Just a few of the things you can do to protect water quality include:
- Find approved recycling or disposal facilities for motor oil and household chemicals so
these substances do not end up in the water. - Use lawn, garden, and farm chemicals sparingly and wisely.
- Repair automobile or boat engine leaks immediately.
- Keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters and storm drains.
Controlling Ocean Pollution
Controlling seawater pollution and fresh water pollution are similar, but not exactly the
same. We can try to prevent polluters from further spoiling the ocean and we can require
polluters to clean up any pollution they cause. Government and international agencies can
passlaws, providefunding, andenforcelawstopreventandcleanupoceanpollution(Figure
21.24).
Several national and international agencies monitor and control ocean pollution. The agen-
cies include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture as well as other federal and state
agencies.
When runoff pollution does cause problems, NOAA scientists help track down the exact
causes and find solutions. This organization is also one of many organizations trying to
educate the public on ways to prevent ocean pollution.
Conserving Water
As human population growth continues, water conservation will become increasingly impor-
tant globally (Figure21.25). Yet, the methods to conserve water are likely to differ between
developing nations and developed countries.
For example, some people in undeveloped countries use so little water, that they may not
gain much water by reducing their personal use. Meanwhile, large quantities of water can
be conserved in the United States by finding ways to stop overconsumption of water.
At Earth Summit 2002 many governments approved a Plan of Action to address the scarcity
of water and safe drinking water in developing countries. One goal of this plan is to cut in
half, the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015.
Developed countries have many options to reduce water consumption. A farmer can cut
water consumption drastically by using more efficient irrigation methods. People also have
many opportunities to reduce our personal and household water demand with such measures
as low flow shower heads, toilets that use less water, and drip irrigation to water lawns.