Industrial water pollution: Sources, pathways and preventive strategies every facility should know
Despite the control measures and regulations in place, industrial water pollution is still a problem in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that thousands of businesses have polluted water bodies to unacceptable levels.
To help your facility comply with key water pollution standards, MACH Engineering has written this guide on water pollution sources, pathways and preventive strategies.
Industrial Water Pollution at a Glance
- Industrial water pollution can originate from many industries and processes.
- Businesses are given limits on the extent to which they can release certain chemicals in their wastewater.
- Industrial facilities often exceed acceptable levels and pollute water bodies through inaction, negligence and inefficient processes.
- Water pollution can negatively impact the environment, the community and the business from which it originated.
- Preventive strategies and best practices can reduce a business’s water pollution levels.
Common Sources of Water Pollution
Facilities have many uses for water, depending on their operations. How a facility uses water, as well as the chemicals the water comes into contact with, will affect the pollution it creates.
Process Wastewater
Many facilities use water for various processes. Process water can be used to:
- Remove impurities.
- Dye cloth.
- Refine petroleum.
- Clean equipment.
- Power systems.
Once process water has been used, it becomes waste unless it can be recycled in the facility.
Cooling Water
Facilities often use water as a cost-effective cooling method. One of the most common uses of cooling water in facilities is to cool and condense steam. It’s also commonly used to control equipment temperature and microbial growth.
Cooling water is often used to cool products. In the plastic manufacturing industry, cooling water is used to cool molds and plastic, and in breweries, it is regularly used to cool and condition beer.
Cleaning Operations
Whatever the industry, every facility has to be cleaned. Just like with domestic and commercial cleaning, industrial cleaning requires water to carry out various tasks, such as cleaning the facilities’ equipment, floors and more.
By-Products
In many facilities, water is the result of a process rather than a tool used in the process. For example, certain chemical reactions can produce water. Often, this water is contaminated with chemicals involved in that particular process, which is why it’s important that this by-product is properly treated.
How Pollutants Travel From Facilities to Waterways
Water pollution can travel from facilities to waterways in many ways. In every case, the facility is responsible for controlling that release.
Permitted Effluent
Permitted effluent is the treated wastewater that facilities are legally allowed to emit from their facility. Environmental agencies and governments at all levels closely regulate effluent produced by facilities. These regulations will cover how much effluent facilities release, how it’s released and what the effluent contains.
When the effluent meets all regulations, facilities can release it directly into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water.
Stormwater Runoff
While facilities may not be able to control the production of stormwater, they’re responsible for how it interacts with their facility and what happens to it afterward. Any stormwater, be it rain, snow or floodwater, may be impacted by coming into contact with the facility, and must be treated before it leaves the facility.
A facility that discharges pollutants into U.S. waters will require an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit from the EPA.
Leaks
A leak is often a slow, steady and unplanned release of pollution that leads to untreated wastewater entering water systems outside of the facility. Leaks are usually caused by a failure in machinery or processes.
Even a small leak can cause major pollution over time. Regular testing can help facilities spot the signs of a leak.
Accidental Releases
An accidental release is usually caused by:
- Human error: Human error, such as mistakenly pressing a release button, could lead to an accidental release.
- Equipment failure: Poorly maintained or monitored equipment could cause a part, such as a pipe, to burst open or come loose.
- Extreme weather: Extreme temperatures could cause equipment to fail, or excessive rainfall could lead to flooding that compromises containment systems.
Types of Industrial Water Pollutants
There are many types of water pollutants that facilities must control.
Organic Chemicals
Organic chemicals often originate in the petrochemical, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries, among others. These chemicals include pesticides, solvents and hydrocarbons. When released, they can accumulate in the cells of living organisms, eventually causing adverse effects.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals are often found in the wastewater of facilities in the mining, electronics manufacturing and metallurgy industries. When heavy metals, such as lead, mercury and arsenic, accumulate in water, they can pose severe health hazards to any human or animal who ingests the water.
Nutrients
Many nutrients that are naturally present in water bodies can still pose a risk when found in wastewater. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are common wastewater products. When facilities release wastewater containing these nutrients into natural water bodies, it can cause a nutrient imbalance. This imbalance can result in algal bloom, which depletes oxygen levels in the water and makes it an inhospitable environment.
Suspended Solids
Industries such as mining, construction and manufacturing often have solids in their wastewater. These solids are suspended in the effluent and can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pebble. Suspended solids, such as sediment and silt, can cloud water and decrease light levels. These reduced levels of sunlight particularly affect marine habitats at the depths of a water body, where light is already limited.
Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution occurs when a facility releases heated water into natural water bodies. This temperature rise disrupts the ecosystems of these water bodies, making it harder for the organisms that live there to find sufficient food sources and reproduce.
Thermal pollution is a common consequence of power generation and power plants, manufacturing facilities and cooling processes.
Environmental, Health and Business Impacts of Water Pollution
The effects of industrial water pollution are far-reaching and can often be felt for many years, which is why it’s vital that businesses control their pollution levels.
Ecosystems
A primary impact of water pollution is its effect on natural ecosystems. This pollution can degrade water quality for the wildlife and microorganisms that live in these water bodies, such as by reducing light levels, increasing water temperature and causing chemical imbalances.
The results of these changes are widespread and include:
- Changes to fish migration patterns: When their habitat becomes unsuitable for them to live in, fish often migrate early, throwing off their migration pattern.
- Decreased biodiversity: A negative change in a species’ environment can affect their ability to reproduce and survive, impacting biodiversity in the long run.
- Unbalanced ecosystems: Changes to water bodies can result in algae blooms, which impact other organisms’ access to light.
- Decreased water quality: Organisms that help keep water clean and feed on microorganisms can’t survive, leading to decreased water quality.
Health Issues
Water pollution can directly affect our health. While the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 sets limits on harmful bacteria in our water supply, drinking water can still negatively impact our health. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that at least 1.1 million people in the U.S. get sick from drinking water each year.
The causes of these illnesses can range from E. coli to Legionella bacteria, but water pollution will introduce some of these bacteria into the water supply. Dangerous chemical levels in our drinking water can increase the risk of longer-term illnesses and health conditions, such as:
- Cancer
- Fertility issues
- Dermatitis
- Nerve damage
- Delayed development in children
- Organ damage
- Increased blood pressure
- Immune deficiencies
Regulatory Compliance
Any business with an NPDES permit must meet certain water quality levels in its discharge to comply with regulations. Water quality will be sampled by the business, with the results sent to the EPA and relevant state authorities. Additionally, regulatory authorities could send an inspector to the facility to conduct a compliance audit.
If an organization is deemed noncompliant with any regulations, the EPA or state authority can order the organization to fix the issue. The organization may also face financial penalties and mandatory injunctions. If a responsible party is found to have willfully violated water quality regulations, they may also face criminal actions that could result in jail time.
Operational Costs
Even if your organization isn’t fined for noncompliance, the cost of fixing any compliance issues can be expensive. You’ll likely have to cease operations until you meet compliance regulations — this can take time depending on the required fix, which could include improving treatment technology or optimizing processes.
Community Trust
Whether they’re concerned about wildlife or their own health, or both, many people care about the environment and how water pollution can affect it. When you fail to comply with water pollution regulations, you can damage your business’s reputation and erode customers’ trust.
On a more local level, this noncompliance can create widespread anger toward your business. The people who live near your facility will likely be most directly impacted by the pollution.
Preventive Strategies for Reducing Industrial Water Pollution
Businesses can implement many strategies in their facility to reduce their water pollution, helping them comply with the relevant standards.
Source Reduction
Source reduction focuses on adapting industrial processes to minimize waste generation. These changes could include:
- Replacing hazardous materials with nontoxic alternatives.
- Swapping from solvent-based to water-based cleaning agents.
- Adjusting processes so that less effluent is produced.
- Introducing closed-loop systems that help your facility reuse and recycle water.
These changes can all reduce the level of pollutants your facility produces.
Treatment Technology
Water treatment technology, such as wet scrubber systems and tower packing media, can remove pollutants from your effluent before it can be released. This technology treats your wastewater in three stages:
- Primary treatment: Sedimentation, screening and other physical processes remove large solids from the wastewater.
- Secondary treatment: Biological processes, such as activated sludge, trickling filters and constructed wetlands, are heavily used at this stage to remove colloidal and dissolved organic pollutants.
- Tertiary treatment: Also known as advanced treatment, this stage removes specific pollutants that are likely to still be present in the wastewater. This stage is most often required when the wastewater is intended to be reused. Common processes at this stage include membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and nutrient removal.
Best Management Practices
To help your facility comply with water pollution regulations and keep your water quality at the required levels, implement these best management practices:
- Test regularly: Go beyond the regulation requirements and test frequently. Regular testing will allow you to quickly see when water quality levels dip and take fast action to rectify the issue.
- Recycle water: As much as possible, recycle water within your facility to reduce the amount of wastewater you discharge.
- Harvest rainwater: Minimize your facility’s reliance on freshwater sources as you reduce stormwater runoff.
- Implement zero liquid discharge (ZLD) systems: Prevent effluent from leaving your facility through a ZLD system.
- Provide environmental training for employees: Educate your team on the importance of minimizing water pollution and the best practices for doing so.
The Role of Engineering Solutions in Water Pollution Prevention
Engineering solutions play a key role in reducing and preventing water pollution from industrial facilities. Besides the water treatment technology that can remove pollutants from wastewater, engineered systems can assist with real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and digital smart system integration. All of this helps businesses reduce their water effluent levels, clean any discharge and comply with water pollution regulations.
The Importance of Water Pollution Control in Facilities
Water pollution is a problem that any facility with an NPDES permit must work to prevent — for the sake of the business, the environment, and the local community. Failure to comply with water quality regulations can also result in serious consequences, including fines and injunctions.
To make compliance easier, facilities should implement best practices and preventive strategies that take advantage of engineering solutions.
This story was produced by MACH Engineering and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
