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TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES VISAYAS

Capt. Sabi St., City of Talisay, Negros Occidental

College of Automation and Control

Office of the College Dean

LEARNING MODULE

Subject:

ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
Weeks 1 and 2

COMPILED BY:

ARON J. LEONORAS, PhD, PME

2021

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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VISION

The Technological University of the Philippines shall be the premier state university
with recognized excellence in engineering and technology at par with leading universities in
the ASEAN region.

MISSION

The University shall provide higher and advanced vocational, technical, industrial,
technological and professional education and training in industries and technology, and in
practical arts leading to certificates, diplomas and degrees.
It shall provide progressive leadership in applied research, developmental studies in
technical, industrial, and technological fields and production using indigenous materials; effect
technology transfer in the countryside; and assist in the development of s mall-and-medium
scale industries in identified growth center. (Reference: P.D. No. 1518, Section 2)

QUALITY POLICY

The Technological University of the Philippines shall commit to provide quality higher
and advanced technological education; conduct relevant research and extension projects;
continually improve its value to customers through enhancement of personnel competence and
effective quality management system compliant to statutory and regulatory requirements; and
adhere to its core values.

CORE VALUES

T - Transparent and participatory governance

U - Unity in the pursuit of TUP mission, goals, and objectives
P - Professionalism in the discharge of quality service
I - Integrity and commitment to maintain the good name of the University
A - Accountability for individual and organizational quality performance
N - Nationalism through tangible contribution to the rapid economic growth of the
country
S - Shared responsibility, hard work, and resourcefulness in compliance to the mandates
of the university

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Numbers
TUP Vision, Mission, Quality Policy, and Core Values…………………. i
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………… ii
Course Description……………………………………………………… iii
Course Outcomes……………………………………………………….. iii
General Guidelines/Class Rules………..……………………………….. iii
Grading System…………………………………………………………. iii
Learning Guide (Week No. 1) ………………………………………….. 1
Topic/s: History and legal framework, Environmental
Education, Ecological Concepts, Principles and
Applications to Conservation …………………………….. 1
Expected Competencies………………………………………… 2
Content/Technical Information………………………………… 2
Progress Check ………………………………………………… 15
References………………………………………………………. 16
Learning Guide (Week No. 2)………………………………………….. 17
Topic: ……………………………………………………………
Learning Outcomes………………………………………………
Content/Technical Information…………………………………..
Progress Check…… ……………………………………………..
References……………………………………………………..…
Learning Guide (Week No. 3) …………………………………………..
Topic: ………………….………………….……………………..
Learning Outcomes………………………………………………
Content/Technical Information………………………………….
Progress Check…… ………………………………………………..
References…………………………………………………………
List of References………………………………………………
About the Author/s……………………………………………………………..

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course includes a review to environmental history, how the unwitting human development
brought about environmental catastrophes, the importance of ecological balances, and the
environmental laws that were enacted to address these environmental problems. Also, the
sources and effects of pollution, the general methods of pollution control and waste recycling
specifically, the water and wastewater treatment, the air, noise and agricultural pollution, the
solid and hazardous waste management, and the radioactive waste management will be studied.
And finally, environmental impact and assessment will be learned, including the applications,
design, and analysis of environmental engineering principles that will provide solutions to
environmental problems in the global and societal context.

COURSE OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, the students will be able to develop strong understanding and
awareness of the environmental issues and concerns, as well as the environmental laws enacted
to address these environmental problems, the coverage and applications of environmental
science and environmental engineering principles to provide solutions in global and societal
context, the utilization of quantitative methods for the design, analysis, and operation of water
and wastewater treatment system problems, and other various pollution-treatment facilities.

GENERAL GUIDELINES/CLASS RULES

1. Students are required to study and learn the content of the subject through the modules
provided.
2. Students are expected to submit assignments, take assessments, and/or examinations on or
before the due dates.
3. Students will make use of e-resources such as email, facebook or messenger accounts, and
SMS/Text services to communicate/connect with instructor or classmates if physical class is
still not accessible or available.
4. Students will be given Prelim, Midterm and End term Examinations on the schedules
announced by the school.

GRADING SYSTEM

The students’ final term grade will be based on the average of their midterm and end term
grades as follows:

1. Midterm (MT) Grade - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 70% of MT Quizzes Grade + 30% MT Exam

2. End term (ET) Grade - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -70% of ET Quizzes Grade + 30% ET Exam
3. Final term Grade: 50% MT + 50% ET

Passing Grade for this course: 5.0

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
 1

LEARNING GUIDE

Week No.: __1__

TOPICS

A. History and legal framework

1. The environmental history of the Philippines

2. The legal framework

• Republic Act No. 9512 on National Environmental Awareness and Education
Act, 2008
• Republic Act No. 7942, or Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
• Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
• Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004
• Republic Act 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999
• Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control
Act of 1990
• Presidential Decree 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Statement of
1978

B. Environmental Education

Eight Ecological Principles and Associated Concepts

C. Ecological Concepts, Principles and Applications to Conservation

1. Biodiversity
2. Ecological Concepts
3. Ecological Principles
4. Applications to Conservation

EXPECTED COMPETENCIES

The students will be able to develop strong understanding of the environmental issues
and concerns, the different environmental laws available to promote environmental
awareness and safeguard the ecological balance, the scope and availability of
environmental science and environmental engineering principles to provide solutions to
environmental problems in global and societal context.

CONTENT/TECHNICAL INFORMATION

A. History and legal framework

Humanity is now being forced to investigate the environmental consequences

of its development actions, on the local, national and global scale. In the short time span

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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since the industrial revolution, the face of this planet has been changed in many areas,
sadly in some, irreversibly. Change was called progress, but now this generation, who
are the beneficiaries of past progress, are also the inheritors of past environmental
mistakes (Kiely, 1997).

Our environment, our climate is changing for the worst. And it now reached at
an alarming, if not critical level! There are now urgent and worldwide calls for
environmental awareness and consciousness - to understand the fragility of our
environment and the importance of its protection; to become an environmental steward
and participate in creating a brighter future for our children.

Environmental engineering is defined by Peavy et al (1985) ‘as that branch of

engineering that is concerned with protecting the environment from the potentially
deleterious effects of human activity, protecting human populations from the effects of
adverse environmental factors and improving the environmental quality for human
health and well-being’.

The environmental history of the Philippines

Environmental history deals with some of the most important issues regarding
the future of our planet. It came into being as a direct consequence of the growing
awareness of worldwide environmental problems such as pollution of water and air by
pesticides and hazardous materials, depletion of the ozone layer and the enhanced
greenhouse effect caused by human activity (Oosthoek, 2005). Figure 1 shows the most
common environmental problems in the Philippines: water pollution, air pollution,
gridlock traffic that contributes to noise pollution, and over population that causes all
these pollutions.

Figure 1

Common Environmental Problems in the Philippines

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for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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ExExample of the environmental issues and problems encountered in the

Philippines as noticed by some environmental reporters were:

Fueling Encroachment
By Robert Weissman, Multinational Monitor, April 1994. The Mt. Apo geothermal
project violates a mountain held sacred by the Lumad peoples of Mindanao. About the
project and the Lumads.

Fishermen dump rotten fish on DENR

By Michael Lim Ubac, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 11 October 1997. Fisherfolk
yesterday dumped rotten fish in front of the building of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources to protest the Mining Act of 1995 and the fish kills and
environmental degradation caused by the laws of on mineral exploration.

In light of torpedo fiasco, junk VFA groups call on senate to reject VFA
BAYAN news release, 28 September 1998. Reacting to media reports that two U.S.-
made torpedoes discovered in Bicol waters in 1995 and 1996 continue to be a threat to
the communities storing these weapons, the Junk VFA Movement and Bagong
Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) today warned that such will become a common
occurrence once the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is ratified by the Senate.

U.S. military bases leave a toxic legacy

IPS, Asia Times, 2 April 1999. The U.S. military is long gone from its bases in the
Philippines but a toxic legacy of polluted water, soil and air is still very much in
evidence and threatens the health of people living near old U.S. facilities—Clark Air
Force Base and the Subic Bay Naval Base.

Weak laws in Philippines exacerbates deforestation

By Michael A. Bengwayan, The Earth Times, 23 February 2001. The Philippine
forests are rapidly disappearing. By 2025, there may be no virgin forests. The
worsening poverty caused by inadequate and ruined natural resources are real. The rate
of deforestation in the country is among the highest in the world.

Figure 2

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for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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The legal framework

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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The legal framework

The Philippine Constitution provides special protection to environmental rights,

according to Cruz, Marcelo & Tenefrancia Law Firm (Chambers and Partners, 2020).
It declares as a policy that the state shall “protect and advance the right to a balanced
and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature”. Guided by
this policy, the Philippine Congress has enacted environmental laws (Figure 2) that
strictly regulate a large portion of the country’s economic activity (Bunye, November
13, 2019).

While there is no single main environmental law applicable for the protection of all
environmental problems, there are various legislations and regulations that promote
accountable mining, responsible forestry, clean water, clean air, regulating toxic and
hazardous substances, waste management and environmental impact assessment,
already introduced in the country, such as:

Republic Act No. 9512 on National Environmental Awareness and Education Act,
2008
This Act provides for the promotion of environmental awareness through
environmental education which shall encompass environmental concepts and
principles, environmental laws, the state of international and local environment, local
environmental best practices, the threats of environmental degradation and its impact
on human well-being, the responsibility of the citizenry to the environment and the
value of conservation, protection and rehabilitation of natural resources and the
environment.

Republic Act No. 7942, or Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

All mineral resources in lands privately or publicly owned within the territory and
exclusive economic zone of the Republic of the Philippines are property of the State,
which shall promote and supervise for their rational exploration, development,
utilization and conservation while attentively safeguarding the environment and
protecting the rights of affected communities (as ancestral rights). Surveys and
subsequent mapping of all quarries shall be produced, and a regular monitoring of their
operations.

Republic Act 9003 Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000

In partnership with stakeholders, the law aims to adopt a systematic, comprehensive
and ecological solid waste management program that shall ensure the protection of
public health and environment. The law ensures proper segregation, collection, storage,
treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adaptation of best
eco-waste products.

Republic Act 9275 Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004

The law aims to protect the country's water bodies from pollution from land-based
sources (industries and commercial establishments, agriculture and
community/household activities). It provides for comprehensive and integrated strategy
to prevent and minimize pollution through a multi-sectoral and participatory approach
involving all the stakeholders.

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for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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Republic Act 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999

The law aims to achieve and maintain clean air that meets the National Air Quality
guideline values for criteria pollutants, throughout the Philippines, while minimizing the
possible associated impacts to the economy.

Republic Act 6969 Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of
1990
The law aims to regulate restrict or prohibit the importation, manufacture, processing,
sale, distribution, use and disposal of chemical substances and mixtures the present
unreasonable risk to human health. It likewise prohibits the entry, even in transit, of
hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for
whatever purpose; and to provide advancement and facilitate research and studies on toxic
chemicals.

Presidential Decree 1586 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Statement of 1978

The Environment Impact Assessment System was formally established in 1978 with the
enactment of Presidential Decree no. 1586 to facilitate the attainment and maintenance of
rational and orderly balance between socio-economic development and environmental
protection. EIA is a planning and management tool that will help government, decision
makers, the proponents and the affected community address the negative consequences or
risks on the environment. The process assures implementation of environment-friendly
projects.

B. Environmental Education

Environmental education is a process that allows individuals to explore environmental

issues, engage in problem solving, and take action to improve the environment. As a result,
individuals develop a deeper understanding of environmental issues and have the skills to
make informed and responsible decisions (Environmental Protection Agency, 2017).

According to Environmental Protection Agency (2017), the components of environmental

education are:

• Awareness and sensitivity to the environment and environmental challenges

• Knowledge and understanding of the environment and environmental challenges
• Attitudes of concern for the environment and motivation to improve or maintain
environmental quality
• Skills to identify and help resolve environmental challenges
• Participation in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental challenges

Environmental education does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action.

Rather, environmental education teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an
issue through critical thinking and it enhances their own problem-solving and decision-
making skills.

According to the Journal of Extension (JOE, 2009), the lack of a short, manageable list of
broadly applicable Environmental Education (EE) standards motivated the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service to identify the most common general
themes in all environmental studies. A USDA Forest Service social scientist, faculty
members, and graduate students from the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology

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compiled a list of eight general ecological principles (Barrett, Peles, & Odum, 1997).
These are:

1. Adaptation,
2. Behavior,
3. Diversity,
4. Emergent properties,
5. Energy flow,
6. Growth and development,
7. Limits,
8. Regulation.

A brief description of each principle is presented in Table 1.

Table 1

Descriptions of the Eight Ecological Principles and Associated Concepts

Principle Description Associated Concepts
Adaptation The way a life system looks or Evolution, Life History Patterns,
behaves is not random or accidental; Natural Selection, Survival,
rather it is the result of changing to Predator-Prey Interactions.
survive in a dynamic environment.
Behavior Living systems evolve behavioral Reproduction, Predator-Prey
responses to stress and disturbances to interactions, Dispersal, Survival
enhance survival. (humans and other animal
species), Pest Control (exotics,
nuisance animals) Harvesting.
Diversity Changes in environmental conditions Competition, Land-Use Practices,
over time have led to variety within Genetics, Survival,
each level of organization. Fragmentation.
Emergent When different levels of organization Complexity, Synthesis,
Properties are functioning together, new Teamwork, Government.
properties are created that were not
operational at lower levels.
Energy Flow Energy cannot be created nor Thermodynamics, Food Chains,
destroyed but it can change form. Tropic Levels, Heat Exchange.
Energy quality is always degraded
through transformation.
Growth and As organisms and systems increase in Succession, Reproduction,
Development size, changes occur that allow Population Dynamics,
survival. Growth rate slows as Competition.
maximum capacity is met.
Limits There are limits to how much stress Sustainability, Conservation,
can be tolerated by living systems. Disease, Natural Disaster,
Agriculture, Pollution.

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Regulation Energy is spent if a signal is sent to Feedback Loops, Organismal

increase or decrease some function to Systems, Cybernetics.
maintain balance.

C. Ecological Concepts, Principles and Applications to Conservation

Environment is the sum of all conditions and influences that affect the development and
life of all organisms on earth. Ecology is the branch of science that deals with the study
of interactions between living organisms and their physical environment.

Figure 3

Interaction between the butterfly and its surroundings

From the ecological point of view, the environment is a collection of natural factors
(physical, chemical, and biological) capable of affecting living organisms. Therefore, any
factor that can be consumed or used by an organism is defined as a natural resource (Begon
et al, 1990).

1. Biodiversity

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity provides a definition for

biodiversity:

“the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia [among
other things], terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species
and of ecosystems.”

In short, the term is used to refer to life in all its forms and the natural processes that
support and connect all life forms. Biodiversity is not easily defined because it is more
than just the sum of its parts, as all of its elements, regardless of whether we understand
their roles or know their status, are integral to maintaining functioning, evolving,
resilient ecosystems. Complex concepts such as biodiversity are often easier to grasp if
reduced to their component pieces. While this approach does not give a complete picture
of how these pieces interact and combine to create biodiversity, it helps us understand
different aspects of biodiversity.

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The levels of organization of biodiversity include ecosystems, species and genes.

• An ecosystem is a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism (biotic)

communities and non-living (abiotic) elements, all interacting as a functional unit. An
ecosystem’s character changes as community members and physical contexts change,
sometimes crossing a threshold of tolerance within the system that results in its inability
to return to its previous form.

• Species are a complete, self-generating, unique ensemble of genetic variation, capable

of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. They (and their subspecies and
populations) are generally considered to be the only self-replicating units of genetic
diversity that can function independently.

• Genes are the working units of heredity; each gene is a segment of the DNA molecule
that encodes a single enzyme or structural protein unit. Genetic diversity is the foundation
of all biodiversity. Genetic variation permits populations to adapt to changing
environments and continue to participate in life’s processes.

Figure 4

Biotic and Abiotic

Biodiversity is the foundation of a vast array of ecosystem services essential for human
well-being. Ecosystems support all forms of life, moderate climates, filter water and air,
conserve soil and nutrients and control pests. Species (animal and plant) provide us with
food, building materials, energy and medicines. They also provide vital services such as
pollination, waste assimilation, water filtration and distribution of seeds and nutrients.
Genetic diversity enables us to breed higher-yield and disease-resistant plants and animals
and allows the development or natural evolution of breeds and races that thrive under a
variety of environmental conditions. For instance, genetic variability in a species allows
adaptation over time to changing climatic conditions. The cultural services that
ecosystems provide include recreational, aesthetic and spiritual values that are vital to
individual and societal well-being.

Key public concerns about human impacts on biodiversity include effects on rates of
extinction, future options, productivity of ecosystems, and loss of economic opportunities.
Retaining a variety and abundance of individuals and species permits the adaptability that
sustains ecosystem productivity in changing environments and promotes further diversity
(future adaptability and options), thereby potentially sustaining desirable economic and

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 10

environmental opportunities and maintaining future options for the benefit of human
communities.

Ecological concepts are general understandings (or facts) about ecosystems and
ecosystem management. Ecological principles are basic assumptions (or beliefs) about
ecosystems and how they function that are informed by the ecological concepts.
Ecological principles use ecological concepts (which are understood to be true) to draw
key conclusions that can then guide human applications aimed at conserving biodiversity.

Table 2

Ecological Concepts and Ecological Principles

ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS
ECOSYSTEM CONCEPTS ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS
• Levels of biological organization • Coarse and fine filter approach
• Native species • Risk is an inherent aspect of decision-
• Keystone making
• Population viability/ thresholds • Adaptive management
• Ecological resilience • Ecosystem-based management
• Disturbances • Protected area
• Connectivity/fragmentation
ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
• Protection of species and species • All things are connected but the nature
subdivisions will conserve genetic and strengths of those connections vary
diversity • Disturbances shape the characteristics of
• Maintaining habitat is fundamental to populations, communities, and
conserving species ecosystems
• Large areas usually contain more species • Climate influences terrestrial, freshwater
than smaller areas with similar habitat and marine ecosystems
APPLICATION OF ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES
COARSE & FINE FILTER APPLICATIONS PLANNING APPLICATIONS
• Use coarse and fine filter approaches • Set objectives and targets for biodiversity
• Representation, in a system of protected in plans
areas • Manage biodiversity at multiple levels of
• Retain large contiguous or connected biological organization and multiple time
areas and spatial scales
• Maintain or emulate ecological processes • Incorporate spatial and temporal
• Manage landscapes and communities to approaches to land use that are compatible
be responsive to environmental change with an area’s natural potential
• Manage towards viable populations of all • Avoid land uses that convert natural
native species ecosystems and restore damaged
• Preserve rare landscape elements, critical ecosystems
habitats and features, and associated • Avoid, mitigate or as a last option
species compensate for the effects of human
• Minimize the introduction and spread of activities on biodiversity
invasive alien species that disrupt • Employ adaptive management of natural
ecological resilience and population resources to maximize learning
variability • Given that humans are a powerful agent
of change, make science-based decisions

2. Ecological Concepts:

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Concept 1: Levels of biological organization (genes, populations, species, communities,

ecosystems, landscapes, regions). Life is dynamic and involves multi-scale ecological
patterns and processes. Although each scale is important, the interdependence of scales
needs to be understood and assessed in order to conserve biodiversity.

Concept 2: Native species are those that naturally exist at a given location or in a
particular ecosystem – i.e., they have not been moved there by humans.

Concept 3: A keystone species, ecosystem or process has a disproportionate influence on

an ecosystem or landscape such as the role beavers play in altering the hydrological
characteristics of streams and wetlands.

Concept 4: Population viability/thresholds. “Viability” in this context refers to the

probability of survival of a population/species in the face of ecological processes such as
disturbance. When the amount of habitat available declines below the “extinction
threshold”, a population/species will decline and eventually disappear

Concept 5: Ecological resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to cope with

disturbance or stress and return to a stable state. The concept of ecological resilience
is consistent with the notion that ecosystems are complex, dynamic and adaptive
systems that are rarely at equilibrium; most systems can potentially exist in various states.

Concept 6: Disturbances are individually distinct events, either natural or human-

induced, that cause a change in the existing condition of an ecological system.

Concept 7: Connectivity/fragmentation is the degree to which ecosystem structure

facilitates or impedes the movement of organisms between resource patches. What
constitutes connectivity is scale-dependent and varies for each species depending on its
habitat requirements, sensitivity to disturbance and vulnerability to human-caused
mortality.

Ecosystem Management Concepts:

The ecosystem concepts help inform basic ecosystem management concepts that, in turn,
support some of the applications that relate to planning.

Concept 8: Coarse and fine filter approach. “Coarse filter” is a metaphor to express the
idea that by conserving the ecological communities of a given region, the majority of
species will be conserved. The coarse filter approach refers to the management of
landscapes through a network of protected areas, and management practices in the
surrounding matrix that attempt to emulate and conserve natural ecological processes
within the NRV. “Fine filter” is a metaphor to express the idea that some species,
ecosystems and features need to be conserved through individual, often localized efforts
(this is called the fine filter approach) because they fall through the mesh of the coarse
filter. An example is a species of conservation concern that relies on a particular habitat
feature within an ecosystem for survival where the feature is not normally conserved by a
coarse filter approach.

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The term “natural range of variability” (NRV) is used to describe naturally occurring
variation over time of the composition and structure found in a system, resulting in part
from sequences of disturbances.

Concept 9: Risk is an inherent aspect of decision-making given the complexity and

variability evident in Concepts 1, 4, 5 and 6 above, we can never be wholly certain of the
consequences of a management action. Risk is the potential for loss or damage resulting
from a particular action or decision. Risk assessment takes into consideration two
elements: (1) the likelihood of an event occurring; and (2) the magnitude of the
consequences should that event occur. Risk assessment is a formal appraisal of these two
elements. Risk management is the process of weighing the assessed risks against the
expected benefits to make the “best “decision. Uncertainty is directly related to risk, for
example, because an increase in uncertainty can result in a higher perception of risk

Concept 10: Adaptive management. As a formal response to the presence of uncertainty

and risk, adaptive management is a systematic learning process that formally plans and
monitors the outcomes of decisions to improve our ability to better manage natural
resources given uncertainty. The options to improve decision making with incomplete
knowledge include: (1) “trial and error”, in which initial choices are a ‘best guess’ with
later choices chosen from a subset that gives better results; (2) “passive adaptive” where
one model is assumed to be correct; and (3) “active adaptive” where multiple alternate
models are linked to policy choices.

Concept 11: Ecosystem-based management (EBM). EBM can be defined as “an adaptive
approach to managing human activities that seeks to ensure the coexistence of healthy,
fully functioning ecosystems and human communities. The intent is to maintain those
spatial and temporal characteristics of ecosystems such that component species and
ecological processes can be sustained, and human wellbeing supported and improved.”

Concept 12: Protected area. Protected area in this context refers to any area that has some
form of protection and typically has a minimal human footprint.

3. Ecological Principles

Ecological principles are basic assumptions (or beliefs) about ecosystems and how they
function and are informed by the ecological concepts described previously. Ecological
principles build on ecological concepts (which are understood to be true) to draw key
conclusions that can then guide human applications aimed at conserving biodiversity.

Principle 1: Protection of species and species’ subdivisions will conserve genetic

diversity. At the population level, the important processes are ultimately genetic and
evolutionary because these maintain the potential for continued existence of species and
their adaptation to changing conditions. In most instances managing for genetic diversity
directly is impractical and difficult to implement. The most credible surrogate for
sustaining genetic variability is maintaining not only species but also the spatial structure
of genetic variation within species (such as sub-species and populations).

Principle 2: Maintaining habitat is fundamental to conserving species. A species habitat

is the ecosystem conditions that support its life requirements. Our understanding of habitat

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is based on our knowledge of a species’ ecology and how that determines where a species
is known to occur or likely to occur.

Principle 3: Large areas usually contain more species than smaller areas with similar
habitat. The theory of island biogeography illustrates a basic principle that large areas
usually contain more species than smaller areas with similar habitat because they can
support larger and more viable populations. The theory holds that the number of species
on an island is determined by two factors: the distance from the mainland and island size.

Principle 4: All things are connected but the nature and strength of those connections
vary. Species play many different roles in communities and ecosystems and are connected
by those roles to other species in different ways and with varying degrees of strength. It
is important to understand key interactions. Some species (e.g., keystone species) have a
more profound effect on ecosystems than others. Particular species and networks of
interacting species have key, broad-scale ecosystem-level effects while others do not.

Principle 5: Disturbances shape the characteristics of populations, communities, and

ecosystems. The type, intensity, frequency and duration of disturbances shape the
characteristics of populations, communities and ecosystems including their size, shape
and spatial relationships.

Principle 6: Climate influences terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Climate is

usually defined as all of the states of the atmosphere seen at a place over many years.
Climate has a dominant effect on biodiversity as it influences meteorological variables
like temperature, precipitation and wind with consequences for many ecological and
physical processes, such as photosynthesis and fire behavior.

4. Application to Conservation of Ecological Concepts and Principles

The applications provide ways of applying the ecological concepts and principles in order
to conserve biodiversity. No single application will be sufficient – each approach ideally
needs to be operating in conjunction with others. The applications are grouped into those
that primarily relate to:

• Coarse and fine filter applications: techniques to help conserve biodiversity.

• Planning applications: techniques to promote biodiversity conservation using
planning tools and adaptive management that continuously improves our
understanding of what needs to done and how this can be more effectively
delivered over time.

Coarse and fine filter applications:

Application 1: Use coarse and fine filter approaches. Coarse filter approaches include
the management of landscapes through a network of representative protected areas and
management practices in the non-protected matrix that attempt to emulate natural
ecological processes with composition and structure falling within the natural range of
variability.

Application 2: Ensure representation in a system of protected areas. Protected areas,

including those managed primarily for biodiversity conservation and those managed for a

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 14

wide range of sustainable uses, are extremely important, especially in environments where
biodiversity loss is occurring as a result of ecosystem loss or alteration. An important
conservation goal is to represent the diversity of ecosystems or enduring features within a
system of protected areas. Proportional representation may be a good starting point with
the actual level or amount of representation varying depending on factors such as rarity
and sensitivity. Providing protected areas sufficiently large to represent predator-prey
systems may also result in some ecosystem types having higher levels of representation
than other types.

Application 3: Retain large contiguous or connected areas. The large contiguous and
connected areas that support these natural ecosystems provide critical habitat for a wide
variety of species. These areas are valued locally, provincially, nationally and globally,
and efforts have been made to map and characterize them by various organizations and
agencies. Protected areas and the natural and semi-natural matrix, where they exist, can
be combined to retain large contiguous or connected areas. Examples are large areas of
wild ecosystems, where natural or near-natural ecological processes, such as predator-
prey dynamics, still remain largely intact.

Application 4: Maintain or emulate natural ecological processes. Natural ecological

processes shape ecosystems and should be maintained where possible; this includes
disturbance regimes, hydrological processes, nutrient cycles and biotic interactions that
also shape evolutionary processes. Maintaining ecological processes helps ensure that
dynamic natural ecosystems continue to function and can promote ecological resilience.
Natural ecological processes (both biotic and abiotic) should be continued, where
practical, by minimizing human interference. Where interference occurs, human actions
should try to emulate those processes.

Application 5: Manage landscapes and communities to be responsive to environmental

change. Disturbances are a key source of environmental change. Natural disturbances can
significantly affect ecosystems through agents such as insect and disease outbreaks,
wildfires, flooding and drought. Ecosystems typically adapt to these disturbances in due
course and recover naturally when they occur.

Application 6: Manage towards viable populations of native species. Maintaining viable

populations of all native species helps ensure that extinction thresholds are not reached.
Most thresholds become apparent at a point where it is too late to intervene. Therefore,
providing habitats that sustain populations well above minimum viable populations
lessens the risk of extinction. It is generally more expensive to recover a population that
is threatened or endangered than it is to avert population collapses caused by crossing
threshold levels.

Application 7: Preserve rare landscape elements, critical habitats and features, and
associated species. We often recognize distinctive features in an area that are uncommon
but to which other organisms respond. We tend to give these features different names such
as “rare landscape elements”, “critical habitats’ and ‘critical features’.
“Critical habitats’ are geographic areas that are essential to conserve species of
conservation concern or the maintenance of viable populations. ‘Critical features’ are
components of habitat that are needed to help conserve species of conservation concern
and maintain viable populations.

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Application 8: Minimize the introduction and spread of invasive alien species that disrupt
ecological resilience and population variability. Some invasive alien species can out-
compete native species, thereby lowering the population levels of native species and
impacting their viability. The reduction in native species caused by invasive alien species
can in turn impact the food chain that supports other forms of native species.

Planning Applications

Conservation of biodiversity cannot be effectively achieved without understanding the

needs of, and consulting with, users of lands and waters to achieve solutions that conserve
biodiversity. This requires proactive planning approaches (or tools) for biodiversity that
can be effectively integrated with existing strategic and local-level planning processes.

Application 9: Set objectives and targets for biodiversity in plans. Managing by

objectives is the key to conserving biodiversity. If we don’t know “where we want to go”,
how can we assess success or failure?

Application 10: Manage biodiversity at multiple levels of biological organization and

multiple time and spatial scales. Planning processes at a variety of scales can provide
the objectives needed to guide management, and cost-effective monitoring (not only at
local but also at very large scales) can provide the feedback needed to improve the
objectives or targets or to determine how they are being implemented. This includes
planning at the regional, landscape and ecosystem level.

Application 11: Incorporate spatial and temporal approaches to land use that are
compatible with an area’s natural potential. The natural potential of areas to support
biodiversity varies: some areas support a wide variety of species, others support rare
species, and still others support relatively few yet common species. Similarly, the natural
potential of areas to support agriculture, timber production and other human uses also
varies. Providing a mix of land uses, ranging from a conservation emphasis to extractive
use emphasis, that is consistent with an area’s natural potential helps to ensure that societal
goals to conserve biodiversity, while providing goods and services, can be simultaneously
and sustainably attained. Providing this mix can be accomplished by “zoning” areas in
plans.

Application 12: Avoid land uses that convert natural ecosystems and restore damaged
ecosystems. Natural ecosystems provide the habitat necessary to maintain biodiversity.
Land uses that convert natural ecosystems over large areas or critical habitats can
significantly degrade biodiversity. This includes impacts that disrupt abiotic processes that
include soil erosion or altering the level of the water table. Because many areas developed
for urban and agricultural uses are rich biologically, special efforts, for example through
careful urban planning, are needed to avoid further loss to critical habitats.

Application 13: Avoid, mitigate or, as a last option, compensate for the effects of human
activities on biodiversity. Improved valuation techniques and information on ecosystem
services tells us that although many individuals benefit from the actions and activities that
lead to biodiversity loss and ecosystem change, the costs borne by society of such changes
is often higher. Even in instances where our knowledge of benefits and costs is incomplete,
the use of the precautionary approach (requiring assurance that harm will not occur) may
be warranted when the costs associated with ecosystem change may be high or the changes

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 16

irreversible. In these cases, actions that may cause irreversible damage, such as species
loss, should be avoided

Application 14: Employ adaptive management of natural resources to maximize learning.

Our current knowledge and ability to manage natural resources for biodiversity is full of
uncertainty, especially with regard to natural environmental variability, human impacts
on the environment, understanding of ecosystem processes, and variations in social and
political goals. The short-term impacts of human activity on a few species have been well
described, but long-term impacts on the vast majority of species (e.g., invertebrates) are
poorly known.

Application 15: Given that humans are a powerful agent of change, make science-based
decisions. Biodiversity provides the natural capital needed to sustain human well-being
and is currently under profound stress from human use and human-driven climate change.
It is clear that our efforts today to conserve biodiversity will help ensure its values are
passed on to future generations, and that the need for action is urgent

PROGRESS CHECK

Essay (5 points each)

1. Define Environmental Science
2. Define Environmental Engineering
3. Differentiate Environmental science and Environmental engineering
4. Define Ecosystem
5. Define Biodiversity
6. Differentiate Intrinsic ecosystem value vs. value to humans
7. Discuss biotic and abiotic
8. Discuss the difference between ecological concepts and ecological principles
9 – 14, discuss the 6 ecological principles and give situational examples each.
15 – 20, discuss at least 6 applications of ecological concepts and principles and give
situational examples.

REFERENCES

Barrett, Peles, & Odum (1997). BioScience, Volume 47, Issue 8, September 1997, Pages 531–
535, https://doi.org/10.2307/1313121

Begon, M., Harper, J.L. & Townsend, C.R. (1990). Ecology: Individuals, Populations, and
Communities. 2nd Ed. Blackwell Scientific
Bunye, P. A. O. (November 13, 2019). Environmental Law 2019, Second Edition.
https://practiceguides.chambers.com/practice-guides/environmental-law-2019-second-
edition/philippines

Environmental Protection Agency (2017). What is Environmental Education?

https://www.epa.gov/education/what-environmental-education

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
 17

Journal of Extension (JOE, 2009). Ecological Principles—A Unifying Theme in Environmental

Education. October 2009 // Volume 47 // Number 5 // Research In Brief // v47-5rb6.
https://www.joe.org/joe/2009october/rb6.php

Kiely, G (1997). Environmental Engineering. McGraw - Hill

Mackenzie, L.D. and Masten, S.J. (2009). Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science,
2nd Edition. McGraw – Hill

Oosthoek, J.K. (Januaryn3, 2005). Environmental History Resources. https://www.eh-

resources.org/what-is-environmental-history/

Peavy, H.S., Rowe, D.R., Tchobanoglous, G. (1985). Environmental Engineering. McGraw – Hill

Vold, T. and D.A. Buffett (eds.). 2008. Ecological Concepts, Principles and Applications to
Conservation, BC. 36 pp. Available at: www.biodiversitybc.org

LEARNING GUIDE

Week No.: 2

TOPICS: Introductory to Chemistry and Microbiology, Concepts in Hydrology

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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1. Fundamentals of chemistry
2. Microbiology
3. Chemical and biochemical reactions
4. Hydrological cycle and water balance
5. Floodflows, urban hydrology, and groundwater

EXPECTED COMPETENCIES

The students will be able to review the fundamentals of chemistry, the basic chemical
concepts of inorganic and organic matter, the physical and chemical properties of water, and the
different classifications of water solutions. Likewise, the atmospheric and soil chemistry; the
chemical composition of life; the cell, energy, and metabolism; the microbiology of viruses and
the microbial transformations are briefly discussed to recall their important relationship and
impact to the environment. Lastly, a review on hydrology to understand the maintenance of flow
and storage of water, the management of water system, water supply, wastewater treatment, river
management, floodwater, and groundwater management, with specific applications from
environmental engineering.

CONTENT/TECHNICAL INFORMATION

1. Fundamentals of chemistry

Methods of expressing concentrations

The two methods of expressing the concentration of a constituent of a liquid o gas are:

1. Mass/Volume The mass of solute per unit volume of solution (in water chemistry). This
is analogous to weight per unit volume; typically, mg/L = ppm (parts per million).
2. Mass/mass or weight/weight The mass of a solute in a given mass of solution; typically
mg/kg or ppm (parts per million).
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠
If the density of a solution = ρ = of solution (kg/L)
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑡
and concentration of a constituent in mg/L = C A1 = (mg/L)
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑡
and concentration of a constituent in ppm = CA2 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
(𝑚𝑔/𝑘𝑔)

then rearranging, ρ = CA1/ CA2

If ρ = 1 kg/L, then CA1 = CA2 , i.e. the concentration of a constituent in ppm (mg/kg) =
concentration of a constituent in mg/L.

For most applications in water and wastewater environments, ρ = 1 kg/L. For applications
in the air environment, the equation and this value does not hold. The use of mg/L is most common
in water applications as the volume of the solution is usually determined as well as the mass of
the solute. The unit ppm is typically used in sludges and sediments.

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Although concentration in terms of mass or weight for a fixed weight or volume of

solution is preliminarily discussed, Chemists sometimes prefer to use the concentration term
mole, which is the mass of a constituent which is numerically equal to the molecular weight of
the constituent. For instance: 1 gram mole of methane (CH4) = 18 g of methane, where 1 mole is
that amount of constituent which contains the Avogadro number of molecules. Therefore, the
mole notation does not refer to a fixed weight but to the fixed number of particles. In the mole
context, there are four entities of concentration:

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒
1. Molality (m), mole/kg = 1 𝑘𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒
2. Molarity (M), mole/L = 1 𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒
3. Normality (N), eq/L = 1 𝐿 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

𝑔 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (𝑔)

where equivalent weight in = 𝑒𝑞 = 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑛)

where n is the number of protons denoted in an acid-base reaction or is the total change in
valence in an oxidation reduction reaction. If the two different solutions have the same normality,
they will react in equal proportions, i.e.

VANA = VBNB

where VA, VB are the volumes of solutions A and B, and NA, NB are the respective normalities.

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒

5. Mole fraction X = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

Physical and Chemical Properties of Water

Water is never pure, except possibly in its vapor state. Water always contains impurities,
which are constituents of natural origins. Frequently, water contains contaminants, which are
constituents of anthropogenic origin. For instance, the presence of the chemical impurities of
calcium and magnesium ions in groundwater are usually of natural origin, being due to the
dissolution of these minerals from the soil and underground rocks. However, the presence of
nitrogen compounds of ammonia nitrogen (NH4), nitrite (NO2ˉ) or nitrate (NO3ˉ) in groundwater
is possibly due to pollution from agricultural fertilizers, agricultural liquid waste, sewage, or
industrial wastewaters. In environmental engineering, water is of central interest due to its many
varied occurrences and uses, including:

• Surface freshwaters in rivers and lakes and groundwater when used as drinking water
• Surface freshwaters as used in fish and other fauna habitats
• Surface freshwaters as used for atmospheric liquid discharges
• Surface freshwaters and groundwater as used for irrigation
• Surface waters for used as recreation
• Surface waters as used for navigation

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The acceptability of water for its defined use depends on its physical, chemical, and
biological properties, and sometimes on whether these properties can be modified to suit the
defined use. The composition of water is the result of many possible physical and/or chemical
and/or biochemical processes.

Physical Properties of Water

Color in water is caused by dissolved minerals, dyes or humic acids from plants. The
decomposition of lignin produces color compounds of tannins and humic acids. The latter causes
brown-yellow to brown-black color. Colored waste including dyes or pulp and paper plants, also
cause color, as does the presence iron, magnesium, and plankton.

Turbidity in water is a measure of the cloudiness, caused by the presence of suspended

matter which scatters and absorbs light.

Odor in water is caused by algae and other organic and some inorganic chemicals. In
contrast, clear distilled water is odorless. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), sometimes present in
groundwater and in wastewaters, is malodorous.

Taste, like odor, may be due to decaying micro-organisms or algae. It may also be due to
high concentrations of salts as Ca2+ and Mg2+ and CIˉ. Taste is usually only an issue in drinking
water and rarely in waters not used for drinking.

Temperature is perhaps the most significant parameter in lake waters with regard to lake
stability. As density decreases from 1 kg/L at 4°C TO 0.994 kg/L at 35°C, water at deeper depths
is heavier and is lightest close to the surface. If large temperature gradients are reported, then
stratification may occur between the upper warmer water body and the lower colder water body.
With no mixing between both layers, the upper warmer layer may become susceptible to
eutrophication. Similar problems may occur in saline waters. In wastewater treatment plants
temperature mat also be significant in that, above 36°C, the aerobic micro-organism population
tends to be less effective as wastewater purifiers. Temperature may also be important in the river
environment, as increased water temperature reduces the amount of oxygen in the water, thereby
making the river less desirable for fish, particularly the more sensitive salmonoids. The discharge
of effluent wastewaters (if warm) will also elevate the river temperatures.

Solids content of water is one of the most significant parameters. The amount, size and
type of solids depend on the specific water. For instance, an untreated sewage wastewater may
have organic particulate matter, including food scraps of size range in millimeters; while a
purified drinking water may have particles in the size range 10ˉ 6 mm. Solids are annotated in the
following ways:
• Total solids, TS
• Suspended solids, SS
• Total dissolved solids, TDS = TS – SS
• Total volatile solids, TVS
• Volatile suspended solids, VSS

Inorganic Chemical Properties of Water

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Included among the chemical processes influencing the quality of water described by
Dojlido and Best (1993) are the chemical processes of:

• Acid-base reactions
• Exchange processes between the atmosphere and water
• Precipitation and dissolution of substances
• Complex actions/reactions
• Oxidation-reduction reactions
• Adsorption-desorption processes

The chemical properties of water may be classified as either inorganic or organic.

Gross chemical properties of water – inorganic

The gross chemical properties of water that are in widespread use when relating a water
quality, be it drinking water, wastewater, or river water, are:

• pH
• Alkalinity and acidity
• Hardness
• Conductivity

pH is defined as the negative log (base 10) of the hydrogen ion concentration and is
unitless, i.e.

pH = -log[H+]

Water dissociates slightly into hydrogen ions (H +) and hydroxide ions (OH-), often
referred to as hydroxyl ions as per the following equation:

H2O = H+ + OH-
[ H + ][OH − ]
K=
[ H 2O ]

‘Alkalinity’, the capacity of water to accept H+ ions, is a measure of its acid neutralizing
capacity (ANC) and is often described as the buffering capacity. Similarly, ‘acidity’ is a measure
of the base neutralizing capacity (BNC). Alkalinity and acidity are capacity factors of water.

‘Hardness’ is expressed principally by the sum of the divalent metallic cations, Ca 2+ and
Mg2+. These cations react with soap to form precipitate and with other ions present in water to
form scale in boilers. The ions causing hardness have their origin in soil and geological
formations. Hardness is a water parameter used in potable water (not wastewater). Traditionally,
hardness was calculated in mg/L as CaCO3 (similar to alkalinity) or as meq/L.

Hardness is made of:

⚫ Carbonate hardness or temporary hardness (TH) since this form is removed on

prolonged boiling:

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Carbonate Hardness = Σ (bicarbonate + carbonate) alkalinity

This is so, when alkalinity is < total hardness.

⚫ Non-carbonate hardness (NCH)

Electrical or, as it is more commonly called, conductivity, is a measure of the ability of an

aqueous solution to carry as electric current. The electric current is conducted in the solution by
the movement of ions and so the higher the number of ions (i.e. the greater the concentration of
dissolved salts) the higher the ionic mobility and so the higher the magnitude of conductivity.
Chemically pure water does not conduct electricity since the only ions present are H + and OH-
and so the conductivity of very pure water is about 0.05µS/cm (microsiemens/cm). On the other
hand, a seawater with high salts has a conductivity of about 40000µS/cm. The specific
conductivity is the conductivity of 1cm3 of water across a 1cm distance at 20oC.

Organic Chemical Properties of Water

The main element of organic compounds is carbon, C. Organic substances may be natural
or man-made. In fact, most are natural, and they are produced by plants and animals. Today more
than 1.8 million synthetic organic compounds are produced, with about 250,000 new chemical
compounds being synthesized annually and 300 to 500 going into production (Dojido and Best,
1993). The presence of organic compounds in water is as a contaminant, whether it be naturally
occurring or man-made. The objective in water/wastewater treatment is to minimize these
compounds by biological, physical, or chemical treatment processes.

Organic compounds in water are typically divided into five groups, depending on their
chemical structure:

1. Hydrocarbons These are organic compounds containing only Carbon and Hydrogen, e.g.
ethane (CH3 CH3), ethylene (CH2 = CH2), benzene (C6H6), toluene (C6H5----H3).
2. Halogenate compounds These are organic compounds in which a halogen is the principal
atom (atoms include fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine), e.g. chloroform (CHCl 3),
dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), carbon tetrachloride(CCl4).
3. Carboxylic acids and esters These are the organic compounds built around carboxyl group
(a carbon linked to oxygen with a double bond) and others with two functional groups
attached to an oxygen atom, e.g. acetone (CH3COCH3), formaldehyde (CH2O), ethyl ether
(CH3CH2COH2CH3).
4. Other organic compounds.

Contaminants: naturally occurring organic substances. The naturally occurring organic

substances in water, wastewater, and bottom sediments are:

1. Proteins These are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulphur and nitrogen with the
basic building blocks of amino acids e.g. bacteria (C5H7NO2) is mainly protein.
2. Lipids These comprise fats, waxes, oils, and hydrocarbons, which are insoluble in water
but soluble to some organic chemical solvents and are slowly biodegradable.
3. Carbohydrates These contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They include cellulose,
hemicellulose, starch, and lignin which are readily biodegradable (except lignin). An
example is glucose, C6H12O6.

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4. Plant pigments These are made of chlorophyll, haemins and carotenes and include alcohols,
ketones, and carotenoids.

Synthetic organic chemicals (contaminants). The synthetic organic chemicals which are the
products of the chemical, petroleum and agricultural industries include:

1. Pesticides and agrichemicals It is seen that some like DDT (now banned internationally)
have a low solubility in water and are thus prone to vaporization. The 95 % degradation
period for several of the pesticides is 1 to 25 years. The LCD 50 which is the lethal
concentration to kill 50 % of the population (fish, etc.) is detailed in Dojido and Best (1993),
but typically is <50 mg/kg for the most toxic to > 5000mg/kg for the least toxic.

2. Surface active agents These are used for washing, emulsifying, wetting, foaming, etc., as
they lower the surface tension of water when placed in it. The molecule of a surfactant
(detergent) has two parts - a hydrophobic part, which is insoluble in water and soluble in non
- polar liquids such as oils, and a hydrophilic part, which is soluble in water and insoluble in
non-polar liquids. It is this dual property that makes them suitable for the earlier listed uses.

Surfactants are harmful to the aquatic environment as they may cause foaming and
reduce the diffusion of atmospheric oxygen to the water. In sewage wastewaters,
concentrations of surfactants may be up to 20mg/L and in industrial wastewater (those
industries that use large quantities of solvents) concentrations may be up to 1000mg/L. In
rivers, typically values range from 0 to 1 mg/L in contaminated rivers. In recent years,
biodegradable detergents have been introduced which has reduced the contamination level.

3. Halogenated hydrocarbons These are the end products of the reaction of halogen with
hydrocarbons, with chlorinated hydrocarbons being of key interest. Low molecular weight
chlorinated hydrocarbons are volatile and so measurable by gas chromatography. High
molecular weight chlorinated hydrocarbons are of low volatility and difficult to measure. The
most significant halogenated hydrocarbons are trihalomethanes (THMs) or haloforms. These
compounds are represented by CHX3 where X is the halogen, Cl, F, Br, or I, and some are:

• Trichloromethane (chloroform), CHCl3

• Tribromomethane (bromoform), CHBr3
• Bromodichloromethane, CHCl2Br
• Dibromochloromethane, CHClBr2

Determination of the organic content of water. Determination of the organic content of water
can be by:

1. Specific test to measure the concentrations of specific compounds.

2. Non-specific tests to measure the overall concentration of the organic content.

Test for the overall concentrations include:

• BOD (a biochemical test that uses micro-organisms)
• COD (a chemical test)
• TOC (an instrumental test)
• TOD (an instrumental test infrequently used)

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BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand). The BOD5 is the amount of dissolved oxygen used up
from the water sample by micro-organisms as they break down the organic material at 20 °C over
a 5-day period. It measures the readily biodegradable organic carbon.

COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). The COD test measures the total organic carbon, with the
exception of some aromatics such as benzene which are not oxidized in the reaction. The test
determines the amount of oxygen needed to chemically oxidize the organics in a water or
wastewater.

TOC (Total organic Carbon). The TOC test measures all carbons as CO2 in mg/L and therefore
the inorganic carbon (HCO3-, CO2, CO32-, etc.) must be removed prior to the test. Acidifying and
aerating the sample is the method used to remove in organic carbon. This test can be carried out
by oxidizing the organic carbon to carbon dioxide at a temperature of about 950 ºC (evaporation)
in the presence of a catalyst; the carbon dioxide is then determined spectrophotometrically by
infrared absorption. The TOC test measures the mass of carbon per liter of sample, while the BOD
and COD tests determine the amount of oxygen required for biochemical and chemical oxidation
respectively. The TOC is a simple instrumental test and there are many TOC (instrumentaaa0
analyzers available commercially. TOC is now regularly specified in permits for industrial
wastewater treated effluent.

Solubility

Solids, gases, and liquids may dissolve in water to form solutions. Water in this case is
called the solvent and the substance, either solid, gas, or other liquid, is called the solute.

Volatilization

Liquids and solids may vaporize into the atmosphere in a process known as volatilization.
The mechanisms of volatilization are like those of evaporation of soil water. The mechanisms of
volatilization are:

1. Initially vapor escapes through the air/liquid or air/solid interface into the atmospheric
boundary sub-layer.

2. Then gas/vapor diffuses through the boundary sublayer by molecular and turbulent diffusion.

3. The gaseous compound is transported away from the site by advection and dispersion.

The Carbonate System

The Carbonate system of acid-base reactions is ubiquitous in the environment, particularly

so in the water medium. Inorganic chemical species originating in minerals (e.g. CaCO 3) and in
the atmosphere (CO2) can become dissolved in water. They have the effect of impacting on the
pH, alkalinity, and the buffer capacity of waters.

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Atmospheric Chemistry

The following topic is a brief introduction to atmospheric chemistry, necessary for the
later discussions on air pollution and air pollution control. The region of the atmosphere of key
interest to the environmental engineer is that closest to the earth’s surface, where the chemical
composition of the air is 78 % nitrogen and 21 % oxygen, which are essential for life in the
biosphere. However, these elements react in the atmosphere and can produce undesirable features
such as smog. The primary pollutants, which are emissions from anthropogenic sources, are
principally the oxides of sulphur, the oxides of nitrogen, the oxides of carbon, hydrocarbons,
metals, and particulates.

Structures of the Earth’s Atmosphere

The thin film of gas the surrounds the earth varies in structure as the distance increases
outward from the surface. The earth’s atmosphere is divided into regions based primarily on
considerations of temperature gradients. The temperature at the earth’s surface varies from sub-
zero oC in the Polar Regions and high mountainous areas to highs of about 70 oC in the arid desert
regions. The corresponding air temperatures close to the earth’s surface (within a few meters) are
lows of sub-zero and highs of about 50oC. In very warm areas, the air temperature is typically 10
to 20oC cooler than the hot surface temperatures. Typically, at mid-latitudes, the temperature falls
with increasing altitude in the Traposphere. This is known as a positive lapse rate. The increase
continues to an altitude known as the tropopause, above which the temperature increases again
in the region known as the stratosphere. The height of the traposphere is about 10 km above the
earth’s surface, while the stratosphere extends a further 20 to 30km.

The lower 0 to 2 km of the troposphere can be further divided into several regions. This
entire region (0 to 2 km) is called the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). The ABL is that region
where the wind velocity is affected by the shear resistance of the earth’s surface. This ABL is
shallowest over oceans or large inland waterways, where its height is about 500 m. The depth of
ABL may be up to 2 km in urban areas with many tall structures. In typical rural areas, the ABL
depth is about 1 km. At the earth’s surface, the wind velocity is lowest and increases gradually
(non-linearly) to the top of ABL. Above the ABL, the wind velocity is approximately constant,
being unaffected by the shear resistance of the earth’s surface. The region of the most interest for
atmospheric pollution is that within the ABL, though higher regions within the troposphere are
of interest to large-scale air circulation behavior and global climate circulation modelling. A
region close to the earth’s surface, called the sub layer of ABL, is affected by the local roughness,
and is characterized by high turbulence and strong mixing. This height depends on the fetch of
the localized roughness but may be as low as a few meters.

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Chemical Composition of the Earth’s Atmosphere

This ‘air’ is about 78 % by volume of nitrogen (N2), 21 % oxygen (O2) and 1 % argon
(Ar) with fractions of a % for CO2, CH4, H2, CO, etc. This ABL Layer is of most interest since it
is the zone where most living matter exists. However, microbial life has been found in the
stratosphere, but only in minute quantities.

Contaminant Gases in the Earth’s Atmosphere

It is seen that many trace gases exist in the atmosphere at levels of parts per million (ppm)
and parts per billion (ppb), or even as low as parts per trillion (ppt). For instance, SO 2 has
background levels (in a ‘clean’ atmosphere) of about 200 ppt. However, in highly pollute air
environments, the levels of SO2 can be as high as 200,000 ppt or about 0.0002 % by volume. This
is, in the over-all picture, a small fraction; however, it is because of its toxicity to humans and
other life forms that it is undesirable.

The primary pollutants are those that are emitted by identifiable man-made sources are:
• SO2
• CO
• NOx
• Metals
• Particulates
• Hydrocarbons
• Aerosols

The secondary pollutants are those formed in the atmosphere by chemical/photochemical

reactions of the primary pollutants, and are
• O3
• Photochemical oxidants including peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)
• Oxidized hydrocarbons
• Acid rains

Sulphur oxides

Pollution from sulphur oxides is primarily from two colorless gaseous compounds,
sulphur dioxide, SO2, and sulphur trioxide, SO3. Together they are called SOx. Sulphur dioxide
has a pungent odor and does not burn in air. Sulphur trioxide is highly reactive.
The simplified mechanism for the formation of SOx is

S + O ↔ SO2
2SO + O2 ↔2SO3
Carbon Monoxides

Carbon monoxide, CO, is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gaseous compound. It is only
slightly lighter than air and is weakly soluble in water. It may be formed from:

1. Incomplete combustion of carbon or carbon compounds when there is an O 2 deficit for

complete combustion.
2. By dissociation of CO2 at high temperatures.

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3. High-temperature reactions between CO2 and carbon compounds.

The combustion of carbon fuels is:

2C + O2 → 2CO
2CO + O2 → 2CO2

Soil Chemistry

Soils are porous media formed at the earth’s surface by the process of weathering over
long periods, contributed to by biological, geological, and hydrologic phenomena. Soils differ
from rocks in that their build-up over time shows layers of different soil types on top of each
other, with definite vertical stratification. Soils are considered as multicomponent, open,
biogeochemical systems containing solids, liquids, and gases. Being open systems, they are
subject to fluxes of mass and energy with the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere, and their
composition is spatially highly variable and changes whit time. Soils are made up of three phases
of solids, liquids, and gases (including air and water vapor). The composition of each phase
depends on the climate, moisture content, closeness to the surface and a host of other factors.
Soils may also be organic and inorganic, but usually a combination of both. Organic soils may
contain a vastness of microbial activity.

Chemical Composition of Soils

It is seen that in soils the 10 most abundant elements are:

In soil: O > Si > Al > Fe > C > Ca > K > Na > Mg > Ti
In crustal rocks: O > Si > Al > Fe > Ca > Mg = Na > K > Ti > P

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2. Microbiology

Microbiology is the study of micro-organisms, which are distinct from all other living
matter by their small size, in the range 10 -5 to 10o mm. Micro-organisms are important in the
water, air and soil environments, not only because of their ubiquity but also because of their
activity, beneficial or otherwise, in that environment. For instance, 1 gram of rich organic soil
may contain as many as 2.5 billion bacteria, half a million fungi, 50,000 algae and 30,000
protozoa. The water environment, as in rivers and lakes, may contain undesirable micro-
organisms such as algae, viruses, worms, biological slimes, etc. On the other hand, bacteria are
exploited in wastewater treatment processes to biodegrade the organic wastes. In the air
environment, many undesirable organisms such as mold spores, bacteria, yeast. etc., are found. It
is therefore the task of the environmental engineer and scientist to understand the role of micro-
organisms in the particular environment, so as to beneficially transform that environment. For
instance, some understanding of microbiology is required by the water specialist when
determining how much chlorine to use when disinfecting potable water supplies, when designing
a process for purifying wastewater, when bioremediating a contaminated soil site or when
designing an air circulation system for a contaminated air environment.

A simplistic classification of the microbial world in decreasing order of size and level of
cell evolution is as follows:

1. Animals (Worms, Helminths),

2. Plants (Aquatic plants, Macrophytes, Seed plants, Ferns, Mosses)
3. Higher Protista (Fungi, Algae, Protozoa, Rotifers, Crustacea)
4. Lower Protista (Bacteria, Blue-green algae, Cyanobacteria)
5. Viruses (many)

Animals, Plants, Fungi, Algae, Protozoa and Viruses

Animals (worms) The animal of interest to water quality are those of worms, which are of
the mm size and affect human health. The presence of flatworms (several species, including
tapeworms) is hazardous to health if found in water supplies.

Plants Plant growth in river environment is generally regarded as undesirable. This is

particularly the case with heterotrophic slimes (sewage fungus) and phototrophic organisms
(plants and some bacteria). The latter include planktonic algae of microscopic plants which drift
freely in the water, benthic algae which grow on the riverbed and solid objects such as logs, which
are known as periphyton and macrophytes or larger plants which are often rooted.

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Fungi Fungi are non-photosynthetic, chemo-organotrophic, aerobic, multicellular organism.

They are primarily soil inhabitants but can also be found in sea and freshwater. Fungi are mainly
employed in the degradation and composting of dead organic material, a behavior described by
the term saprophytic. They are important members of the food chain as they recycle essential
plants nutrients. Besides that, they are also parasitic fungi of plants, animals, and humans.
Because of their saprophytic nature, fungi play a significant role in biological wastewater
treatment and the composting of municipal refuse. On the other hand, they cause damage through
deterioration and rotting of products made from material materials. Of the approximately 100,000
species of fungi, only about 100 are pathogenic to humans and animals. They mainly cause
infections of hair, nails, skin as well as serious infections of internal organs such as the lungs.
One of the worst toxins, the aflatoxin, is produced by a fungus called Aspergillus flavus.

Algae Algae are essentially plant like. Most are aquatic organisms and they may inhabit fresh
or saline waters. The terrestrial species normally grow in soil or on the barks of trees and some
have established a symbiotic relationship with fungi to form lichens. The size of algae ranges
from the microscopic unicellular phytoplankton to the large multicellular seaweeds. The shapes
of unicellular algae can be spherical, cylindrical, club-like, or spiral. Multicellular colonies can
grow in filaments or long tubes or simple masses of single cells that cling together. Algae can be
a problem in water supplies, since they contribute to tastes and odors, clog water intakes, shorten
filter runs in water treatment sand filters and cause high chlorine demand in disinfection
processes. Another environmental problem is caused by the massive growth of some marine
species. The dinoflagellaes, unicellular, flagellated marine organisms, comprise the ‘red tides’
sometimes seen in large areas of the sea. Shellfish which consumed the algae cannot be eaten
during these events as the toxin produced by some species of dinoflagellates is toxic to humans.

Protozoa Protozoa are the most highly specialized unicellular organisms. Most are non-
photosynthetic, reproduce asexually by binary fission and lack true cell walls, the latter being a
distinguished feature of algae and fungi. They are primarily aquatic organisms and widespread in
nature. They survive adverse conditions by forming cysts with thick cell walls. Theory nutrition
type may be saprophytic, but mainly they act as efficient predators on bacteria, and are thus found
in particular where huge amounts of bacteria are prevalent. Of the 32,000 species 10,000 are
parasitic, some causing serious diseases such as malaria and
sleeping sickness.

3. Chemical and Biochemical Reactions

Many processes in environmental engineering take place in reactors or in natural systems

which can be called pseudoreactors. For instance, a volume of wastewater in an activated sludge
tank undergoes changes to the contents over time. Initially, the contents may be high COD waste,
but the presence of a suitable population of micro-organisms in the tank will over time degrade
the organic waste, producing ultimately low COD effluent. In this example, the tank is the reactor
and the process of change is called reaction kinetics or, more specifically, biological or
biochemical reaction kinetics. It is important in the design of the ‘process’ to know what are the
rates at which the biomass sludge is produced in the tank reactor. Knowledge of the reaction rates
determines the size of the reactors required for a specific degree of treatment. A process may be
biological, biochemical, or chemical. Examples of such environmental processes include:

• Biological growth/decay of biomass/organic material in activated sludge, in anaerobic

digestion, in wastewater lagoons, in trickling filters, and in rotating biological
contractors, etc.

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• Chemical processes of disinfection of potable water by chlorination or chloride

dioxide
• Gas-water transfer, e.g. removal of H2S from groundwater
• Diffusion of effluents in rivers and estuaries
• Chemical reactions of contaminants in the air environment
• Biochemical production of methane in a landfill site

Kinetics

For the example of using the process of activated sludge in wastewater treatment, rate
expressions are required to describe the removal of organic material, the growth of microbial
population and the utilization of oxygen. When reactions are described on a kinetic basis, different
reaction orders occur for a variety of organisms, substrates, and environmental conditions. In
general, the relationship between the rate of reaction the concentration of the reactant and the
reaction order, n, (0, 1, 2), is given by:

r = Cn
log r = n log C
where r = rate of reaction
n = order of reaction
C = concentration of element

4. Hydrology

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Hydrology is the study of water and its movement along its various pathways within the
hydrological cycle; in the rivers and oceans; in the soil and in water containing rocks. Hydraulics
is the engineering of water flows in pipes, conduits, lakes, or rivers. Water resources engineering
is the art, science, and engineering of surface and groundwaters for human use. Hydrology is
applied by engineers who use hydrological principles to compute, for instance, river flows from
rainfall, water movement in soils from knowledge of soil characteristics including hydraulic
conductivity, evaporation rates from water balance or energy balance techniques.
Hydrological Cycle

The hydrological cycle is central to hydrology. It is a continuous process with no starts or

finishes. Water evaporates from the earth’s oceans and other and other water bodies, and to a
lesser extent from the land surfaces. Approximately seven times more evaporation occurs from
the oceans than from the earth’s land surface. Remember the ocean surface area of the earth is 2.5
times the land surface area. The evaporated water or water vapor rises into the atmosphere until
the lower temperatures aloft cause it to condense and then precipitate in the form most globally
as rain but sometimes as snow. The latter occurs at the more alpine elevations or in cold seasons.

Water Balance

The water balance or water budget is the accounting of water for a particular catchment,
region or even for the earth as a whole. As seen in the preceding sections, the hydrologic cycle
considers all the phenomena of water phases in a qualitative description. The water balance is the
quantitative account of the hydrologic cycle. The input to the cycle is precipitation, either as
rainfall, snow, or sleet. The precipitation is distributed as surface runoff, evaporation, infiltration
to the unsaturated zone, changing its storage, and deep percolation to the saturated zones.

The equation of the water balance, which is the conservation of mass in a lumped or
averaged hydrological system on a regional or catchment scale is

P = R + E ± ΔS ± ΔG
where P = precipitation, mm/day
R = stream runoff
E = evaporation
ΔS = change in soil moisture status
ΔG = change in groundwater status

Energy Budget

The energy received at the earth’s surface is essentially all solar (shortwave) radiation.
Some of this energy is reflected back from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere, and some
penetrates the earth. The earth also re-radiates some of the solar energy. Like the water budget,
the energy balance is the accounting of the distribution of the incoming shortwave solar radiation
from space, through the atmosphere and onto the earth’s surface of land and ocean. The energy
balance also accounts for the outgoing long wave terrestrial radiation from the earth’s surface.
This distributes to evaporation flux, sensible heat flux and net radiant emission by the surface.
What is of most interest to hydrology is the net incoming radiation at the earth’s surface and the

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subsequent partitioning of this energy (measured in watts/m 2) to evaporation, sensible heat and
heat absorbed by the soil. The quantity of radiant energy remaining at the earth’s surface is known
as the net radiation, Rn, typically in units of watts/m2, and is measured by a simple instrument
called a net radiometer. For a simple lumped system, the energy budget is expressed as

Rn = LE + H + G + PS + M
where Rn = specific flux of net incoming radiation, W/m2
L = latent heat of vaporization
E = evaporation
H = specific flux of sensible heat into the atmosphere
i.e. the energy in watts/m2 used to heat the ambient air)
G = specific flux of heat into or out of the soil
PS = photosynthetic energy fixed by plants
M = energy for respiration and heat storage in a crop canopy

Simplifying, by neglecting PS and M, then

Rn = LE + H + G

Precipitation

Precipitation in the form of rain, hail or snow is one input to the hydrologic cycle. If we
are interested in predicting or assessing a hydrologic response, we need to be able to determine
the amount, rate, and duration of precipitation on a spatial and temporal basis.

Precipitation occurs in air rises, expands (on cooling) and cools sufficiently for the water
vapor in the air to reach condensation point. The atmosphere is rich in nuclei, mainly soil/clay
particles, hydrocarbon waste products, sea salts, etc., with a size requirement greater than about
0.1 µm. Additionally, for precipitation to occur, there must also be:

1. The presence of condensation nuclei on which condensation can start. In their

absences, the air can become supersaturated.
2. These condensed droplets should not evaporate when passing through drier air and
should be of sufficient size to free-fall under gravity to the earth’s surface. If the
droplets are too small, they may have an adequate ‘setting’ or falling velocity to
reach the ground.

Measure of Precipitation

The three means of determining the magnitude of rainfall, spatially and temporally, are:

• Precipitation gauges
• Radar
• Satellite remote sensing

Infiltration

Infiltration is the movement of water (precipitation usually) from the soil surface into the
soil. The redistribution of infiltrated water examines the movement of that water in the
unsaturated soil zone. The fraction of precipitation that infiltrates on a global scale is about 76 %.

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However, on a regional or local scale it has a large seasonal and spatial variation, even within a
few hectares of catchment area.

Elemental Properties of Soil

The elemental properties of soil in relation to infiltration are:

• Bulk Density
• Particle Density
• Porosity
• Volumetric water content
• Degree of saturation

Evaporation and Evapotranspiration

Evaporation is the process by which water is returned to the atmosphere, from the liquid
or solid state into the vapor state. Transpiration into the atmosphere also occurs through the leafy
parts of plants and trees. Because these processes are so interlinked, the ‘all in’ term used is
evapotranspiration. In temperate climates, forest land has about twice the evapotranspiration rates
of grassland (typically 40 to 70 % of total annual rainfall, by comparison with 20 to 40 % for
grassland, as shown in some British research). This means, of course, that less water infiltrates
the soil or become part of a runoff. About 70 % of the mean annual rainfall in the United States
is returned to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration. In areas of scarce water supplies forest
development with higher evapotranspiration losses can reduce the water yield to rivers and lakes.

Rainfall-Runoff Relationships

When rainfall occurs on the land surface it may follow different routes depending on
topography and soil conditions and soil moisture. If there are surface depressions, they are apt to
be filled up early in a storm event. Whether the rainfall converts to surface runoff or infiltration
depends on principally two factors:

• Land slope
• Infiltration capacity

On steep sloping sites, surface runoff is more likely to occur, while infiltration lags behind.
On sites more remote from rivers and streams and where the land gradient is not steep, infiltration
may be the primary mechanism and surface runoff lags behind. Generally, infiltration is seen as
the controlling factor in the availability of rain for runoff. Surface runoff is also called overland
flow. Many hydraulic equations exist to help quantify this runoff and some include the ‘all in’
friction coefficient of Mannings, n.

Hydrologic Instrumentation

Traditionally, instrumentation for determining hydrological parameters, (e.g. rainfall,

streamflow, evaporation etc.) was in-situ. Typically, raingauges (or sheets of canvas/plastic on
forest floors) determined rainfall; an evaporation pot was used to estimate evaporation and water
level recorders were used to determine streamflow. Also, the meteorology/atmosphere parameters

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(e.g. air temperature, energy, humidity, etc.) were also ground-based or in-situ. This tradition has
been used not only over land areas but also overseas and oceans.

5. Floodflows

Determination of flood flows in river and lake systems after rainfall events has always
been of interest to hydrologists. Additionally, hydrologists would like to be able to predict river
flows for rainfall events that have not yet occurred. The term return period or recurrence interval
is used in flood planning or even the hydraulic design of a bridge to identify the significance of a
storm or flood event. A flood with a return period of five years has 98 % probability of occurring
once within that five years or a 20 % probability of occurring in only one year. It is important to
note that the return period has nothing to do with the time sequence of an event. It merely states,
say, the five-year flood has 98 % probability of occurring within a five-year time span. It may
occur anytime during those five years.

Low Flows

Low flows are also significant parameters in hydrology. Traditionally, hydrologists were
preoccupied with flood alleviation and so analysis for high flows is more commonplace than that
of low flow analysis. However, analyses of low flow are of significant interest, particularly in
relation to water abstractions for water supply or hydroelectricity and most particularly for water
quality. Whether effluent discharge permits will be written or not depends on low flow
magnitudes and the sustenance of fisheries or aquatic habitats.

Urban Hydrology

Urbanization affects the response of a catchment to rainfall in many ways, depending on

the location of the urbanization with respect to the upstream or downstream end of a river network.
Complete urbanization may reduce the hydrograph rise time by up to 70 % and increases the mean
annual flow by between 200 to 600 %, depending on the responsiveness of the catchment before
urbanization (NERC, 1979). The introduction of impervious surfaces and an efficient drainage
system increases the volume of runoff (reducing the amount of infiltration) and reduces flow
travel time, yielding a hydrograph that is faster to peak, faster to recede and of increased peak
discharge. Correspondingly, the flood frequency distribution is affected, and floods of all return
periods are, in general, increased. The magnitude of the increase depends on the extent of
urbanization and the relationship of the urban response to the original response.

Groundwater

Groundwater is here defined as that water below water table, in other words in the geologic
strata where the pore space is ~100 % occupied by water. ‘Hydrogeology’ is another word given
to the study of groundwater. Groundwater is a significant natural water resource. In Ireland,
groundwater is used for approximately 25 % of the raw water requirements. In parts of Europe
the corresponding percentage is about 80.

Groundwater Chemistry, Contamination and Pollution Prevention

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The natural chemistry of groundwater varies depending on the nature of the subsoils and
rocks that it passes through. For instance, in Ireland, limestone bedrock and limestone-dominated
subsoil is a common and consequently groundwater is often ‘hard’, containing high
concentrations of calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate. However, in areas where volcanic rocks
or sandstones are present, softer water is normal. In considering the impact of human activities,
it is necessary to first take the natural (or baseline) water quality into account. Groundwater is
usually considered to be pure and safe to drink as it undergoes a filtering and cleansing process
through a subsoil cover and rock medium that surface waters do not have. However, this does not
guarantee groundwater purity. Problems can arise either due to the natural conditions in the
ground or to pollution by human activities.

Natural Groundwater Quality Problems

The principal natural groundwater quality problems are caused by hardness, iron,
manganese, hydrogen, sulphide, sulphate and sodium chloride. With the exception of hardness
and sodium chloride, they pose occasional problems in the minor and poor aquifers
rather than in the major aquifers.

Some Industrial Contributions to Groundwater Pollution

• Pesticides
• Industrial Solvents
• Refined Mineral Oils

Some Indicators of Groundwater Contamination

• Faecal Bacteria and Viruses

• Nitrate
• Ammonia
• Potassium
• Chloride
• Iron and Manganese

PROGRESS CHECK

Two (2) points for each correct answer to questions:

1. Viruses are smaller than bacteria, True or False?
2. It is a system or formation of layers, classes, or categories of soils.
3. A toxic species that comprise the ‘red tides’ sometimes seen in large areas of the sea.
4. They are the non-photosynthetic, chemo-organotrophic, aerobic, multicellular organism in water.
5. They are the Worms and Helminths in the microbial world.
6. Acronym for TDS.
7. It is often described as the buffering capacity of water.
8. One of the worst toxins produced by a fungus.
9. True or false, the ‘air’ is about 78 % by volume of nitrogen (N2), 21 % oxygen (O2).

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10-14. Enumerate the five (5) elemental properties of soil in relation to infiltration.
15. They drift freely in the water, and generally regarded as undesirable in the river environment.
16. What is the value of a neutral pH?
17-21. Name at least five (5) primary pollutants in earth’s atmosphere.
22-27. Name the six (6) varied occurrences and uses of water.
28-32. Enumerate the five (5) atmospheric layers.
33. A pot used to estimate evaporation of water and determined rainfall.
34-35. Factors that convert rainfall to surface runoff or infiltration.

Forty (40) points:

Draw and discuss the Hydrologic cycle.

REFERENCES

Kiely, G (1997). Environmental Engineering. McGraw - Hill

Mackenzie, L.D. and Masten, S.J. (2009). Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science,
2nd Edition. McGraw – Hill

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas and intended
for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.