Water and the Environment
The water environment includes coastal zones, rivers, lakes, estuaries, groundwater, soil water and even the atmosphere as part of the hydrologic cycle.
Water pollution can have disastrous effects on the environment. Pollution in the water can reach a point where there isn't enough oxygen in the water for the fish to breathe. ... Sometimes pollution affects the entire food chain. Small fishes absorb pollutants, such as chemicals, into their bodies.
But there are other important reasons to study water quality. Water quality helps us understand what is going on in the subsurface, where and how fast water is moving, what geochemical reactions are occurring, identifying different sources of water, etc.
Our District Waters Edge Project focuses on cleaning up the water along our coastline and the tributaries leading up to it.
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