Water education resources for teachers and nonformal educators [2003]

Sum of the Parts

-_..-
........ ~_...,.. Middle ~
eEon...irrnomnm.ne.ntal Science.
_"18. $
--_-a-oom Pnoparationdrne:50rninuteJ
Activtty tiJnE 50 rninulft
CI,he,ln8 Informallon (obHtvlns); OrJ.nlzlnS (u'ln,l.ns); Anllyz.lnS Odltn~ componcntt); Inte.rpretinS Udentlfyinl Clute and dlt); Apply-
ina (propoaI.nc -oIutionli _~.. e-..
Supplanent thil activity with .etlvltin on runoff ("Just Pauinl Throulh." A-D\&Zt'-UlI Water: and "Rainy-Day Hik"n Ind Wltft",* practicft ("'Com~ Wata'"'l. Aspects of
wa. qu.!ity monitorinI
are Introduced In "MKroinvmebnte ....yhem."
.V j
point ~urce pollution.
...._ - nonpoint ~ poItucioIl.

Yau ~lust ,nhDJlnI t'fJ/Wllbk nonfrrmt
.t. propnfyWltha 1tm'~.nJ.rrsorl Off em 1M dJzy yow mow in. yoN dl5Ct1tln tM
btdt poIhdrd with oillnd lJltmd UIllh
nmstnldion _tmats aml_"mw' WRStt"
MItTt did 1111 1111$ stl.lff comt from'

numbers in upper- left-hand comftS
and repeat for the other side. Cut out the' secbOnS of stTNm. Focw durability.
sections an be Laminated.)
DnrwrnS pms aM pmcilJ
"'11'" Iltl'llS from stlUlmts' Ihsks kg.. pmaJ. dIp. boot)

Objectives
Students will: distinguish between point and
nonpoinlsourcr pollution recognize that everyone contn"butes to
and is responsible (or a river or lakl!'s wilterquality.
identify Best Management Practices to reduce pollution.

Material.

Ulrgt pita of posta' tAAtnJ or "twSprUlI

(Using blue market', draw and color a

river on poster board, as ,hown

below. Divide the stream in half down

the middle Ind crosswise into sec-

tions. Each section should Include I

bit 0( river and blank space to

..

allow room for students'draw-

,,,

ings. 'The number of sections should
~with

,,,,

the number of

studenbor
groups of stu-

dents working

together. Number the sections on one side of the river in sequential
ordeT,pIacing

, I
~

MakJng Connections
In math class. students.dd a list 01 figures 10 oouin the lotal or "sum" (of the parts), Most students have attended iii large galhenng (concert. sporting event) and have been amazed OIl the amount of ga~ge left behind. Each penon in attendance probably did not ~ave much on the ground. but with SIlO, 1.000. or more people doing the same, the total amount was large. Taking a do6er look OIl how students can positively or negatively contribute to water quality helps them appreciate their" role in water quality management.

Background
The quality of waler in a river (or lake) is, to I large extent, a rdlectlon of land uses and natural factors found in its watershed. If soil near a river or lake nalurally erodes, chances are the river has sediment and turbidity problems. If

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SUQ\ 0)( the. r,rts P'roJ1 WITCllmndNm."" AdMry wKtr

the land has stable vegetative cover, erosion is kept in check. When humans settle and develop land, water quality is affected. Breaking sod, cutting forests, building cities, mining. and other land uses make an impact upon water quality.
Everyone bears responsibility for the health of a watershed and the water systems (rivers, lakes, wetlands, etc.) within a drainage basin. Individual actions, both negative and positive, add up. Understanding a river or lake's water quality and quantity involves investigating the condition of the contributing watershed. If the watershed is polluted. the river will likely be polluted.
Watershed investigations are conducted for many reasons. Some investigations monitor changes in river and stream flows over time, to protect fIsheries, to regulate floods, or to meet seasonal demands. Other studies detennine the best method of protecting a river or lake from poUutants. One aim of a researcher might be to determine which areas of a watershed contribute the highest pera!ntage of contaminants. This information is vital to policymakers and water managers when determining how best to spend money for improvements. For example, most lake improvement projects address problems in the watershed as well as those of the lake. It would prove fruitless to spend thousands (or even millions) of dollars to clean up a lake, if problems in the watershed will only pollute the lake again.
When watershed managers investigate land use practices that might affect the quality of water, they are concerned with two generalsourre5 of pollutants: point and nonpoinl.
Point source pollution involves pollutants that are discharged from, and can be traced back to, an identifi able point or source, such as a

Major Sources of NPS Pollution and BMPs

Source

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UN I10IlttlllillCll deicers (SMd Ind _ I on"**t. ~ end

dIt\ . , .

c:onsuuct I secIment cch ~ to c:oIIeQ .uwm . . . . IlIAOIff
re. before" ,... tOld oonatNCtion runotl' t bUIcIi'C ..,.,... WId C8lttl beeIns. end
~~lXl'o'l!IfCf'OOS
end IoIIow lIlllllbets.., __ for ~ dIRlctIonI

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lIM ClCINefYIlIon lillllt

UN contour '8ImlrC \1M 8trtp c:ftlClPq

....... ..- lell Mer etrlpe end tIeld tIOrOIft eIon& wetIIndI end IUUmS
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pienI aheftIf belts.., ~

- inItltute peetI.n: ~
'*'1C*'" pnJnI to eraekIn c:onItNCt t.estodI. ~ coIectlorl Ind lIUImInl ponds far c:onftnId
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to

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CIIIdI . . . . Ind netInl ftftIlrs

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. . . ~ cleM wauw cleMI) CDflItNCt e.teh beIlns .., teQcH. a'ld rUnt CCM!f QOClII. to C8tCh
Mdlment. .., prevent etOlIIon
CMetI end tNat contlnWl8tell water (dun COtIt*TlInatId ~)
stallfile stNn chInnels
stabllle"**W ....te ere. to ~ _au at metetIeIs to su.tni
meIrUIn buffer strfpIlib"C sue....

Coawtr_dol. "." I itIeI

"'_tllM I eecImenI ~ p&en
ptInI P"'" lXl'o'l!If 10 Nduct IfOIiOn
cIIpoM 01 ~ peInt. end 0ChIt . . . . . . ~ cIsp:luI Sflet bIJId tIl'!tClCll'WY. smeI _ _ to Slow end CIildI runol'l' buId -*nIt'Il CIildI beslns to c:oIIIId. constNCllon NnOII'
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not""'" Itspoee 01 ~ ~ W8N. ~ dlspoiIIl sftM
melntII6n . . . tanks II sewers ...

C11le Watercourse and Council for EnvironJnc.>nlal Education (CEE).

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factory's discharge pipe or a sewage
ditch. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution occurs when the source of a contaminant is unidentifiable; that is. the pollutant can come from one of many places. Examples of nonpoint source pollution include runoEr from agricultural fields containing fertilizers and pesticides, motor oil filtering from urban areas, and sediments from eroded stream banks.
Surface runoff and ground water can transport both point and nonpaint source pollutants. Since point source pollutants are identifiable, they are easier to monitor.
The protection of surface and ground waler resources from NPS pollution
presents an enormous chaJlenge
because of the widespread and diverse nature of the problem. Land and water managers rely on methods
called Btst MDnDgtmtnl Pradices. or
BMPs, to describe land use measures designed to reduce or eliminate NPS pollution problems. A Jist of
nonpoint source pollution sources and suggested BMPs can be found in the side bar on the previous page.
Procedure T WannUp Oetennine student knowledge about watersheds by asking them to name
several major North American rivers (e.g., Mississippi, Columbia, Missouri. Hudson, and Rio Grande).

Where do these rivers originate (where are the headwaters) and end? How many states does each cross or touch?
Discuss some of the predominant types of land uses found along one river as it flows through a single state. Do students think these practices could affect the river? What do students think the attitude of downstream state residents might be about the water received from their upstream neighbors?
Y TIre Activity
L Inform students thallhey have just inherited ill pie of rive:rfront property and ill mUlioR doUns. Have them list ways they could use the land iIInd the money.
2. Pus out ....piKes.. of prope.rty iIInd drawing pens and pencils. Explain that the blue is water and the blank space is land they own. They have one million dollars to develop their land as they wish. They can,farm or ranch; build resorts. homes, !'actories, or parks; plant forests, log.. mine-whatever they like.
3. When students have completed their drilwings, ilsk them to look in the upper leftt\ilnd comer of their property for iI number. Explilin th,d uch piece is actually iI pm of iI puult. Starling with number one, hilve students .assemble their pies.

They will construct the stream pathway and adjacent land area in proper order. (The ones should face each other, with the twos next to them, and so forth.)
4. Have studenl!l describe how they developed their land and how they used water. They should identify any of their actions that polluted or added materials to the watuway. Have students represent each of their contributions to the river with an item from their desks (e.g., book. piece of paper, pen, pencil).
5. Tell students to take their item(s) and line up in the same order as their pieces of river front property. They are going to pass their pollution pieces downstrum. Have them announ what kind of pollutant they are holding before they pass it on. The ones will pass their i1em(s) to the twos, the twos will pass everything to the threes, and so on, until the last studenl!l are holding all the items.
... Wrap Up and Action
After aU the items have reached the final students, discuss the activity. How did those students toward the middle or at the end of the river feel? What about their property use plans? Could a student downstream be affected by the actions of a student upstream? Could upstream users

UP5TREAM

DOWN5TREAM
",

Sum of th~ P,uts Projtd WET Curriculum INd Activity Guidt

Extension.
Instead of .. ri\ft'!', have students ~t a 1I.ke system. One studmt represents a YR. A group of.students mciJde the studmt representmg the Laket-they ..~ houses around the.l.ake. OCher students, standmg in lines extendins from the Like, an ~
strums f10wins 10 the lAke. Students
pus thrir item(s) downstrNm.nd into the !He UJ'ltil all the Items ~ hdd by the person in the mkIdJe who ~t!lthe.l.ake.
HlIIve students acUpi the activity to represent a nver system tkat include tributaries flowing mto a main <hann<l.
Complete the main activity using real water u.ser5 within the watershed where students live. Or assign roles (lannen, suburban dweUen etdtostudencsandkavethem .
develop their I.lnd accordingly. How would they maNlge their land to protect water resourt'e7

""""""'1 alter the ~ter quAlity of thole
Tell 5tudftlts to rKlaim lhetr Items.. ~ thoIt the itens easily idftlbfi able as their own simulate point IOW"Ce pollution. 0tMr itmw (eg_, p<nci~. po"" di",. notebook po",,) rNy ~ mort' difficult to clAim. beause Ihese kinds of poUutants originated from multiple SOUm.'S.
Tell students these represent
nonpoint 5OUJ're pollution.
As a follow-up, have each student
write one paragraph detailing ways to reduce the amount of pollution he
or she contributed. ($hare lhe MRjor
Sourm of NPS Pollution.nd BMPs
from BackCfound.) Students an resarch the regulations governing wOIIterfronl property in their communitie. If they ~e their waterwAYS

~ poorly treated, tlvy moly WAllt to write idt~ to Joc.;U gov~t officials supporting envirorunenQlly sound 11.00 lIM legtslation.
AsMNIIlent
H.1ve students; express thrir opuuons about
individual contribuboNto tot,,1 watt"r quallty (Wrllp Up). write it paragraph Identifying what they can do to protect Woller quality (Wrap Up). discriminate between point and nonpoint source pollutants (Wrllp Up).
Upon completing the activity, for further assessment have students: design a community tkat U!el!i Best
Management Practicts that allow for minimum contribution of pollutants.

Reaource.
8raU!i, Judy, ed. 1990. NIIIIJrt'~ Polllltron, ProbIem.tui SoIl/tlOrlS. Washington. D.C: N~tIonal Wildlife Federation.
Corn... J..... Unro/n. ,....
W1tm tltt StIlTs &tm to F.,t. New York,. N.Y.: Oelacork.
. . Gay, Kalhlyn. 1990. WaIn PollulIOn. New York,. N.Y.: Watts.
.. Greene, Carol. 1991. un"g far
Our Wafn". Hillside, N.J.: Enslow.
Miller, G. Tyler, Jr. 1990. RLsoUlU
Constm!lio" 11M MDlWgtmnll. Belmont, Calif: Wad5worth Publishing Company.
Myers, earl F., and Hal Wise. 1989. "'Non-Point Sources of Water Pollution: A New law for an Okl Pr0blem... Wtstmr Wildt.nds (Winter).