Groundwater Contamination in USA

The report on groundwater contamination in USA presents the issues, reasons and the government regulations. The first part of the paper aims to describe the concept of groundwater contamination and the present situation in USA followed by a discussion on the sources and causes of the phenomenon. The last part of the report deals with the measures adapted by the government of USA ending with a brief conclusion of the report.

Running head: GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION IN USA
Groundwater Contamination in USA
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Abstract
The report on groundwater contamination in USA presents the issues, reasons and the
government regulations. The first part of the paper aims to describe the concept of
groundwater contamination and the present situation in USA followed by a discussion on the
sources and causes of the phenomenon. The last part of the report deals with the measures
adapted by the government of USA ending with a brief conclusion of the report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Causes behind groundwater contamination and their sources...................................................3
Natural factors........................................................................................................................4
Septic tank issues...................................................................................................................4
Waste disposed in an improper way.......................................................................................5
Fertilisers, Pesticides and Chemicals.....................................................................................5
Provisions for Conserving Groundwater....................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Groundwater is the water found beneath the surface of the earth in the pore spaces of
soil and between the rocks formations which is used by households, factories and livestock
has been in use since the earliest time. The occurrence of groundwater contamination is a
result of absorption of waste materials such as chemicals, gasoline, oil, fertilizers and
pesticides and other toxic substances by the surface of the earth thus paving way for the
harmful materials to the groundwater. In USA, groundwater contamination has a high
presence which leads to harmful effects on the health of people since around 50% of the
population is dependent on groundwater for consumption of water (US EPA, 2015). This
report deals with the phenomenon of groundwater contamination in USA supported by
statistical data and the measures taken by the government to control the pollution of
groundwater.
Causes behind groundwater contamination and their sources
To decrypt the reasons behind groundwater contamination, it is to be understood how surface
water and ground water is interconnected to each other. Generally, the geographical factors of
both surface water and ground water are taken into consideration while understanding the
reasons. Customarily, any water body (stream, river or well) residing beside contaminated
ground water, is found to be polluted by the groundwater. Underground water constitutes
around 97% of sources of water in rural areas of America, 55% of livestock in the country
gets its water supply from underground and 40% of water for agricultural purpose comes
from aquifers. Groundwater contamination can happen due to various factors that can be
termed both natural and man-made.

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Natural factors
There are certain natural substances found inherently in earth and rocks, such as
manganese, iron, arsenic, radionuclides with decaying organic matters that sometimes get
dissolved in groundwater naturally posing health threats if consumed internally. Some of the
particles of these matters might exhibit unusual and unpleasant odour, colour and texture.
Such groundwater are recommended not to use for drinking or domestic purpose as it can
prove to be a great threat to the health and hygiene.
As stated by the National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration natural
factors such as soil and air pollutants causes 80% of the groundwater contamination which
affects lakes, rivers and other water bodies. A report of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
produce in 2010 stated that 64% of wells in urban and agricultural areas in USA contains
high level of nitrates. In 2014, underground water of four states were affected due to fracking
and drilling in various regions throughout the four states.
Septic tank issues
United States have been facing a tremendous amount of groundwater contamination
by the spills and outflows from septic tanks and sinks. Since one fourth of the households of
United States rely on septic tanks in order to dispose off their wastes, the improperly
designed, built and maintained septic tanks contaminates the ground water. They induce
bacteria and synthetic components such as dying agents, detergents and oil, including
different septic tank washers that dissolve in the contaminated water, hindering natural
decomposition of the organic wastes in the water.
Groundwater that is supplied by the community system delivers to 29% of the total
population and 19% of the population has their own domestic wells. Contamination from
septic tanks is estimated to be 1%.

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Waste disposed in an improper way
There has been considerable amount of improper way of disposal of industrial and
domestic waste in United States that has contributed to the contamination of groundwater.
Lawn and garden usage chemicals, edible wastes, kitchen appliance wastes, motor wastes as
well as industrial wastes such as arsenic and radioactive wastes are the reasons behind
groundwater contamination.
According to the statistics, Ford Motor Co. situated in Ringwood, New Jersey
released over 35000 tons of toxic chemicals onto the lands occupied by Turtle Clan of
Ramapough Lenape tribe, polluting under water with lead, arsenic and other chemicals which
are harmful for human health. An analysis of EPA data done by News21 reveals that more
than 244 million people’s drinking water contains contaminants which are disposed during
industrial activities.
Fertilisers, Pesticides and Chemicals
United States uses an enormous amount of fertilisers, pesticides, rodenticides,
herbicides for agriculture. A reasonable amount of such toxins have entered into groundwater
and have contaminated, some even residing in the water for months, thereby, contaminating it
completely. Animal wastes, that dissolve in the ground and enter the groundwater is also a
source of contamination.
According to a national poll in USA, 70% of the respondents of a survey believe that
agricultural pesticides and fertilizers are a main cause of groundwater pollution
(Federalregister.gov, 2019). Underground water contamination has been rising since a long
time in the United States. It is found that between 1960 and 1980, the requirement of
inorganic nitrogen fertilizer which is a major source of the nitrate-nitrogen underground
water contamination increased fourfold. A major reason for this was increased application of

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fertilizers with doubled per-acre rate between 1965 and 1984. During the same period, the use
of pesticides in agricultural purpose rose sharply which led to increased contamination of
underground water.
It has been found that drinking water consumed by 49 million residents of USA in the
past 12 years was contaminated with materials of radioactive materials and arsenic. Every
year, pollution of 1.5 million metric tons in the form of nitrogen is brought by the Mississippi
River through the southern United States into the Gulf of Mexico. According to the
assessment done by EPA in 2010, 35 United States have the presence of Chromium-6.
According to a study by Harvard, PFASs which is a harmful chemical, was found in water of
around 33 out of the 50 states and was determined that the health of more than 6 million
residents of United States was affected due to polluted water.
Provisions for Conserving Groundwater
USA is dependent on groundwater because 50% of the groundwater of United States
are used for irrigation, domestic use and drinking purposes. Since groundwater provides a
reasonable amount of water to communities and individuals of United States, hence, United
States Government is actively formulating and executing policies to conserve groundwater
and prevent groundwater contamination.
US government has taken up decentralisation strategy in groundwater management.
The regional water supplies execute their functions under municipalities but the
municipalities are governed by the US Environment Protection Agency.
The government of United Stated established the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
which provides three programs for the protection of drinking water source: Wellhead
Protection Program, Sole Source Aquifer Program and the Source Water Assessment
Program (Davies, & Mazurek, 2014).

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Another act named Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (ACRA) regulates,
hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal, storage and treatment. For regulating pesticides
use, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) has been established by
the government.
Conclusion
Thus from the above discussion, it can be concluded that groundwater contamination
in USA have huge impact on the lives of Americans as half of the population depends on
underground water. The population of America faces a severe health issue due to polluted
underground water which can be caused due to a plethora of reasons. There are various
regulations and measures adapted by the government of the United States to prevent the
contamination of groundwater. The acts and laws have reduced the issue of water pollution to
a great extent.

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Reference
US EPA. (2015). About us. Retrieved 28th Feb from https://www.epa.gov/
Davies, J. C., & Mazurek, J. (2014). Pollution control in United States: Evaluating the
system. Routledge.
Federalregister.gov (2019). About us. Retrieved 1st March 2019 from
https://www.federalregister.gov/environment