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Contaminated Water |
Step
1 - State the Problem
Step 2 - Research,
and Hypothesize or Predict
Step 3 - Plan Experiment
and Gather Data
Step 4 - Analyze the
Data and Make a Conclusion
Step 5 - Take Action
Step 6 - Assessment
 More
information about this step
Introductory activities
What does the scientist want to find out? In this project,
students will investigate just how vital healthy water is
to our communities. Start by finding out how much students
know about the importance of water, and the problem of water
pollution. Have groups of students visit the United States
Geological Survey Water Education site to take the interactive
quiz. Let them surf around the site for more information afterwards.
Have students explore some of the problems surrounding our
water supplies by watching the water segment of the WHAT'S
UP IN THE ENVIRONMENT video, and visiting Web sites listed
below, looking for all the reasons why clean water is important
to us. Have them create an illustration or Web page that illustrates
these reasons.
The problem
Once students have a sense of the scope of the problem, tell
them they will undertake a project in which they examine the
health of one of their local bodies of water. If it turns
out to be unhealthy, students will figure out ways to clean
it up.
Resources for step 1
Materials needed
- Access to the Internet on at least one computer (optional)
- WHAT'S UP IN THE ENVIRONMENT video (optional)
- For the water illustration graphics software such as
Paint or Illustrator; OR paper, markers, glue, scissors,
photographs.
Bookmark these Web sites for student
research
 More
information about this step
Research signs of water health
Now that students have a sense of the importance of
clean water, they'll need to do some research about the health
of water bodies in their own communities. In order to identify
healthy or unhealthy water bodies, they'll need to research
the following:
- What are the qualities of a healthy body of water?
- What are the signs of a contaminated body of water?
Have students develop their own checklist of signs for healthy
or contaminated bodies of water based on the information they
find in the Web sites listed below. Once complete, have the
class review the checklists for the most relevant qualities
and come up with a master list.
Get local
Have students contact local watershed or river conservation
groups using the resources listed below, to find an example
of a clean and contaminated body of water in your community.
Hypothesis
Using your research, form a hypothesis for this question:
What are the differences in the water quality and ecosystems
of contaminated and non-contaminated bodies of water? Based
on this, are there examples of each in your community? If
so, how can you clean up the contaminated site?
Resources for step 2
Materials needed
- Access to the Internet on at least one computer (optional)
Bookmark these Web sites for student
research
- River Network
http://www.rivernetwork.org
The River Network is a national organization that seeks
to connect river conservationists with the information that
they need. The site provides listings of local resources,
as well as links to useful resources. Since there is so
much information on this site, you may want to preview it
with your students.
- Earth Force's Global Rivers Environmental Education Network
http://www.green.org/resources/
#Identifying Watershed Problems
This Web site offers a wealth of resources for identifying
and monitoring contaminated watersheds. It includes an online
monitoring database and community action tool.
- Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Surf
Your Watershed
http://www.epa.gov/students/surf_your_
watershed.htm
This section of the EPA site has a national listing or information
about bodies of water. Use this site to find out about watersheds
in your area.
 More
information about this step
Learn more about your site
Now do an experiment as a class to test the hypothesis you made
in step 2. Has pollution affected a body
of water in our community? Start planning your experiment by
reviewing conservation tips listed in the sites below, and by
talking to a representative from the local Environmental Protection
Agency to discover how we determine the viability of a body
of water. Ask the representative to help you find information
about the following issues:
- Is the body of water contaminated?
- What contaminates are involved?
- Was the pollution primarily caused by industries, or by
individuals?
- What is the history of the pollution at the site? When
did it become contaminated?
- Has the effect of the contamination been studied before?
Investigate the sources of the pollution.
- Are people still polluting the site?
- Has anyone tried to clean up the site? If so, what worked
or didn't work?
Data gathering field trip
Take a field trip to both water sites to conduct a water test,
and take an inventory of the area. Talk with a member of your
local Environmental Protection Area for advice about which tests
are appropriate for your area.
Have students fill out the observation checklists they developed
in step 2 to evaluate the sites. Have them preview field guides,
and water testing manuals before they go to the site, so they'll
be familiar with the process beforehand. Different groups of
students can be responsible for collecting different kinds of
data. Some of the things that should be observed and noted during
the site visit are:
- What kinds of fauna do you see?
- What kinds of flora do you see?
- How healthy does it look?
- What is the appearance of the water?
- What is the pH level and salinity of the water?
- What is the turbidity of the water?
- Is there fecal coliform bacteria present in the water?
- Is there evidence of human use of the water or surrounding
area?
- Are there any tributaries to the water source? If so,
where do they come from?
- Are there any buildings or factories nearby?
Also, add in any other testing that you found to be important
as a result of your previous research. Create the same data
checklist sheet for the non-contaminated site, and conduct the
same tests at that site.
Resources for step 3
Materials needed
- water testing kit (check with your local EPA official
for recommendations on the best ones)
- field guide (see below for free online field guide)
Teacher tool Web sites
Bookmark these Web sites for student
research
- Enature.com Online Field Guide
http://www.enature.com/guides/select_group.asp
Access free wildlife and plant field guides on this site,
or ask an expert naturalist for help. You can request information
specific to your region, but it does require that you input
an e-mail address and zip code.
 More
information about this step
Using the water testing data you recorded, make a double
bar graph in Excel or on paper to compare the statistics from
the contaminated and non-contaminated sites. Ask a scientist
from the local Environmental Protection Agency to identify
what the ideal pH, salinity, etc. are for the location and
body of water you studied. Note the ideal level on the graph,
or make a third bar in a different color to show the ideal
level. (If you didn’t study a non-polluted site, just compare
the ideal levels to the levels you recorded in your tests
of the polluted water.)
Do the same for presence and health of plants and animals
you observed at each location. Also note evidence of human
or industrial presence at the sites.
Once complete, have students write up a summary that answers
the following questions:
- What are the major differences between the sites and the
ideal levels?
- How does your research help explain the differences?
- What conclusion can you make about how animals and plants
have been affected by the water pollution, and how human
actions have affected the quality of the water?
- Is there another possible explanation for contamination
that was not addressed in your experiment or research?
Based on all of this evidence, rate the level of contamination
of the sites.
Resources for step 4
Materials needed
Based on your findings, work with your expert to determine
a course of action that can begin to help clean up the contaminated
water or protect an uncontaminated site from being polluted
in the future. If possible, look at another similar site in
your area that was cleaned up and emulate successful techniques
from that program. Use the Web sites listed below for help.
Depending on the source and content of the pollution, you
may want to work with the local government or business community,
or hold a trash cleanup and talk to police about ways to better
enforce littering laws.
Resources for step 5
Bookmark these sites for student
research
- National Wildlife Federation: Take Action
http://www.nwf.org/action/howtos/
This site gives great advice on how to write to local media,
write press releases, plan campaigns, and more.
- Give Water a Hand
http://www.uwex.edu/erc/gwah/
This site is devoted to informing young people about the
part they can take in protecting bodies of water. Download
action plans and more.
- Earth Force's Global Rivers Environmental Education Network
http://www.green.org/resources/
#Identifying Watershed Problems
This Web site offers a wealth of resources for identifying
and monitoring contaminated watersheds. It includes an online
monitoring database and community action tool.
- Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Surf
Your Watershed
http://www.epa.gov/students/surf_your_
watershed.htm
This section of the EPA site has a national listing or information
about bodies of water. Use this site to find out about watersheds
in your area.
During your project, take pictures, write articles, and interview
environmentalists (including yourselves!). After you have
helped to clean up the polluted water in your town, reflect
on what you've done by writing about your experience and how
it felt to be an environmentalist. Gather all the materials
you made during this project and build a Web site or create
a scrapbook about this project to share with others. Notify
your local newspaper to raise awareness about the project
in your community. Send us your Web project and we'll post
it on the WHAT'S
UP IN THE ENVIRONMENT Web site!
If possible, go back next year to check on the water you
cleaned up. Do the same water quality tests and observe the
growth of plants to see how you made a difference. Send us
your results with a Web site update.
Resources for step 6
Teacher tool Web sites
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