Questions 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Questions 4 - Essay Example The Clean Water Act (CWA) gave the EPA the responsibility for establishing and maintaining a set of clean water standards, as well as making funding available to sewage plants to reduce water pollution. The CWA regulates water pollution nationwide, controls the discharge of pollutants from large industrial plants as well as sewage plants. In addition, the CWA set standards for pollutants that require a permit to discharge and set standards for sewage runoff. The goals of the CWA were to reduce and eliminate the toxins that come as the result of industrial operations and reduce the "fertilizer, animal waste, motor oil, and pesticides from farms, streets, and lawns" from being discharged into bodies of water (Provisions II). Primary, secondary, and tertiary water treatment is a three phase process of purifying water to take it from the sewage state and return it to a potable state by a series of cleanings. The primary stage removes any large objects such as household trash that has entered the system as well as sand and gravel. It additionally may go through a sedimentation phase to remove heavy deposits of grease and oil. The secondary stage is a series of filters and processes that further clean the water and breakdown the biological components. The tertiary stage raises the quality of the water through purification and makes it ready to be re-used. If the climate of the planet warms significantly it would have a substantial impact on the hydrologic cycle. The oceans would warm and evaporate more water, resulting in greater rain and snowfall. In addition, the poles would melt and raise the levels of the oceans. They would have a greater surface area, which would also contribute to an increase in evaporation. If the planet were to cool, it would have the opposite effect. The seasons would become dryer as there would be less evaporated water vapor to create rain. In addition, much