Article Title: Wading in Waste Author/Source: Michael A.

Mallin

A: List the major ideas, concepts or key points- point by point - Disease causing microorganisms are growing in population along coastlines due to unchecked amount of people moving towards coasts. - A growing number of beaches and shellfish beds along the coast have been contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms coming from animal and human wastes. - According to a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, in 2004 coastal states ordered 19950 days of closures and pollution advisories affecting 1234 ocean and freshwater beaches, or about one third of all the beaches regularly monitored by health officials. - The reason for 85 percent of the closures and advisories was the detection of excessive counts of fecal bacteria in the beach waters. - Moving downstream with animal feces in storm water runoff or with human waste in sewage overflow and septic-tank leaks, the waterborne microbes can cause liver disease, respiratory infections and potentially fatal gastrointestinal disorders. - Microbes pollute shellfish beds and areas used for recreation -> shellfish are primary filter feeders, they strain large volumes of seawater through their bodies to concentrate food material like microscopic algae - Because of booming growth in U.S. coastal regions, much of the area near the shoreline is covered with impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roads and sidewalks. When it rains, storm water runoff from these surfaces can carry animal feces and their accompanying microbes into drainage ditches that lead directly to lakes, streams and beaches. - Contamination by fecal bacteria is the leading cause of beach closures and advisories, which now affect one third of the countrys monitored beaches. Hazardous microbes also plague marinas, tidal creeks and shellsh beds. - To ght microbial pollution, coastal communities can encourage the preservation of green spaces, install lters in storm drains and prevent the placement of septic tanks in areas with porous soils. - Poorly planned development is the primary cause of microbial pollution in coastal areas. Most shopping centers, for example, are surrounded by enormous parking lots that funnel waste-laden runoff to drainage ditches. In many coastal residential developments, the efuent from septic tanks ows into ssured limestone or sandy soils that allow fecal microbes to seep into the groundwater. Industrial-style livestock operations typically spread their manure over elds or

store it in lagoons; heavy rains can wash the wastes into nearby streams. And new construction often destroys the wetlands that lter disease-causing organisms from the water before they can reach beaches and shellsh beds. - Microbial pollution also poses a serious danger to people involved in common recreational activities such as swimming, suffering, wading, diving, snorkeling, waterskiing and boating. - If fecal organisms contaminate a lake, stream, or seashore, anyone in the water risks infection by microbes entering through the mouth, nose, eyes or open wounds. - Some of the illnesses caused by water contact include gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis (eye infections), and cellulitis (skin irritations such as hepatitis and Guillain-Barre syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves that can induce paralysis. - Fecal microbes from Septic Systems in the Florida Keys can enter coastal waters within hours. - Preserving wetlands is an effective way to guard downstream waters from microbial pollution.

B: Summarize the AUTHORs main point or idea- at LEAST 1-2 paragraphs A growing number of beaches and shellfish beds along the coast have been contaminated by disease-causing microorganisms coming from animal and human wastes. According to a recent report by the Natural Resources Defense Council, in 2004 coastal states ordered 19950 days of closures and pollution advisories affecting 1234 ocean and freshwater beaches, or about one third of all the beaches regularly monitored by health officials. Poorly planned development is the primary cause of microbial pollution in coastal areas. Most shopping centers, for example, are surrounded by enormous parking lots that funnel waste-laden runoff to drainage ditches. In many coastal residential developments, the efuent from septic tanks ows into ssured limestone or sandy soils that allow fecal microbes to seep into the groundwater. Industrial-style livestock operations typically spread their manure over elds or store it in lagoons; heavy rains can wash the wastes into nearby streams. And new construction often destroys the wetlands that lter disease-causing organisms from the water before they can reach beaches and shellsh beds.

C: Write a reaction paragraph to the article stating your own thoughts on the topic, using specific citations from the article to support your views After reading this article I learned that the reason for 85 percent of the closures and advisories was the detection of excessive counts of fecal bacteria in the beach waters. Moving downstream with animal feces in storm water runoff or with human waste in sewage overflow and septic-tank leaks, the waterborne microbes can cause liver disease, respiratory infections and potentially fatal gastrointestinal disorders. I think that there should be more warnings to people who do recreational activities in water, there will be less people get harm or disease from those

waterborne-diseases. If approached right, the problem can be resolved. Designing better and cleaner systems can help put an end to waste in the wades.

So What? Microbes Waterborne-diseases Harm ocean, beaches, lakes, and human activities What If? There was a better design or better treatment for our public water waste?

Says Who? Michael A. Mallin Lawrence B. Cahoon, U.N.C Wilmington Rachel Noble U.N.C

What Does This Remind Me Of? Eutrophication that harm marine organisms and ocean.