Alabama Water Quality Information System

— Choose a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) —


	1.-		Are aboveground storage tanks a way to avoid underground storage tank (UST) requirements?


	2.-		Are cyanobacteria blooms a new problem?


	3.-		Are heating oil tanks regulated?


	4.-		Are medicines and beauty aids that we flush down our toilets polluting our waterways?


	5.-		Are physical, chemical or biological processes more important in regulating dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in water?


	6.-		Are there areas where elevated concentrations of phosphorus in stream water are associated with phosphate rock or large natural soil phosphorus levels?


	7.-		Are traces of hormones or hormone mimicking chemicals finding their way to our waterways and causing mutations in fish?


	8.-		Are water supplies in urban areas better or worse in quality than those in rural areas?


	9.-		Can algae have beneficial effects on water supplies?


	10.-		Can groundwater contamination impact wetlands and wildlife?


	11.-		Can I eat the fish from inland drainage canals?


	12.-		Can pH of water be an indicator of chemical pollution?


	13.-		Can some contaminants improve the quality of water for certain uses?


	14.-		Can specific conductance of water be an indicator of chemical pollution?


	15.-		Can the general public participate in NPDES permitting decisions?


	16.-		Do aquatic ecosystems have an unlimited capacity to maintain their quality?


	17.-		Do I need an NPDES permit?


	18.-		Do the chemicals or other pollutants in urban runoff pose a threat to human health?


	19.-		Do wild animals contribute significant microbial contamination to our lakes and waterways?


	20.-		Does mercury or its salts move readily through the soil to contaminate underground water?


	21.-		Eutrophication is a form of pollution. What is a eutrophic lake?


	22.-		Has water pollution worsened in the United States during recent years?


	23.-		How are scientists able to globally survey for toxic chemicals such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) throughout the earth�s oceans?


	24.-		How are the conditions in NPDES permits enforced by EPA and the states?


	25.-		How big is the Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) problem?


	26.-		How can bacteria be removed from water?


	27.-		How can duckweed and watermeal cover a pond by late spring when they show no evidence of being there during winter months?


	28.-		How can I help prevent water pollution?


	29.-		How can Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) be reduced or eliminated?


	30.-		How can temperature be a water pollutant?

<Previous| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |Next>

GO Back One Page

Search for a Different FAQ

This website was developed by the ACES Water Quality Team, under the leadership of Dr. James E. Hairston. It is funded, in part, by USDA-CSREES water quality grant support under Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998.