Underwood_Todd_Final Paper-Water and Water Quality Lesson Plans.

Education is the best solution for solving water quality issues locally, nationally and globally. In
1990 the National Environmental Education Act was passed and part of this provision states that
the policy of the United States to establish and support a program of education on the
environment for students and personnel working with students, through activities in
schools,(EPA, 1990) The goal of this paper is to provide a Unit of Lesson Plans that supports
this act and that can be adopted for use with any high school biology, chemistry, environmental
science or marine science class. These are in support of the Next Generation Science Standards:
Earth and Space Sciences: Core Idea ESS3: Earth and Human Activity, How do Earths
processes and human activities affect each other? ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems:
How do humans change the planet? End of Grade 12: The sustainability of human societies and
of the biodiversity that supports them require responsible management of natural resources not
only to reduce existing adverse impacts but also to get things right in the first place. Scientists
and engineers can make major contributionsfor example, by developing technologies that
produce less pollution and waste and that preclude ecosystem degradation. When the source of a
problem is understood and international agreement can be reached, it has been possible to
regulate activities to reverse or avoid some global impacts (e.g., acid rain, the ozone hole).
(www.nextgenscience.org, NGSS, 2013) The following is a proposed nine or eleven day series
of Lesson Plans that can be used to teach a Unit on Human Impacts on Earth Systems addressing
Water Quality with an incorporation of the Clean Water Act.
Day 1: Students will answer the question: What is water? Students will individually write down
everything they associate with water, they will share these ideas with a partner and then as a
small group they can then share with the class. Students will then proceed to the following

website on water to gain a broad understanding of water and human impact on our water supply:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/h2o.htm
Students will use this website to create a set of notes on the following topics: 1 Water an
overview, 2 The worlds water supply, 3 Water regulation, 4 Human water consumption, 5 Water
Purification, 6 Plant and Water Consumption, 7 The water cycle, and 8 Water Properties. The
notes should include a minimum of one labeled diagram from each topic as well as three
important facts from each topic. (Freeman, 2007)
Day 2: Students will use the SC Maps in conjunction with the attached Drainage Patterns and
Watersheds worksheet in order to analyze the drainage patterns and watersheds that affect the
state of South Carolina. Students will divide the state into the three drainage basins and then
tracing the Pee Dee drainage basin as it affects Horry County. Students should be led in a
discussion to answer, What information can be concluded from the water patterns that affect
Horry County? Next, students will look at the Myrtle Beach Lithographic and Topographic
maps in order to analyze for Non-Pont Source pollution. In this activity students will answer the
following:

What pollutants would you expect to find here? Where do the fertilizers and

pesticides used on the golf courses end up? How do you think this type of pollution can be
prevented or reduced? Explain. (SCMAPS, 2010)
Day 3: class discussion on Where does my drinking water come from? and Why is drinking
water important?

Teacher could lead students through information on the webpage

www.epa.gov/region7/kids/drnk_b.htm (Drinking Water EPA, 2012) Next the teacher should

show figure ES-1 Overall national and regional coastal condition based on data collected
primarily between 2001 and 2002 (U.S. EPA/NCA) or any updated version of this data and have
students analyze the graphic to determine both the overall Condition of US Coastal Waters and

the South East Coast. Ask, What information is being displayed? and compare and contrast
the regions displayed. Students should see that the Southeast is doing a little better than the
Overall Condition of U.S. Coastal Waters ranking between Fair and Good. (NCCR, 2013) Next,
students

will

then

be

given

task

to

collect

data

using

EJView

at

http://epamap14.epa.gov/ejmap/entry.html (EPA-EJView, 2013)

Students will use the EJView to determine: Within the schools attendance area: Where their
drinking water comes from? Using the filter- List the sites that Report to the EPA for each
category provided. List where the USGS and EPA water monitors are located.
Click on the 10th Ave North water reclamation, ECHO report and check the Enforcement and
Compliance summary, Which Statute and what is the current compliance? Are their any
weaknesses in the reported data? If so, what are they? Repeat for the two water discharges along
the waterway to the North and South along the Intracoastal Waterway from the Water
Reclamation Plant. Click on Boundaries and Water Feature filter and filter by Impaired streams
and Impaired Water Bodies. List these impaired water features along the beach from Garden
City to North Myrtle Beach. Explain why the water may be impaired at these locations.
Day 4- Show the EPA commercial: Look Beneath the Surface: address the Issues.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdwC03n2whQ (EPA Youtube, 2012) Also, show the video the
Clean Water Act by the Tennessee Riverkeepers at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrQdBx-lgNw
(Whiteside, 2012) Reemphasize to students that The Clean water Act helps our waters to be
swimmable, drinkable and fishable. Guide students to:
http://water.epa.gov/learn/training/wacademy/training.cfm and highlight the training description
for Watersheds 101- The Watershed Academy provides training so that anyone can gain a
fundamental understanding of each of the major programs in the federal Clean Water Act (CWA)

including water quality standards, water body assessment and reporting under sections 305(b)
and 303(d), Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, the section 319 nonpoint source program, section
404 regulation of placement of dredge and fill material in U.S. waters, and the State Revolving
Loan Fund (SRF). (Watershed Academy, EPA, 2012) Assign each of the above sections to
small groups of students in order that they may prepare a three to five minute presentation to
share with the class to discuss the significance of each of the programs in the Clean Water Act.
Students will be provided rubrics and can choose any of the following methods to present their
information to the class: video commercial, Prezi presentation, Powerpoint, digital flipbook,
animation, or Poster. Day 5 Student Continue to work on Presentations with Teacher Facilitation.
Day 6 Students present the information on the major program in the federal Clean Water Act.
Day 7: Water Related Current Events- Students will use http://water.epa.gov (Home|Water|US
EPA, 2014) and read any 5 EPA Water News articles and choose two articles to summarize and
provide an opinion on the article. Students should consider; what are some things that impact
water quality? Who is affected by clean water? Who is responsible for clean water? Students
should make a list of things that a person can do to help contribute to clean water.
Day 8: Water Crisis- Begin by having students discuss what is meant by a water crisis? Have
students discuss what they think are some of the scientific evidences, problems, and solutions for
a

water

crisis?

Students

will

then

be

given

an

article

from

the

website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/755497.stm (Kir, 2000) Students will discuss how this

article supported or contradicted the previous discussion. Although the article is dated, is it any
less applicable today than it was when it was written? What new information do we have since
the article was written? The students will be given an assignment that comprises three steps:

Learn, Act, and Share. In the Learn step- students will watch one video, surf one website and
choose one article of their choice related to water conservation and to write a brief summary of
each. In the Act Step-students will choose one thing they think that they could do either at home,
in their community or around the world and describe a plan for implementing something from
the Act step. Also, the student should be prepared to share at least one thing that was done from
the suggested conservation tips in their home in the next two days. In the Share step-Students
will work either with a partner or small group to accomplish one of the suggested Share step
activities. These activities are from the SCDHEC website for Champions of the Environment;
http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/champions/chprojIdeas.htm Students will be given
three days to complete their chosen task. Work is to be done over Days 8 and 9 with a
Presentation of the students Share step on Day 10. (SCDHEC, 2013)
Day 11 Careers in Chemistry and other careers important to clean safe drinking water: Students
will be given the following description of a possible career in chemistry: An Environmental
Chemist- What happens to all of our chemical waste, such as household cleaners and shampoos
that we rinse down the drain, industrial smoke, and materials that have not been removed in
water treatment plants? Environmental chemists investigate the sources and effects of chemicals
in all parts of the environment. Then chemists also devise acceptable ways to dispose of
chemicals. This may involve conducting tests to determine whether the air, water, or soil is
contaminated; developing programs to help remove contamination; designing new production
processes to reduce the amounts of waste produced; handling regulation and compliance issues;
and advising on safety and emergency responses. Environmental chemists must understand and
use many other disciplines, including biology, geology and ecology.

Students will then be given time to research some careers in water treatment, management,
chemistry, conservation, pollution, resources, resource management, policy, and recreation.
Students will then choose one that may interest them and write what the requirements are for
obtaining employment in one of those careers. (Holt Modern Chemistry, 2009)

Works cited
Drinking Water. EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 8 May 2012. Web 04 Apr. 2014.
EPA. Look Beneath the Surface: Address the Issues. Youtube. Youtube, 16 April 2012. Web.
05 Apr. 2014
"EPA." National Environmental Education Act. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
<http://www2.epa.gov/education/national-environmental-education-act>.
EPA-EJView. EPA-EJView. Environmental Protection Agency, 11 Jan.2013.Web.05Apr. 2014
Freeman, Shanna. How water works 18 October 2007. Howstuffworks.com
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/h2o.htm 29 March 2014
"Holt Modern Chemistry." Holt McDougal Online. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009. Web. 06
Apr. 2014.
Home|Water|US EPA. Home|Water|US EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Mar.
2014. Web.04 Apr. 2014
Kir, Alex. Dawn of a Thirsty Century. BBC News. BBC, 06 Feb. 2000. Web. 05 Apr. 2014
"National Coastal Condition Reports." Water: National Coastal Condition Report. US EPAUnited States Environmental Protection Agency, 08 Apr. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. ESS3.C.
Achieve Inc. on behalf of the twenty-six states and partners that collaborated on the NGSS.
www.nextgenscience.org 29 March 2014
"SC MAPS Teaching Manual." SC MAPS Teaching Manual. N.p., 2010. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.clemson.edu/ces/geolk12/scmaps/Manual/sc_maps_teaching_manual.html>.

"South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control." SCDHEC: Champions of

the Environment. N.p., 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/champions/chprojIdeas.htm
Training Course Description. Watershed Academy. Environmental Protection Agency, 27
Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Apr. 2014
Whiteside, David. Clean Water Act. Youtube. Youtube, 11 Mar. 2013. Web.06 Apr. 2014.

Drainage Patterns and Watersheds

All land areas, which drain into a particular river system, are said to be part of that river's drainage basin,
or watershed. Each watershed is separated from other surrounding watersheds by higher elevation
ridgelines called drainage divides. Every stream, no matter how small, has its own drainage basin from
which it gathers water from runoff and sediment from erosion. Several small tributary watersheds, when
taken together, serve as the combined watershed area for larger streams. In general, larger streams tend to
have larger total watersheds. For example, the Santee River, the largest in the state, has by far the biggest
watershed area in South Carolina. South Carolina rivers, in contrast to those in other parts of the country,
often undergo name changes as they travel from the mountains towards the sea. In the Santee River
drainage system, for example, the Broad and Saluda rivers join to form the Congaree River, while the
Catawba River changes its name to the Wateree River. The Congaree and Wateree rivers then join
downstream to form the Santee River. In actuality, this river is the longest on the east coast, but this fact
is relatively unknown outside of South Carolina because of the many name changes the river experiences.
Three major river systems, the Savannah, Santee, and Pee Dee, cross the entire state, carrying sediment
eroded from the Appalachian Mountains to be deposited on the beaches and barrier islands along the
coast. Together these three river systems drain about 80% of the state and are characterized by having
large quantities of suspended silt and red clay carried in the water flow. These rivers undergo a dramatic
shift in flow behavior and erosional and depositional dynamics as they pass through the Fall Line Zone
from the Piedmont into the Coastal Plain. Many smaller river systems, such as the Edisto, Ashley, and
Coosawhatchie rivers, which originate in the Coastal Plain, are associated with comparatively small
watersheds, which tend to drain into the ocean rather than into other rivers. A few of these rivers in the
Coastal Zone Region may be quite wide, but also very short. These are essentially glorified tidal
channels, which have no significant drainage basin other than the surrounding marsh and tidal flat
areas. For the purposes of the SC MAPS activities, the watersheds of all Coastal Plain rivers are lumped
together into a single category and are referred to as the Coastal Plain Drainage Basin. Using the
SCMAPS resource Shaded Relief map or from the following link:

http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/cartography/StateBase1.html
Draw two lines through the state to divide the three river systems described above. Trace the rivers and all
water bodies that flow through Horry County and follow them back up to the origin when possible. Be
sure to include the following: Black River, Lynches River, Black Creek, Pee Dee River, Little Pee Dee
River, Waccamaw River,, The Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Robinson. What information can be
concluded from the water patterns that affect Horry County?
In the next activity you will need to determine the nature and extent of non-point source pollution using
the SCMAPS resource. Use the MYRTLE BEACH LITHOGRAPH MAP to trace all the surface drainage
for the area. Refer to the MYRTLE BEACH TOPOGRAPHIC MAP as needed. Consider adjacent land
uses to predict the type and extent of non-point source pollution, which might be found in these drainage
areas. Identify places on the beach where drainage enters the ocean. Answer the following:

What

pollutants would you expect to find here? Where do the fertilizers and pesticides used on the golf courses
end up? How do you think this type of pollution can be prevented or reduced? Explain. Now compare the
MYRTLE BEACH LITHOGRAPH MAP to the same area using Google Maps. How has the area
changed since the first map? Which areas have been developed? Have the new developments changed the
possible non-point source pollution. If so, how has it changed? The maps can also be found at:
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/cartography/MyrtleBeachTopo.html
http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/cartography/MyrtleBeachLitho.html