The Contaminator — Don ’ t Feed the Monster
The Threats Are Real
The Contaminator may be fictional , but every day there are forces at work placing your drinking water and the environment at risk .
The number one threat to safe drinking water in the United States ? Polluted runoff .
What ’ s polluted runoff ? Observe this .
When you go to a store or a mall , look around in the parking lot . Most likely you will see some oil spots , skid marks and maybe somebody ’ s spilled French fries or their burger bags .
Now , let ’ s imagine it ’ s raining . The water starts to puddle and form little rivers as it runs towards the gutters . What is carried off with the water ? Yup , the French fries , oil , and tiny bits of rubber we saw earlier , along with bird poop and all the other junk on the ground . That ’ s runoff pollution . Some of it is natural and some of it is human made .
Where does the runoff pollution go ? It goes into storm drains or ditches that lead to the nearest river , stream , wetland or lake : the same rivers and lakes you depend on for water . Do you want motor oil in your bathtub ? The birds don ’ t either .
The dirtier water gets , the more expensive it is to make it safe for you to use . One quart of motor oil can pollute 250,000 gallons of water .
The Multiplication Problem
Let ’ s say one car leaks a quart of oil every month . Not too big a deal , right ? What if 100 cars leak oil ? One thousand ? One million ? You do the math ...
Runoff pollution doesn ’ t come from just one place , it comes from all over .
The threats can be natural or human made , on the ground or underground . Pollution can come from homes , open spaces , farms or businesses in town — anywhere water is moving .
When we pollute water , it hurts all of us — including all the people and animals who live downstream from our town .
Hard surfaces , such as roads and sidewalks , contribute to the problem since water runs off , instead of soaking in . Areas with large amounts of pavement and concrete usually have higher population densities ( the number of people per square mile ). The more density , the more potential pollution .
The Contaminator is a monster that thrives on pollution . We can ’ t eliminate pollution altogether , but by working together we can reduce it .
Watershed Defenders produced by Colorado Agriculture in the Classroom 3