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ReefLink Database

Waterborne Discharges

Waterborne Discharges

Waterborne discharges include direct and indirect discharges of pollutants into the aquatic environment, including chemicals, nutrients, sediment, and pathogens. Discharges may be directly released into marine waters, or may be carried by surface water streams, groundwater, or coastal runoff.

CMap

Applied chemicals are chemicals applied to lands, vehicles, buildings, or during manufacturing for a variety of purposes, including maintaining pests, improving soil quality, or cleaning surfaces. Civil Engineering and Construction specializes in the design and construction of infrastructure, including buildings and homes, roads, utility lines, and ports. Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, recreational opportunities, aesthetic experiences, sense of place, and educational and research opportunities. Discharge limitations are responses to regulate and control the discharge of pollutants and the use of chemicals. Discharges are the intentional or unintentional distribution of chemicals, debris, or other pollution, into the environment as a consequence of human activities. Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems . Food & energy policies are legislation, restrictions, and guidelines that pertain to sectors that harvest or extract natural resources. The Food and Raw Materials sector includes groups that harvest natural resources from the earth, including agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, forestry, mining, and the oil and gas industry. Health policies are responses that impact the functioning of health sectors, including waste management facilities, biomedical research, and development and sale of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Infrastructural sectors provide the physical, organizational, and technical support for the economy to function, including construction, utilities, transportation, finance, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and technical services. Invasive species are plants, animals, or other organisms that are foreign to a particular environment, and whose introduction may be detrimental when invasives compete with or consume native species. Landscape Changes are alterations of the natural landscape through human activities, including coastal development, shoreline armoring, impervious surfaces, deforestation, or soil disturbance, which can alter water flow patterns and lead to pollutant runoff into coastal systems. Landuse management pertains to responses that determine the use of land for development and construction. Industries in the Manufacturing and Trade subsector produce and sell food, beverage, tobacco, wood, plastics, chemical products, metals, electronics, and machinery products, in both wholesale and retail trade. Non-point source pollution is runoff from diffuse sources that is caused by rainwater moving over and through the ground, carrying pollutants with it and depositing them in coastal waters. Nutrients are essential elements needed by plants and animals for growth and primarily include nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as minor nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, or zinc. Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The Reef Ecosystem includes a suite of abiotic variables that form the physical and chemical environment. Waterborne point source discharges are pollution from a discernible, confined conveyance, such as a pipe, vehicle, ship, or animal feeding operation that directly enter the aquatic environment into streams or direct discharge into coastal waters. Pressures are human activities that create stress on the environment. Provisioning services are the products or ecosystem goods obtained from ecosystems, including seafood, genetic and biochemical resources, pharmaceuticals, ornamental resources, and water resources. The state of the Reef Ecosystem is the condition, in terms of quantity and quality, of the abiotic and biotic components including physical, chemical, and biological variables. Reef Habitat is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the benthic components of the reef ecosystem. Reef Inhabitants are all of the motile components of the reef ecosystem, including fish, invertebrates, marine reptiles and mammals, and are quantified by their abundance, distribution, and condition. Reef Life is the abundance, distribution, and condition of the biological components of the coral reef ecosystem. Regulating Services are benefits obtained from ecosystem processes that regulate the environment, including erosion regulation, natural hazard regulation, and climate regulation. Responses are actions taken by groups or individuals in society and government to prevent, compensate, ameliorate or adapt to changes in Ecosystem Services or their perceived value. Seawater flow reflects circulation patterns, currents, and wave action that move water throughout the ocean and towards the coastline. Sediment includes dirt, sand, silt, clay, and small rocks that form soil on land or soft substrate in marine habitats, and may be transported by water, wind, or human activities. Socio-Economic Drivers include the sectors that fulfill human needs for Food & Raw Materials, Water, Shelter, Health, Culture, and Security, and the Infrastructure that supports the sectors. Storms and hurricanes are periodic events of high precipitation, winds, wave action, and flooding that can potentially cause damage to reef habitat, property, or human lives. Supporting services are ecological processes that indirectly benefit humans by maintaining a functional ecosystem for the production of other ecosystem goods and services. Surface and groundwater flow reflects the patterns of water movement across the landscape, including rivers, streams, underground water, or stormwater. Toxics are chemical pollutants that are poisonous, carcinogenic, or otherwise directly harmful to humans, plants, or animals. The Transportation Sector involves comprises all modes of transportation (Aviation, Maritime, Mass Transit, Highway, Freight Rail, and Pipeline) The Transportation Systems Sector is segmented into six key subsectors, or modes, which operate independently within both a regulated and non-regulated environment, yet are also highly interdependent. Utilities specialize in providing basic services for public use, including telecommunications, water systems, natural gas, electric power, and waste management. Waste Management is the collection, treatment, and disposal of waste. Waterborne discharges include direct and indirect discharges of pollutants into the aquatic environment, including chemicals, nutrients, sediment, and pathogens. A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally.

CMap Description

Waterborne discharges originate from a number of sources, including agriculture, mining, sewage systems, factories, vehicles, and ships. Changes in the landscape, such as ditching, soil disturbance, and impervious surface can affect the rates and distribution of pollutant discharge into coastal waters. Inputs of toxic chemicals, sediment, or nutrients into the reef environment can affect the survival and growth of reef species, including fish, coral, and other invertebrates. Biological inputs of invasive species through ballast discharges or pathogens through waste discharges can impact native species. Many of the same socio-economic sectors that create pollution benefit indirectly from goods and services provided by the reef, which provides recreational opportunities and contributes to the cultural identity of the local community and drives coastal development. Point-source and non-point source regulations can set limitations on the quantity and frequency of discharges. Implementing new technology or updating waste treatment practices can reduce discharges. Agriculture practices, mining practices, and landuse management, such as zoning, can be used to reduce landscape changes and application of chemicals that contribute to runoff.

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