ISE 5-14 Curriculum Support Materials                                                           Overview advice

Group 9 exemplar Earth & Space  - Water (Word)

1. The children will probably suggest dirt or poison in the water. You could point out that there might be very tiny microbes which can cause illness, there could be insect eggs or larvae - so small as to be invisible to the naked eye, or there could be poisonous chemicals or metals such as aluminium or mercury which could make water very dangerous.

Fortunately with our methods of water treatment and regular quality checks incidences of water pollution are very unusual although they do occasionally happen.

Link incidences of water pollution which have occurred to environmental pollution such as run off from industry of farms contaminating our water supply.

The children may be familiar with a stream or river nearby and may be able to give a detailed account of items of rubbish found in it. Mention should be made here of the correct way of disposing of old furniture etc. which often seems to end up being dumped in our rivers and canals.

Factory waste might be something the children are aware of, particularly if they live near factories and heavy industry. Another source they may be aware of is run off from sewage plants which although carefully monitored, may appear to be contaminating a river.

Farm waste may be more obvious in rural communities.

Detergents, bleach and disinfectant are things which we use routinely which can easily disrupt the biological filters in sewage plants and cause problems with waste processing. This in turn may contaminate the water supply if water is taken from the river further downstream.