IV-425 

 The Chalk Point nuclear power plant on the Patuxent River estuary 

 in Maryland has altered the temperature regime considerably. The 

 Contra Costa and Pittsburg, Calif., plants have created a new 

 temperature environment on the San Joaquin River in the delta 

 area of San Francisco Bay. Cooling water from Turkey Point plant 

 in Biscayne Bay, Fla., and the Morrow Bay plant in southern 

 California has created thermal structures that may be as high as 

 10°F above ambient temperature. 



These examples represent only a few of the many thermal discharges 

 from power plants. Other industrial manufacturing processes 

 utilize considerable quantities of cooling water and may cause the 

 same type of environmental changes in addition to generating wastes. 



LAND USE AND RUNOFF 



Indiscriminate use of land areas contiguous to estuaries has 

 resulted in severe water quality problems (IV-5-10). There are 

 many documented cases of pollution from land runoff. One of the 

 most serious is the tremendous impact created by the widespread 

 application of insecticides to control fire ants in the southeast. 

 The spraying programs were apparently initiated without considera- 

 tion of the potential unsought consequences, and the heavy toll of 

 birds, fish, and other mammals was phenomenal. 



Runoff from such uninhabited areas is not the only culprit. In 

 1968, Endrin released in storm sewers found its way into Northeast 



