Water pollution: Water pollution is an environmental impact that is a major concern to airport managers. Water pollution at airports include factors such as anti-icing/ deicing fluids, oil, hydraulic fluid, and fuel which could end up on the ground from servicing, leaks, or spills occurring. Deicing and anti-icing fluids pollution to water can cause many impacts such as killing aquatic life, algae blooms, reduction in oxygen levels, and contamination to surface or ground waters (“Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations”, 2008).

Airport managers want to ensure there are programs in place to prevent or eliminate water pollution and to comply with the Clean Water Act. The primary mechanism for controlling pollutant discharges is through the administration of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which is implemented, in most cases, by individual states (“Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations”, 2008). The NPDES permit program regulates discharges of storm water and wastewater (“Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations”, 2008).

 The airports managers normally enforce designated areas to use for deicing/ anti-icing evolution's, refueling/ defueling jobs, and basic servicing. There are ways to clean up these fluids as well by using spill kits and support equipment for clean up as required. They also want to ensure that there are waste fluid collection points at all these locations. Storm water should have a separate run-off collection point. Each airport will have their own requirements in place to prevent water pollution.

References

"Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations". (2008, March 31). Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion. Retrieved from everycrsairport.com: https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33949.html