Airport Pollution



Airport Water Runoff

    Imagine going to your favorite lake or pond and when you get there you see something like this picture above. This would be upsetting to most people and maybe they would want to find out how this happened. Well, what if I told you it came from the airport? IS there anything you could do about it and who would you talk to? This happens more often than not.

    One of our planet's greatest resources is water, and airport water runoff, if not controlled, pollutes the surrounding water. There are many pollutants in aviation, and when it rains, or the snow melts, it gets washed into the storm drains. Pollutants such as Hydraulic fluid, aircraft fuel, motor oil, metal particulates, aircraft firefighting foam (AFFF), and deicing fluid constantly are spilled onto the ground and are sometimes minimally cleaned up. Sometimes it doesn't even come from the aircraft, and it will actually come from support equipment or storage locations. The Air Force times reported that Kirkland Air Force Base had spent $125 million on a fuel spill that happened because a fuel holding tank had cracked and seeped into the soil surrounding the base. This endangered the drinking wells of the local community (The, 2019). The base ended up excavating thousands of tons of soil and treated millions of gallons of water contaminated but jet fuel (Susan, 2019). Situations like these cause harmful effects to the wildlife that drinks and the wildlife that lives in it. When chemicals like deicing fluid get swept into the storm drains and into the local ecosystem, it can cause reduced oxygen levels, leading to fish kills and other aquatic life being harmed (Jacques,2021). These situations cannot happen, and there are some solutions to preventing them.

Possible Solution

    Environmental agencies worldwide have noticed the pollutants that airports produce and have been working with them to come up with inventive ways to combat these pollutants. One of the ways I believe that would work the best is to have a mini water treatment facility put in place at the larger airports around the country. The treatment facility would monitor the water runoff and notify the airport managers when pollutants such as fuel and deicing fluid are at high levels. I know this seems like an expensive proposition but the long term outcome of the a facility would not only help the environment but have a great publicity impact for the airport. 

    It would also help if the storm drain systems had intermediate sensors that could detect contaminants in the water. These sensors could see where on the ramp the pollutants are coming from. The airport manager could then go to the airlines that use the drains in that area and make sure they are compliant with EPA standards. This could work for smaller airports because it would be a less expensive measure to ensure their water runoff is clean. Many airports already have water runoff filtration systems that remove heavy particulates and filter the water through membrane systems, but I believe this is not enough. IF an actual water treatment plant was on site, they would ensure clean water is leaving the airports. This water could be used in rain-scarce areas to supply the public and wildlife with fresh, clean water.




Haun, P. B. E. (2015, October 30). Oil Spills into Potomac River near D.C. Airport. MarineLink. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.marinelink.com/news/potomac-airport-spills400206

Jacques, J. (2021, January 5). Airports Embrace Stormwater Management to Protect Water Quality. Stormwater Report. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://stormwater.wef.org/2020/06/air-land-and-sea/

Airport Parkway Wastewater Treatment Facility : PC Construction Company : General Contracting, Construction Management & Design-Build Services. (n.d.). PC Construction. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.pcconstruction.com/airport-parkway-wastewater-treatment-facility/

Susan Montoya Bryan, The Associated Press. (2019, March 12). New Mexico sues US Air Force over groundwater contamination. Air Force Times. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/03/12/air-force-must-do-more-to-clean-up-jet-fuel-at-kirtland-new-mexico-regulators-say/

The Associated Press. (2019, April 24). Air Force must do more to clean up jet fuel at Kirtland, New Mexico regulators say. Air Force Times. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/04/23/air-force-has-spent-125m-cleaning-up-kirtland-jet-fuel-spill/

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