Water pollution is one of the most serious environmental challenges. It occurs when water is contaminated by such substances as human and animal wastes, toxic chemicals, metals and oils. Pollution can affect rain, rivers, lakes, oceans and the water beneath the earth, called ground water.
Polluted water may look clean or dirty, but it all contains bacteria, viruses, chemicals or other chemicals than can cause illness or even death. Impurities must be removed before such water can be used safely for drinking, cooking or washing. Some industries must clean the water before it can be used in their manufacturing processes.
Water pollution has become a serious problem in most countries. As a
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Some industries pollute water in yet another way. they use large quantities of water to cool certain equipment. Heat from the equipment makes the water hot. The industries then discharge the hot water into rivers and lakes, heating those bodies of water. Such heating that harms plants or animals is known as thermal pollution.
· Sewage consists of human wastes, garbage and water that has been used for washing or bathing. Most of the sewage goes through treatment plants that remove solids and such dissolved substances as the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorous.
· Agricultural chemicals and wastes. Water from rain or melted snow flows from farmland into streams, carrying chemical fertilisers and pesticides that farmers have used on the land. Animal wastes also can cause water pollution, particularly from feed lots with many animals. Cattle, sheep and poultry raised on feed lots do not distribute their wastes over widespread pastureland. Instead, much of their wastes runs off into nearby streams. Water used for irrigation also may be polluted by salt, agricultural pesticides and toxic chemicals on the soil surface before it flows back into the ground.
Effects of water pollution
· Health. Water polluted with human and animal wastes can spread typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery and other diseases. Though
Water pollution is starting all over the world. Water pollution occurs when waste products or other substances, such as microorganisms,
Pollution affects all living species and almost all ecosystems. Studies have shown a link between air pollution and increased deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory problems. But, humans are not the only ones who are affected by air pollution. Dangerous toxins, like mercury, have shown to settle on plants and in water. Animals then consume the water and plants and then they become affected. The health effects of these poisons then go up through the food chain until it has reached the top. Animals at the top of the food chain are the ones with the largest concentrations of these toxins. Water pollution is another impactful factor in our ecosystems. Clean water is vital to the survival of life. Water is used for drinking, irrigating crops, and other recreational means. But water can easily be contaminated with improperly disposed industrial waste, agricultural runoff, mining activities, and waste treatment plants. Although most people can fight harmful bacteria and viruses, some with compromised immune systems, may not be able to fight them off. Life threatening conditions could occur; it could also affect wildlife in a harmful way. Soil contamination, which consist of harmful liquids or solids mixed with soil, can also affect humans and wildlife in a harmful way. If dangerous chemicals, or other harmful substances, mix with soil, they then can take root in plants that grow on them. If
Water Pollution is one of the most serious ecological threat faced in this modern era. Water pollution is a result of toxic substances entering water bodies such as lakes, rivers and oceans etc. These toxins can either dissolve in the water, lay suspended in the water, deposit on the water bed or contaminate ground water. This not only results in degradation of water quality but also means destruction of aquatic ecosystem.
There is an array of pollutants capable of contaminating freshwater in different ways (Schiedek et al., 2007). Some of these contaminants include fertilizers and pesticides from agriculture farms, heavy metals such as mercury which are prone to long-range transport and oil spills from pipes in the course of transport of fossil fuels (Kundu et al., 2007). Human activities have also been identified as the most prominent cause of freshwater contamination (Liu et al., 2004). Some of these human activities include improper management of agricultural runoff and sewage disposal methods and the use of energy sources that can emit particulates into the atmosphere, which may eventually end up in freshwater bodies (Li et al., 1999). Approximately 50% of untreated waste water is dumped in freshwater bodies. The consumption of contaminated water may cause illnesses such as cholera and
The importance of clean water today is at an all-time high. Water is crucial for all forms of life, humans depend on it and cannot survive without it. In today’s society, people do not realize
Water pollution is the second most important pollution facing us after air pollution today; water pollution not only affects individual living species in the water, but also affects populations and ecosystems the waters. There are many types of water pollution, because of the fact that water comes from many places as Nutrients pollution, Pesticides, Mining, Sewage and many other ways of water to get polluted, lets talk about some of the ways that water gets polluted. First type of water pollution is Nutrients, Nutrients pollution is the process where nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, are added to bodies of water and can be like fertilizer, this causes an outburst in the growth of algae. The second main type of pollution is pesticide. Pesticides that are put
Water pollution is the contamination of natural bodies of water by various hazardous waste, such as chemical, physical, radioactive or pathogenic microbial substances. Averse water quality can cause several different types of ailments, for example cholera is spread through contaminated food and water. It is most common in areas without a waste treatment systems, so the sewage seeps into the town’s water supply. There are four classes of water pollutants first being Chemical Pollutants which are “generally atoms or molecules, which have been discharged into natural water bodies, usually by activities of humans.” (Hogan) The second class being Physical Pollutants such as trash or temperature change. The third class is Radioactive substances “a special sub-class of chemical pollutants, and by mass represent the smallest of the contributors to water pollution.”
When you turn on the tap and drink a glass of water, Does it taste funny? Is it clear? The water you are drinking may be toxic without any such indicators. Water is all around us; it is essential for life. Over two thirds of earth’s surface is covered by water, but everyone only wants and need clean water. Each year, water pollution increases and continues to be responsible for harming our environment.
Water pollution from agriculture can greatly affect human quality of life. Livestock manure can contain pathogens and bacteria that can make humans extremely sick if it is ingested. The ingestion is most likely through contaminated drinking water. Humans can even become ill if the produce we buy to eat has been washed with contaminated water. Water pollution from agriculture can also affect other things such as air quality. The water that farmers use for irrigation will eventually leach into the groundwater with all of the pesticides and fertilizers attached to it, which will then evaporate into the air through the water cycle and will pollute the air that humans breathe as well. Air pollution is one of the most common causes of cancer in humans. Because agriculture uses 70% of our freshwater, it is extremely likely for the water to become polluted and affect human health. Also, the release of pesticides in water from agricultural use have been known to cause cancer in humans
Pollution is one of these impacts. Pollution effects are many and wide-ranging. There are excessive levels of pollution causing a lot of damage to human, animals, rainforests and water. Pollution of all types has an impact on the environment. We can define pollution as contamination of air, land and water by releasing harmful materials. The contamination is due to many different reasons, but mostly under the control of humans. Air pollution occurs when gasses, dust particles, fumes (or smoke) or odor enter into the atmosphere and make it harmful to humans, animals, and plants. The air becomes contaminated and distorts the natural balance and causes harm to living things. Land pollution is the destruction of land, directly or indirectly due to human activities and their abuse of land resources. It happens when waste is disposed of improperly or can occur when humans throw chemicals such as pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers into the land during farming. Mining activities have also contributed to the destruction of the earth 's surface. Water pollution is the contamination of water mostly by human activities. Water pollution occurs when pollutants are released directly or indirectly into the water without intervention to
Factories sometimes turn waterways into open sewers by dumping oils, toxic chemicals, and other harmful industrial wastes into them. In mining and oil-drilling operations, corrosive acid wastes are poured into the water. In recent years, municipal waste treatment plants have been built to contend with water contamination. Some towns, however, still foul streams by pouring raw sewage into them. Septic tanks and cesspools, used where sewers are not available, may also pollute the groundwater and adjacent streams, sometimes with disease-causing organisms. Even the purified effluent from sewage plants can cause water pollution if it contains high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. Farm fertilizers in some regions fill groundwater with nitrates, making the water unfit to drink. Agricultural runoff containing dangerous pesticides and the oil, grime, and chemicals used to melt ice from city streets also pollute waterways.
Water pollution is the contamination of bodies of water when waste is discharged into them. Any change in the physical, chemical and biological parts of water that will have a harmful effect on living things, is considered water pollution.
Through sediment other elements also pollute the water. Both surface and ground water experiences pollution; ground water is polluted because the elements seep into the earth. The EPA
All of this inappropriate contamination, of used water, and horrible discharge of the different and numerous waste water in the water sources, that are barely there, consist in bad result of water pollution. In the majority of cases, the water is filled with dangerous chemicals and radioactive materials that will hurt the public and any other living organisms. Water pollution can be identified in numerous ways and be talked about in how they cause a certain place or situation but it will still be all similar. Though water can naturally clean and better some problems, pollution is still bad enough and hurts more than a few aspects water itself cannot handle.
Water pollution is caused when it is contaminated by chemical or biological properties. Oil spills also affect the animals and birds' buoyancy in water. It not only hampers with their ability to adapt to temperature but if left exposed longer it will soon affect their visibility then often lead to the lungs which lead to death. The sewage usually causes a dense cover of algae over the water. This reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the water causing the aquatic animals and plants lead to death. Being in this type of harmful water or consuming can lead to diarrhea, vomiting and intestinal problems.