Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e. g. lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater).
Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities. Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.
An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000 Indian children die of diarrheal sickness every day. Some 90% of China’s cities suffer from some degree of water pollution, and nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, industrialized countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, and/or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as fish.
Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water. CategoriesSurface water and groundwater have often been studied and managed as separate resources, although they are interrelated. Surface water seeps through the soil and becomes groundwater. Conversely, groundwater can also feed surface water sources. Sources of surface water pollution are generally grouped into two categories based on their origin.
Point source water pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source, such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city storm drain. Non?point source pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. A common example is the leaching out of nitrogen compounds from fertilized agricultural lands.
Nutrient runoff in stormwater from “sheet flow” over an agricultural field or a forest are also cited as examples of NPS pollution. Contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and highways, called urban runoff, is sometimes included under the category of NPS pollution. However, this runoff is typically channeled into storm drain systems and discharged through pipes to local surface waters, and is a point source. However where such water is not channeled and drains directly to ground it is a non-point source. Groundwater pollutionInteractions between groundwater and surface water are complex.
Consequently, groundwater pollution, sometimes referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution. By its very nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to contamination from sources that may not directly affect surface water bodies, and the distinction of point vs. non-point source may be irrelevant. A spill or ongoing releases of chemical or radionuclide contaminants into soil (located away from a surface water body) may not create point source or non-point source pollution, but can contaminate the aquifer below, defined as a toxin plume.
The movement of the plume, called a plume front, may be analyzed through a hydrological transport model or groundwater model. Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on the soil characteristics and site geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, and the nature of the contaminants. CausesThe specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical or sensory changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, etc. ) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water, and what is a contaminant. High concentrations of naturally-occurring substances can have negative impacts on aquatic flora and fauna.
Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials, such as plant matter (e. g. leaves and grass) as well as man-made chemicals. Other natural and anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species. Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts.
Alteration of water’s physical chemistry includes acidity (change in pH), electrical conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem. Depending on the degree of eutrophication, subsequent negative environmental effects such as anoxia (oxygen depletion) and severe reductions in water quality may occur, affecting fish and other animal populations. EffectsThe effects of water pollution are increasingly drawing the environment and human beings as well to feel the pinch of polluted water. Water pollution affects our, rivers, lakes, oceans and drinking water. With the increase in population and industrial development, demand for water has increased.
Water is getting polluted when chemicals, harmful contaminants are detected Human beings have the most crucial impact on our water resources. Moreover the need for water is far more in the society today than the quantity of water available. Some water pollution effects show up immediately where as others don?t show up for months or years. The water pollution has damaged the food chain and is very important for the food preparation of plants through photosynthesis When Filth is thrown in water the toxins travel from the water and when the animals drink that water they get contaminated and when humans tend to eat the meat of the animals is infected by toxins it causes further damage to the humans. Infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid can be contracted from drinking contaminated water.
Our whole body system can have a lot of harm if polluted water is consumed regularly. Other health problems associated with polluted water are poor blood pressure, vomiting, skin lesions and damage to the nervous system. In fact the evil effects of water pollution are said to be the leading cause of death of humans across the globe. Pollutants in the water alter the over all chemistry of water, causing a lot of changes in temperature. These factors overall have had an adverse effect on marine life and pollutes and kills marine life.
Marine life gets affected by the ecological balance in bodies of water, especially the rivers and the lakes. Water pollution effects have a huge impact on the health of an individual and the environment as a whole. The balance between the nature and the humans can be protected and should be maintained . But t it will take efforts on all fronts by each and every individual from the society to prevent and eliminate water pollution locally and globally. Chemical and other contaminants.
Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. Organic water pollutants include:?Detergents?Disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water, such as chloroform?Food processing waste, which can include oxygen-demanding substances, fats and grease?Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalides and other chemical compounds?Petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from stormwater runoff[16]?Tree and bush debris from logging operations?Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as industrial solvents, from improper storage. ?Chlorinated solvents, which are dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs), may fall to the bottom of reservoirs, since they don’t mix well with water and are denser. ?Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)?Trichloroethylene?Perchlorate?Various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic productsInorganic water pollutants include:?Acidity caused by industrial discharges (especially sulfur dioxide from power plants)?Ammonia from food processing waste?Chemical waste as industrial by-products?Fertilizers containing nutrients–nitrates and phosphates–which are found in stormwater runoff from agriculture, as well as commercial and residential use[16]?Heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban stormwater runoff)[16][17] and acid mine drainage?Silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sitesMacroscopic pollution?large visible items polluting the water?may be termed “floatables” in an urban stormwater context, or marine debris when found on the open seas, and can include such items as:?Trash or garbage (e.
g. paper, plastic, or food waste) discarded by people on the ground, along with accidental or intentional dumping of rubbish, that are washed by rainfall into storm drains and eventually discharged into surface waters?Nurdles, small ubiquitous waterborne plastic pellets?Shipwrecks, large derelict shipsThermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. Thermal pollution, unlike chemical pollution, results in a change in the physical properties of water. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. Elevated water temperatures decreases oxygen levels (which can kill fish) and affects ecosystem composition, such as invasion by new thermophilic species.
Urban runoff may also elevate temperature in surface waters.Thermal pollution can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into warmer rivers.
