| Water Pollution |
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Water pollution is the action of environmental contamination with man-made waste into water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater. Although natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water, water is only called polluted when it is not able to be used for what one wants it to be used for. Water pollution is a major problem in the global context. 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.
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Water pollution occurs when a body of water is affected due to addition of large amounts of toxic materials to the water. The source of this waste could be raw sewage, chemicals, trash or fertilizer. Water pollution is mainly because of industrial growth, urbanization and the increasing use of synthetic organic substances.
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Water pollution has many causes and characteristics. Organic wastes such as sewage impose high oxygen demands on the receiving water leading to oxygen depletion with potentially severe impacts on the whole eco-system. Industries discharge a variety of pollutants in their wastewater including heavy metals, resin pellets, organic toxins, oils, nutrients, and solids. Discharges can also have thermal effects, especially those from power stations, and these too reduce the available oxygen. Silt-bearing runoff from many activities including construction sites, deforestation and agriculture can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column, restricting photosynthesis and causing blanketing of the lake or river bed, in turn damaging ecological systems.
Pollutants in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical chemistry or sensory changes. Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry include acidity, electrical conductivity and temperature.
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