WATER POLLUTION FACTS, CAUSES, EFFECTS & SOLUTIONS

WATER POLLUTION FACTS, CAUSES, EFFECTS & SOLUTIONS

Water pollution has become a growing concern over the last century as

more and more waste is being disposed of in our oceans, rivers and lakes. This

increase in pollution is harming our food supplies, drinking water and

environment. It is also creating issues in the oceans ecosystem and hurting the

animals and plant life that rely on the ocean and rivers for their survival.

This article will provide you with an in depth explanation of what water

pollution is, the causes and effects associated with water pollution and what

can be done to prevent or even reverse the condition of water pollution.

WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION?

Water pollution is caused by the intentional or unintentional release of

toxic chemicals/materials, contaminants and harmful compounds into various

bodies of water such as rivers, lakes and the ocean. Without proper disposal or

filtration of these pollutants they can spread throughout the water and effect

all living animals and organisms that come into contact with it by

contaminating any living thing that requires water for survival. In addition to

harming animals water pollution can also affect plants, trees, the soil and

other natural materials and resources of the earth.

WATER POLLUTION CAUSES, EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES

Water pollution may be caused by any hazardous substance or material

that makes contact with the earths water supply. This may include oil from oil

tankers and oil refineries, garbage from construction sites, city streets and

residential lawns, improper disposal of hazardous materials from garbage

disposal companies, chemical spills and improper chemical disposal, sewage

leaks and agricultural runoffs just to name a few. Water pollution is generally

caused by human actives but may also be caused by natural resources. When water

is polluted it is usually defined as either being polluted from point sources

or non point sources. Point source pollution occurs from a specific location by

a single source such as a large factory, oil refinery or hauling ship that

contributed a massive amount of pollution within a single area. This large

scale pollution can then be spread across large bodies of water affecting many

miles of water, agricultural land, animal habitats and oceanic ecosystems. Non

point source pollution can occur from many different areas that all contribute

to a body of water. This can occur from large neighborhoods with poor

residential lawn quality from sewage leaks and other types of contaminants,

city streets where garbage and chemicals are not disposed of properly and large

agricultural areas that use harmful chemicals which runoff into a body of water

and contribute to other sources of water pollution. When people rely on a

specific body of water for drinking, cleaning and other purposes and that water

becomes polluted it can become a  major issue.Once water becomes polluted

it becomes unsafe for consumption due to the dangerous or toxic materials that

are contained within the water .If contaminated water is consumed it could lead

to sickness, infections, exposure to diseases and even death. While pollution

is a growing concern determining what water is polluted isn’t always easy when

observed by the naked eye or our taste buds. Water may appear to be clean for

consumption however it may have hidden pollutants that can affect our bodies as

well as animals, plants and various other organisms. In order to determine the

health of water (especially clear, clean looking water) researchers and

scientists often need to perform special tests. If the water is considered

contaminated it will need to go through a filtration and removal process before

it can become drinkable or even sustainable for numerous animal species that

inhibit that body of water. Sadly the issue of water pollution is even more

severe in third world countries where there is no way to properly dispose of

poisonous chemicals/materials and polluted water cannot easily be cleaned or

treated. In these countries people often end up reusing polluted water which

can lead to many of the issues described previously such as birth deformities,

sickness, disease and death. In addition to being affected by water pollution

these countries do not have the medical staff or antibiotics necessary to deal

with those who become sick and ill from water pollution. Finding a way to

develop cheap filtration systems and better waste disposal management systems

is going to be a vital step towards improving the health of our drinking water

and the bodies of water that surround us. These are a few of the most common

causes and effects of water pollution:

Causes of water pollution

1) Water pollution may be caused by the intentional or unintentional

disposal of hazardous chemicals and materials into a body of water.

2) Rainfall may cause polluted landscapes to disperse their poisonous

materials into the water and poison the surrounding water.

3) Water pollution may also be caused by specific points or contributing

factors such as large factories, oil refineries, construction sites, chemical

waste management facilities, dump sites and other large scale operations that

store/produce large amounts of chemical/hazardous waste.

Effects

of water pollution

1) Toxic rainfall can occur in areas where water

and/or air is polluted with toxic chemicals and materials.

2) Polluted water can lead to sickness, disease,

infections, deformities and even death among animals and plant life.

3) Once

water becomes polluted it can affect people and animals either directly through

consumption or indirectly through food sources, land degradation and the

overabundance of plants and algae which can cover the surface of various bodies

of water making it undrinkable and affecting the animals that live in that body

of water.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you would like to limit the amount of pollution you produce and thus

help keep the oceans, rivers and lakes clean there are a number of things you

can do.

·            

Keep your car well maintained and

immediately service it if you notice any oil leaking from the car

·            

Replace your air fresheners with eco-friendly

candles, incense and/or potpourri

·            

Purchase environmentally friendly cleaning

products that do not harm the land if they happen to be flushed or emptied into

a drain

·            

Reduce the amount of power you use and

purchase energy saving light bulbs and appliances. This helps reduce the amount

of emissions being released by utility companies and your own home products.

·            

Conserve your water usage and don’t leave

water running when you are not using it

·            

Reduce, recycle & reuse materials that

you have purchased. Plastics and papers may be sent to the recycling bin while

some of your glass materials may be able to be reused or re-purposed

·            

Make sure non recyclable waste is

contained properly so that it does not spill into the land, street drain sewage

drain

·            

Purchase local food that has been grown

from healthy agricultural farms that don’t use polluting fertilizers and

pesticides

·            

Purchase eco-friendly lawn fertilizers and

pesticides for your own lawn in order to prevent your lawn from becoming toxic

and prevent possible hazardass chemicals from entering street drains

·            

Recycle old clothing by giving it away to

shelters and non for profit re sellers. Not only does it lower the amount of

garbage you produce it also allows you go give to a cause and help the

community

·            

Use a reusable grocery bag rather than the

plastic bags offered at grocery stores when shopping for food to minimize your

plastic waste

·            

Eliminate unnecessary mail and have your

bills sent to you by email. This helps protect the trees and reduce the amount

of paper you have to dispose of later

·            

Properly dispose of toxic chemicals rather

than dropping them down the drain. You can do an online search for local toxic

chemical disposal areas near you

As you can see there are a lot of things you can do to help reduce the amount

of pollution you produce.

Even if you only implement a few of these strategies you could end up

reducing a ton  of waste and unnecessary garbage that is created in daily

life.

10 THOUGHT PROVOKING FACTS ABOUT WATER POLLUTION

1) Over half a billion people live in areas where they consume and rely

on polluted water for their survival

2) Large ships such as transportation vessels and cruise ships are a

large contributers to the current condition of water pollution

3) Many of today’s fertilizers and pesticides carry toxic chemicals that

can spill into the ocean, sewage drains, lakes and rivers harming marine life

and the animals that drink the water

4) Only 3% of the worlds water is considered freshwater

5) Locations such as Bangladesh,

India and China are

suffering from high levels of water pollution with limited options for

disposing of toxic chemicals/materials which threaten the lives of the people

living in these areas

6) The majority of freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, ice and

glaciers

7) Poorly contained toxic materials such as garbage, fertilizer and

poisonous chemicals can be picked up by the rain or running water and make its

way into local rivers, lakes and the ocean without being treated or filtered

8) The same chemicals used to keep our homes clean and maintain our

automobiles are highly toxic and can find there way into our water systems of

not disposed of properly

9) It is estimated that as many as 100,000 marine

mammals are killed every year by pollution

10) In areas that are highly polluted the opportunities of getting lung

cancer, heart disease and other life threatening ailments is significantly

higher