Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know
Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes and oceans are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastics and other pollutants. Here's why - and what you can do to help.
May 14, 2018
Melissa Danchuk
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What is water pollution?
What are the causes of water pollution?
Categories of water pollution
The most common types of water pollution
What are the effects of water pollution?
What can you do to prevent water pollution?
The British poet W. H. Auden once said, "Thousands of people live without love, not a single one without water." Yet when we all know that water is essential for life, we throw it in the trash anyway. About 80% of the world's wastewater (mostly untreated) is dumped back into the environment, polluting rivers, lakes and oceans.
This widespread problem of water pollution is endangering our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than any other type of war or violence. Meanwhile, our sources of potable water are limited: less than 1% of the earth's freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, when global freshwater demand is expected to be one-third higher than it is now.
Take a sip of cold, clean water as you read this, and you'll find that water pollution is a problem. . . somewhere else. But while most Americans have access to clean drinking water, potentially harmful contaminants - from arsenic to copper - have been found in the tap water of every state in the country.
Still, we do not despair of the danger of clean water. To better understand this problem and what we can do about it, here is an overview of what water pollution is, what causes it, and how we can protect ourselves.
What is water pollution?
Water contamination occurs when harmful substances - often chemicals or microorganisms - contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, impair water quality and make it harmful to humans or the environment. Make it toxic.
What are the causes of water pollution?
Water is uniquely polluted. Known as a "universal solvent", water is capable of dissolving more substances than any other liquid on earth. That's why we have Cole Aid and wonderful blue waterfalls. That is why water gets contaminated so easily. Toxic substances from fields, towns and factories dissolve and dissolve easily, causing water pollution.
Categories of water pollution
Ground water
When rain falls and sinks to the depths of the earth, filling water cracks, crevices, and unsafe places (basically an underground reservoir of water), it becomes groundwater which is our less visible but One of the most important natural resources. About 40% of Americans rely on groundwater for drinking, which is pumped to the surface. For some people in rural areas, this is their only source of fresh water. Groundwater becomes contaminated when pesticides and fertilizers, from landfills and waste from septic systems, make their way into aquifers, making them unsafe for human consumption. Getting rid of groundwater contaminants can be difficult as well as costly. Once contaminated, a water can be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can spread far beyond the original source of the pollutant as it falls into rivers, lakes and oceans.
Surface water
Surface water, which covers about 70% of the Earth's surface, is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all the other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (ie, sources other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60% of the water supplied to American homes. But an important pool of this water is in danger. According to the latest US Environmental Protection Agency National Water Quality Survey, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than a third of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing and drinking. Nutritional contamination, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the largest source of contamination in these freshwater sources. Although plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become a major cause of pollution due to the flow of farm waste and fertilizers. Municipal and industrial wastes also contribute to toxic emissions. There is also all sorts of random rubbish that industry and individuals throw directly into the waterways.
Sea water
Eighty percent of marine pollution (also called marine pollution) occurs on land, whether along the coast or inland. Pollution such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals is carried from farms, factories, and cities to our bays and passages by rivers and streams. From there they travel by sea. Meanwhile, marine debris (especially plastic) is blown away by air or washed away by storm drains and gutters. Our oceans are also sometimes damaged by oil spills and leaks - large and small - and are constantly soaking up carbon pollution from the air. The oceans absorb a quarter of man-made carbon emissions.
Source point
When pollution is caused by a single source, it is called point source pollution. Examples include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally through a manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as septic systems, chemical and oil emissions, and non-effluent. Contamination from legal dumping. EPA controls point source contamination by setting limits on what can be discharged directly into the body of water from a facility. While the point source pollution starts at a specific location, it can affect waterways and sea miles.
Non-point source
Non-point source pollution is contamination. These may include agricultural or stormwater runoff or debris blown from land into waterways. The biggest cause of water pollution in American waters is non-point source pollution, but it is difficult to control, because there is no single, identifiable culprit.
Transitional
It goes without saying that water pollution cannot be controlled by a single line on the map. Border pollution is the result of contaminated water flowing from one country to another. Pollution can be the result of a disaster; such as an oil spill;
The most common types of water pollution
Agricultural
Poisonous green algae in the Kopco Reservoir, Northern California
Aurora Photos / Global
Not only is the agricultural sector the world's largest consumer of freshwater resources, with agriculture and livestock production accounting for about 70% of the surface water supply, but it is also a serious water pollution. Agriculture is the leading cause of water scarcity worldwide. In the United States, agricultural pollution is the largest source of pollution in rivers and streams, the second largest source in wetlands, and the third most important source in lakes. It is also a major contributor to pollution of beaches and groundwater. Whenever it rains, animal waste from fertilizers, pesticides, and farm and livestock work washes away the nutrients and pathogens in our waterways, such as bacteria and viruses. Nutrient contamination due to excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air is the biggest threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a poisonous soup of blue-green algae that kills people and wildlife. Can be life threatening.
Sewage and dirty water
Used water is dirty water. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes stormwater runoff, which occurs when rain carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals and debris from impregnable surfaces into our waterways.
According to the United Nations, more than 80% of the world's wastewater goes back into the environment without treatment or reuse. In some less developed countries, the figure is over 95%. In the United States, wastewater treatment plants treat approximately 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day. These facilities reduce the amount of contaminants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage, as well as heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste, before discharging treated water back into the waterways. When all is well. But according to EPA estimates, our nation's aging and easily overwhelmed sewage treatment system also discharges more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.
Oil pollution
Large spreads may dominate the headlines, but consumers are responsible for the vast majority of oil pollution in our oceans, including oil and gasoline, dripping from millions of cars and trucks every day. In addition, about half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into the marine environment each year comes not from tanker emissions but from land resources such as factories, farms and cities. At sea, tankers emit about 10 percent of the world's oil, while regular shipping industry contributes about a third through both legal and illegal emissions. Oil also leaks naturally from the bottom of the ocean floor through fractures called sepsis.
Radioactive substances
Radioactive waste is any pollution that comes out of the radiation emitted naturally from the environment. It is produced by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the manufacture and testing of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and medicine. Radioactive waste can remain in the environment for thousands of years, making disposing of it a major challenge. Consider the Hanford Nuclear Weapons Site in Washington, D.C., where cleaning up 56 million gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than بل 100 billion and will continue until 2060. .
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What are the effects of water pollution?
On human health
In a nutshell: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you sick. Each year, unsafe water infects about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often close to polluting industries.
Water-borne pathogens, in the form of bacteria and viruses that cause disease from human and animal waste, are a major cause of disease from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia and typhoid. Even in rich countries, accidental or illegal discharges from sewage treatment facilities, as well as flows from farms and urban areas, contribute to harmful germs in waterways. Thousands of people across the United States contract Legionnaires' disease each year (a severe form of pneumonia is caused by water sources such as cooling towers and tap water), from Disneyland in California to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Cases come to light.
A woman in Flint, Michigan uses bottled water to wash her three-week-old son at home
Todd Mac Interface / The Detroit News / AP
Meanwhile, the plight of Flint, Michigan residents - where cost reduction measures and the recent crisis of lead pollution due to water infrastructure - has led to a clear view that chemical and other substances are in our water How dangerous can industrial pollution be? The problem goes far beyond flint and involves much more than lead, as a wide range of chemical contaminants - from heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury to pesticides and nitrate fertilizers - are entering our water supply. Are Once ingested, these toxins can cause many health problems, from cancer to hormonal disorders to changes in brain function. Children and pregnant women are especially at risk.
Even swimming can be dangerous. The EPA estimates that each year, 3.5 million Americans suffer from health problems such as skin rashes, pneumonia, respiratory infections and hepatitis, which are caused by contaminated coastal waters.
On the environment
To thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on complex networks of animals, plants, bacteria and fungi - all interacting directly or indirectly with each other. Damage to any of these organisms can have a series of effects, which can damage the entire aquatic environment.
When water pollution causes algae blooms in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates the growth of plants and algae, resulting in lower oxygen levels in the water. This lack of oxygen, called eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create a "dead zone", where water is essentially empty of life. In some cases, these harmful algae blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles.
Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater also contaminate waterways. These pollutants are toxic to aquatic life - often reducing the life span and reproductive capacity of an organism - and making their way into the food chain as soon as predators eat prey. Thus tuna and other large fish accumulate large amounts of toxic substances such as mercury.
The marine ecosystem is also threatened by marine debris, which can choke, suffocate and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, flows into gutters and storm drains and eventually into the ocean, turning our oceans into garbage dumps and sometimes collecting. It becomes a floating piece of garbage. Waste fishing equipment and other types of debris are responsible for damaging more than 200 different species of marine life.
Meanwhile, sea acidity is making it difficult for shellfish and corals to survive. Although they absorb a quarter of the carbon footprint produced each year by burning fossil fuels, the oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it difficult for shellfish and other species to make shells and can affect the nervous system of sharks, clownfish and other marine life.
What can you do to prevent water pollution?
By your deeds
It's easy for an oil company to tussle over a leaking tanker, but we're all partly responsible for today's water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are some simple ways you can prevent water pollution or at least limit your share of it:
Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic whenever possible.
Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and non-biodegradable items so that they do not reach the bottom of the drain.
Maintain your car so that it does not emit oil, antifreeze or coolant.
If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces water flow and avoid applying pesticides and herbicides.
If you have a puppy, be sure to pick up its pup.
With your voice
One of the most effective ways to stand up for our waters is to speak out in support of the principle of clean water, which clarifies the scope of the law of clean water and protects the drinking water of one in three Americans. Is.
Tell the federal government, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and your local elected officials that you support the principle of clean water. In addition, learn how you and the people around you can be involved in the policy-making process. Our public waterways serve every American. We should all say how safe they are.
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