Effects 0f Water Pollution

Submitted by Hassam Ahmed 

ON VARIOUS
Submitted toWATER SOURCES
Engr. Haris Riaz
FA19-BCV-048
Section A
Civil Engineering Dept.
Environmental Engineering Assignment
Definition of Water Pollution
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human
activity, so that it negatively affects their use. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans,
aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution
occurs when contaminants enter these water bodies

Sources of Water Pollution

Some of the most common water pollutants are

• Household waste

• Industrial wastewater

• Insecticides and pesticides

• Detergents and fertilizers

Some of the water pollution that is caused is caused by direct sources such as factories,
waste management facilities. Refineries etc. which directly release waste and harmful by-
products into the nearest water source without treating it. Indirect sources include
pollutants that enter water bodies through groundwater or soil or the atmosphere as acid
rain.

Types of Water Pollution

Ground Water
When rain falls and percolates deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices and porous
spaces of an aquifer (essentially an underground reservoir of water), it becomes
groundwater – one of our least visible but most important natural resources. Nearly 40
percent of Americans rely on groundwater pumped to the surface of the earth for their
drinking water. For some people in rural areas, it is their only source of fresh water.
Groundwater becomes polluted when contaminants—from pesticides and fertilizers to
waste leached from landfills and septic tanks—enter the aquifer, making it unsafe for

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human use. It can be difficult, if not impossible, and expensive to rid groundwater of
contaminants. Once an aquifer is contaminated, it can be unusable for decades or even
thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread contamination far from the original
source of pollution as it seeps into streams, lakes and oceans.

Surface Water

Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and
all those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is,
from sources other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60 percent of the water
supplied to American households. But a significant pool of this water is at risk.
According to the latest national water quality surveys from the US Environmental
Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our
lakes are polluted and unsuitable for swimming, fishing and drinking. Nutrient pollution,
which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the main type of contamination in these
freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have
become a major pollutant due to runoff from agricultural waste and fertilizers. Municipal
and industrial waste discharges also contribute their fair share of toxins. There is also all
the random waste that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.

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Ocean Water

Eighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) comes from land—either
along the coast or far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients and heavy metals
are transported from farms, factories and cities by streams and rivers to our bays and
estuaries; from there they travel to the sea. Meanwhile, marine debris - especially plastic -
is blown by the wind or washed away by storm drains and sewers. Our seas are also
sometimes tainted by oil spills and spills – big and small – and are constantly absorbing
carbon pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs up to a quarter of man-made carbon
emissions.

Point Source

When contamination comes from a single source, it is called point pollution. Examples
include wastewater (also called wastewater) discharged legally or illegally by a
manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as contamination
from leaking septic tanks, chemical and oil spills, and illegal dumping. The EPA
regulates point source pollution by setting limits on what a facility can discharge directly
into a body of water. While point pollution originates from a specific location, it can
affect miles of waterways and oceans.

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Sewage and waste water

The water used is waste 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 storm water runoff, which occurs when
rain carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals and debris from impervious surfaces into our
waterways.

According to the UN, more than 80 percent of the world's wastewater flows back into the
environment without being treated or reused; in some least developed countries, this
number exceeds 95 percent. In the United States, wastewater treatment facilities process
about 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day. These devices reduce pollutants such as
pathogens, phosphorus and nitrogen in wastewater, as well as heavy metals and toxic
chemicals in industrial waste, before releasing the treated waters back into waterways.
Then everything goes well. But our aging and easily overwhelmed wastewater treatment
systems also release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year,
according to EPA estimates.

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Effect of Water Pollution

On Human Health

On human health

To put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015,
according to a study published in The Lancet. Polluted water can also make you sick.
About 1 billion people get sick every year from unsafe water. And low-income
communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest to the
most polluting industries.

Even swimming can pose a risk. The EPA estimates that 3.5 million Americans contract
health problems such as skin rashes, rosacea, respiratory infections and hepatitis from
sewage-laden coastal waters each year.

On the Environment

Healthy ecosystems rely on a complex network of animals, plants, bacteria and fungi – all
of which interact directly or indirectly – to thrive. Damage to any of these organisms can
create a chain effect that threatens the entire aquatic environment.

Meanwhile, ocean acidification is making it harder for mollusks and corals to survive.
Although they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by
burning fossil fuels, the oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it difficult
for mollusks and other species to build their shells, and can impact the nervous systems
of sharks, clownfish and other marine animals.

What can we do to Prevent Water Pollution

We are all responsible to some extent for today's water pollution problem. Fortunately,
there are some simple ways to prevent water contamination, or at least limit your share of
it:

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• Learn about unique water qualities where you live. Where does your water come from?
Is the waste water from your home treated? Where does the rainwater go? Is your area in
a drought? Start building a picture of the situation so you can see where your actions will
have the biggest impact – and see if your neighbors would be interested in joining in!

• Reduce your use of plastic and reuse or recycle plastic whenever you can.

• Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and non-biodegradable items so that they do
not end up in the trash.

• Keep your car free of oil, antifreeze or coolant leaks.

• If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces runoff and avoids the application
of pesticides and herbicides.

• Do not flush your old medication! Dispose of them in the trash to prevent them from
entering local waterways.

• Be careful with anything you pour down the storm drain, as this waste will often not be
treated before being released into local waterways. If you notice a storm drain blocked by
trash, clean it to keep the trash out of the water. (You'll also help prevent unpleasant
street flooding during a heavy storm.)

• Save water: Our first goal is to save water. Wasting water is a huge problem worldwide
and we are only now waking up to this problem. Simply small changes you can make
domestically will make a huge difference.

• Better wastewater treatment: Treatment of waste products before disposal in a water

body helps reduce water pollution on a large scale. Agriculture or other industries can
reuse this wastewater by reducing its toxic content.

• Use environmentally friendly products: By using soluble products that do not become
pollutants, we can reduce the amount of water pollution caused by households.

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