What is pollution?

If you hold up a glass of water in front of you, how can you tell if it’s polluted? You would
expect drinking water to be colourless, odourless and transparent (not turbid with suspended
particulates). If it was not all of these things, then it could be polluted. If you were looking at
water in a river, it is unlikely to be as clear as drinking water in a glass, but you could deduce
it was probably not polluted if you observed that the water did not look dirty or smell bad.
You might also observe that animals were drinking the water without ill effects and fish were
swimming in it. However, if the water was discoloured or had an unpleasant odour, or you
could see dead fish floating on the surface you could conclude that pollution was the
problem.

Let us consider the human activity that could have caused the pollution. Imagine a river that
flows through an area of land on the edges of a town. The water is used by the community for
drinking and other domestic uses and also for vegetable farming. Several residents use this
water to irrigate small areas of land where they cultivate vegetables and many of the farmers
use fertiliser and pesticide to improve productivity (Figure 7.1). Fertilisers are made of
chemicals such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which are essential plant nutrients.
Pesticides are chemicals that destroy pests but can be harmful to other forms of life –
including humans.

Imagine that one farmer has finished spreading the chemicals on his crop and decides to wash
the empty pesticide sack he has been using in the river. Later that day, it rains heavily and
rainwater is seen running off the field into the river. What do you think happens? The river is
receiving run-off containing fertiliser and pesticide chemicals that had been applied to the
crops, which is made worse by the farmer washing his sack that had contained the pesticide.
This could harm fish and other organisms living in the water – possibly killing them. The
river is also used by the community so the chemicals could get into drinking water that is
consumed by humans. The river has been polluted by the careless action of the farmer
washing his sack and by the action of rainwater washing the chemicals into the river.

Pollution always has a source and a recipient. The source is where the pollution comes from,
that is, where the pollution is released into the environment. The recipient is where the
pollution ends up, which may be a part of the environment or people or animals that become
contaminated or damaged.

 In the above example about the farmer washing the pesticide sack in the river, what is the
source and what is the recipient of the pollution?

Reveal answer

There are a number of ways of identifying pollution. These include finding symptoms of
damage to aquatic plants and animals (such as dead fish), finding chemicals in the water,
 comparing the previous history of the quality of water with the present quality, and getting
complaints from water users. Even when a problem has been found, investigations to identify
the source may take time. For example, water samples from several different points upstream
and downstream will need to be analysed to locate precisely where the problem originated.

There are several different ways of classifying pollutants. They can be categorised by their
physical nature, by their source, by the recipient or by the sector of the environment affected.
In the following sections we will look at each of these classification groups

Physical nature of the pollutant

Pollutants may be in the form of gas, liquid, solid or energy.

 What polluting gases can you think of?

Reveal answer

Liquid pollutants usually come from liquid waste. Liquid waste includes human excreta
(both faeces and urine), industrial wastewaters and other forms of waste from water-using
activities (Figure 7.2). Factories generate liquid waste from activities related to washing in
the manufacturing process, cleaning objects and chemical mixing. Sewage is a mixture of
human excreta from water-flushed toilets and other wastewater from houses and businesses.
Sewage and human waste from overflowing septic tanks and latrines are frequent sources of
pollution.

Urban run-off is another type of liquid waste that can cause pollution. Rainwater washes
many different types of waste from the land surface into lakes and rivers. Urban run-off can
contain a lot of organic matter. This may come from open defecation or inappropriate
handling of organic wastes produced from households and businesses. Organic
matter includes anything that is derived from living organisms, such as human and animal
wastes, decaying plants and food wastes.

Pollutants also come in solid form. Plastic bags are one of the most common solid
wastes. Solid waste is any solid material that is assumed not to be useful and is therefore
thrown away. Factories, businesses and households produce different kinds of solid waste
such as paper, plastics, metals, chemicals in solid form, pieces of cloth or food and animal
remains (Figure 7.3). Sometimes you may have observed faecal matter discarded with solid
waste, which adds to the problems.

There is a fourth type of pollution that is common in urban communities. This is energy in the
form of noise pollution. Noise pollution means unacceptable levels of noise in work,
residential and recreational places. Noise makes it difficult to have a conversation and also
irritates and disturbs us and in the long term can damage our hearing. Loud music from music
 shops and clubs in an urban community is a known source of noise disturbance. Such noise
may please some, but it disturbs many other people because it interferes with communication
in the daytime and sleeping at night.

 Sources of pollution

Another way of classifying pollution is by the sector of human activity that produces it.
Before we look at the various sectors, there is an important distinction to be made about
pollution sources. Sources of pollution can be categorised as point or non-point
sources. Point sources are identifiable points or places that you can easily locate. An
example is a diesel truck that produces visible black exhaust fumes from its tailpipe. Liquid
waste released from a pipe into a river is another example (Figure 7.4). A non-point
source (also known as ‘diffuse pollution’) is one where it is difficult to identify the exact
origin of the pollution. A good example is floodwater that washes all types of waste from the
land (possibly including faecal matter) into a river. In this situation you cannot identify the
individual or household or establishment that has caused the water pollution (Figure 7.5).

 Can you think of examples of point and non-point source pollution from earlier in this study
session?

Reveal answer
Domestic sources

Domestic sources of pollution include toilets, latrines and wastewater from kitchens and
bathrooms. If these wastes are properly contained and prevented from getting into the
environment, they will not cause pollution. However, frequently this is not the case. Open
defecation obviously releases human waste into the environment, which can then be washed
into rivers and other surface waters.

 What types of organic waste are produced by a typical household?

Reveal answer

Solid wastes from households and also from shops, markets and businesses include food
waste, packaging materials and other forms of rubbish. Domestic sources are also responsible
for gaseous pollutants in the form of smoke and carbon dioxide from domestic fires.

  Industry

Pollution from the industrial sector in Ethiopia has been on the rise, posing a serious problem
to the environment. Many industrial processes produce polluting waste substances that are
discharged to the environment, frequently through chimneys (to the air) or through pipes (to
surface water) (Figure 7.6). Among the most polluting industries are food processing,
tanneries and textiles with processing plants and factories that produce liquid effluents which
are discharged into rivers, often without treatment (Ademe and Alemayehu, 2014; Wosnie
and Wondie, 2014). In practice, rivers frequently receive polluting discharges from many
different sources all at the same time. The Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa, for example, is
polluted by several different industrial sources as well as by domestic wastes (Tegegn, 2012).

 Agriculture

Like industry, agricultural activities are also increasing in Ethiopia, and changing too.
Nowadays, agricultural activities in Ethiopia use more pesticides and fertilisers. Ethiopia
imports over 3000 tons of various types of pesticides annually (Federal Environment
Protection Authority, 2004). Fertiliser use in Ethiopia has increased from 140,000 metric tons
in the early 1990s to around 650,000 metric tons in 2012 (Rashid et al., 2013). Fertiliser
contains phosphate and nitrate and if these reach water bodies they can cause excessive plant
growth (Figure 7.7).

Agriculture is also responsible for gaseous pollutants in the form of methane produced by
livestock and solid pollutants from crop residues, packaging materials and other wastes
similar to those produced domestically. Animals also contribute to waste products and
potential pollutants with their excrement.

 Transport

Do you live in a city or have you visited a city close to where you live? If so you will no
doubt be familiar with the variety of vehicles on our roads (Figure 7.8). Some are small cars,
others are heavy motor trucks. These vehicles differ not only in their size, but also by using
different types of fuel such as petrol, diesel, and blended fuel (10% ethanol and petrol). If you
observe the tailpipe of diesel engine vehicles, you will have seen the black exhaust gas
produced. The intensity of the black colour is greater for poorly maintained vehicles, to the
extent sometimes that it makes the air hazy or smoky and causes coughs and eye irritation.
The lack of a policy to remove old vehicles from the roads adds to the problem. Tiwari
(2012) found that nearly a third of vehicles in Addis Ababa were over 30 years old, resulting
in high levels of tailpipe emissions. Traffic jams, common in all big cities, make the problems
worse.

Examples of some potential sources of pollution are given in the table below. Legal
instruments and codes of practice have been designed and implemented so that the risks of
pollution from these sources are low in normal circumstances, but there will be occasions
when normal conditions are exceeded, for example, when there are floods.

The table gives examples of sources of pollution and the potential pollutant discharges which
could arise. It is important to note that whilst there are many potential hazards arising from
the sources of pollution listed, the risks to the aquatic environment may be very small.
 
 

Examples of Point source or Potential pollutant

sources of diffuse
pollution
Effluent discharges Point source Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus
from sewage (P), persistent organic
treatment works pollutants, pathogens, litter,
oxygen-depleting substances,
suspended solids and
settleable solids

Industrial effluent Point source N, oxygen-depleting

discharges substances and a broad
spectrum of chemicals,
suspended solids, etc.

Industrial Point source Broad spectrum of chemicals

processes released to air and water

Oil storage facilities Point source Hydrocarbons

Urban storm water Point source – arising N, P, oxygen-depleting

discharges from storm water runoff substances, heavy metals,
(from paved areas and hydrocarbons, pathogens,
roofs in towns and cities) persistent organic pollutants,
entering the sewer suspended solids, settleable
network solids, litter

Landfill sites Point source N, ammonia, oxygen-

depleting substances, broad
spectrum of chemicals

Fish farming Point source N, P, oxygen-depleting

substances, pathogens,
suspended and settleable
solids

Pesticide use Diffuse Broad spectrum of chemicals

Organic waste Diffuse N, P, pathogens

recycling to land

Agricultural Diffuse N, P
fertilisers
 Soil cultivation Diffuse Soil, N, P

Power generation Diffuse N, sulphur, mercury, POPs,

facilities temperature (thermal)
pollution

Farm wastes and Point/Diffuse N, P, oxygen-depleting

silage substances, pathogens,
suspended and settleable
solids

Contaminated land Point/Diffuse Hydrocarbons, organic

chemicals, heavy metals,
oxygen-depleting substances

Mining Point/Diffuse Heavy metals, acid mine

drainage, suspended and
settleable solids

Leaking pipelines Point/Diffuse Oil, sewage, hydrocarbons

Domestic plumbing Point source – connection P, oxygen-depleting

misconnections of domestic appliances substances, pathogens,
and toilets to rainwater suspended and settleable
drains solids, N
 

More detail on sources of pollution

landfill sites

Landfill sites can be a source of pollution into the aquatic environment through several
mechanisms. Rainfall enters a site while waste is being deposited and, as it passes through the
waste, it collects polluting compounds including ammonia, heavy metals, chloride and
oxygen-depleting substances. Waste itself contains water and this is released during
degradation processes that occur after the landfill has been sealed. The Landfill Directive
requires the quantity of un stabilised organic waste disposed of in landfill to be substantially
reduced in order to reduce the potential for water pollution and the emission of methane,
which is an important greenhouse gas. However, this will take time to be fully effective and
there are many older landfills which will continue to generate leachate for many years.

Modern landfill engineering minimises the amount of water entering a landfill and any
leakage from it. However, this is not the case with older landfills where there may be no
impermeable base liner or capping, enabling water to flow through relatively unrestricted.
Even modern landfills can suffer from leachate problems if the integrity of the liner or
capping has been compromised in some way. Leachate may be treated on site with the
effluent discharged to a neighbouring watercourse, or transported to a sewage treatment
works for treatment. Alternatively leachate may be partially treated on-site and then
discharged to a sewer for further treatment at a sewage treatment works.

Further reading on landfill/waste:

Treatment of landfill leachate:

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/treatment-of-landfill-leachate)

Digest of waste and resource statistics (Defra):

(https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/digest-of-waste-and-resource-statistics-2018-
edition)

Regulating the waste industry: evidence summaries:

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-the-waste-industry-evidence-
summaries)

Contaminated land
Contaminated land is largely an historical legacy from former industrial activity conducted
when there were few, if any, environmental regulations in force. The nature of the
contamination can vary greatly from heavy metals, hydrocarbons to organic chemicals. Water
contamination from these sites occurs largely as a result of rainfall which flushes chemicals,
contaminated sediment and dissolved compounds into nearby streams or into groundwater
beneath a site. Contamination of groundwater and surface waters can also occur where there
is poor storage and handling of chemicals such as solvents or oils, giving rise to spillage.

Further reading on contaminated land:

(https://www.gov.uk/contaminated-land)

(https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/land/contaminated-land/)

(https://www.sepa.org.uk/media/28315/water-pollution-arising-from-land-containing-
chemical-contaminants.pdf)

Progress in management of contaminated sites:

(https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/progress-in-management-of-
contaminated-sites-3/assessment)

Soil contamination (Europe):

(https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/soil-contamination-1)

Mining
The principal source of water contamination from mining is acid mine drainage. Coal and
metal ore seams and their associated rock strata contain pyrite (iron sulphide) which oxidises
on contact with air and in the presence of bacteria to form sulphuric acid. Consequently,
drainage from a mine has very low pH (high acidity) and contains high concentrations of
sulphur, iron and a range of heavy metals such as arsenic and cadmium. This becomes more
prevalent when mines are closed and water, which has previously been prevented from
entering the mine through pumping, is allowed to enter unrestricted. Mine spoil dumps are
also a potential source of similar contamination.
When acid mine drainage enters streams and rivers, the change in pH causes the iron to
precipitate as unsightly ferric hydroxide. This is deposited on streambeds as an orange
sludge, a process which also depletes the water of its oxygen, both of which impact on
fisheries and insect life.

Fish farming
Fish farming is the intensive production of fish in a small area. It may be conducted in
specifically constructed ponds, or in cages in inland lakes and sheltered coastal waters.

Fish farming can have a variety of effects on the marine environment, through the discharge
of nutrients, solid waste, medicines and anti-foulants. Nitrogen and phosphorus from fish
feed released into the marine environment in a soluble form can enhance the growth of
marine plants and algae. Waste feed and faeces from fish farms can collect on the seabed
under fish cages. This increase in organic matter can have an impact on the benthic
environment, affecting the nature and chemistry of sediments, and can reduce the diversity of
animals living there.

Intensive farming of fish may increase the disease pressure due to the close proximity of a
large number of fish. Consequently, a number of medicines are used on fish farms to
maintain fish health. Farmed salmon are susceptible to infestations of parasitic sea lice that
cause considerable stress to fish and economic losses to the industry. Sea lice on farmed fish
can potentially be transferred to wild salmon and sea trout, reducing the health of the wild
stock. Control of sea lice using chemicals may be toxic to marine invertebrates, although the
application of antibiotics to treat bacterial diseases has declined in recent years due to
effective vaccination programmes.

Fish farming is monitored and regulated by the regulatory authorities supported by good
practice guidelines. For example, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Fish Farm
Manual gives guidance on legislation, policy and procedures relevant to the marine cage fish
farming industry in Scotland.

(https://www.sepa.org.uk/regulations/water/aquaculture/fish-farm-manual/)

Further reading on fish farming:

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science

(https://www.cefas.co.uk/)

Scotland’s Aquaculture website

(http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/)

Scottish Environment Protection Agency aquaculture information

(https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/aquaculture/)

Aquaculture in Northern Ireland

(https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/introduction-aquaculture)

Environmental impacts of aquaculture:

(https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/18716/environmentalimpact)
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223645706_Management_of_environmental_
impacts_of_marine_aquaculture_in_Europe)

Road runoff and urban stormwater discharges

Roads, drives and car parks are large runoff-producing areas in the urban environment. This
runoff is often contaminated with sediment, litter, oil and petrol, and with toxic metals from
motor vehicles. Water carrying these contaminants is washed off into drains and directly into
nearby watercourses. Most surface water drains are connected directly to watercourses and
not sewage treatment works, hence any spillage of chemicals will tend to be washed into
rivers.

Combined sewer systems carry both sewage and storm water runoff. Combined sewers are
common in urban areas.  Normally, the entire flow goes to a sewage treatment plant, but
during a heavy rain storm the flow in the sewer may be greater than it can accommodate and
the excess flow has to be diverted to a receiving watercourse via an overflow (referred to as a
Combined Sewer Overflow) to avoid serious flooding of nearby urban areas and at the
treatment works. 

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) are increasingly being adopted to ensure that urban
areas behave more like natural catchments through the use of porous pavement surfaces and
by diverting potentially-polluted water from watercourses. The purpose is to reduce the
potential for pollution caused by direct runoff and to reduce the volume of water flowing in
the drainage network, thereby avoiding flooding and sewer overflows.

For further information see:

(https://www.susdrain.org)

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems Network:

(https://www.abertay.ac.uk/business/services/sudsnet/)

The following website from the USA offers a range of best practice guidance documents on
managing storm water in urban and agricultural situations:

(http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics/Environment/Water-Topics/Storm-and-
Surface-Water-Management/Storm-Surface-Water-Best-Management-Practices.aspx)

Eutrophication – the consequences of nutrient enrichment arising

from both point and diffuse pollution sources

Eutrophication occurs when lakes, reservoirs, rivers and the marine environment become
over-rich in nutrients arising principally from human activities. This can lead to an over-
abundance of algae and aquatic plants. The decay of aquatic plants and nocturnal oxygen
consumption by algae depletes the oxygen dissolved in the water which, under some
circumstances, can adversely affect the aquatic wildlife and fish.

The occurrence and degree of eutrophication can be seasonal. Water levels tend to be lower
in the summer, increasing the concentration of any contaminants in water. The impact of a
point source of nutrients will also tend to be greater when water volumes are lower and rivers
are flowing more slowly, reducing the dilution effect of clean water flowing past the nutrient
source. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water and water temperatures are
higher during the summer months, such that the same concentration of nutrients in water in
summer will have a greater eutrophication effect than during the winter. Eutrophication is not
restricted to freshwater and can occur in transitional waters such as estuaries and salt marshes
as well as in shallow coastal waters where tidal flushing is limited. Eutrophication can also
occur in the sea and is closely linked to red tides.

Excessive plant growth can also increase the pH (alkalinity) of water through the removal of
carbon dioxide by plants and algae during photosynthesis. These changes in the oxygen status
and increased alkalinity of water will affect the type and diversity of plants and animals that
can survive. Many habitats are defined by the prevailing chemistry, such as acidity in peat
bogs or low nutrient status and high alkalinity in rivers flowing in a chalk catchment.
Changes in chemistry will change the nature of those habitats. Equally, changing the physical
nature of a water body, such as by deepening it, by making it more shallow, or by causing
rapid changes in water level through abstraction or use for power generation, will impact on
the plants and animals that can live in the affected river or lake.

Eutrophication can lead to quality problems associated with water abstracted for drinking
water, giving rise to increased treatment costs. It can also have an impact on recreational uses
of rivers and lakes, such as angling and sailing, by affecting the status of fisheries and
reducing the aesthetic quality of the water body. In extreme cases, blooms of toxic algae can
occur.

More information about eutrophication: