POLLUTION

ENVIRONMENTS
Water Pollution
◦ Water pollution was viewed primarily as a
threat to human health because of the
transmission of bacterial and viral waterborne
diseases. In less developed countries, and in
almost any country in time of war,
waterborne diseases remain a major public
health threat.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/plastic-trash-at-sea-ph-indonesia-among-top-contributors
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Pollution

◦ The release of substances into bodies of water that makes water unsafe for human use and
disrupts aquatic ecosystems.
Point Sources Non-point Sources
SOURCES OF
WATER
POLLUTION
◦ Water pollutants are categorized
as point source or nonpoint
source, the former being identified
as all dry weather pollutants that
enter watercourses through pipes
or channels.
◦ Storm drainage, even though the water may enter
watercourses by way of pipes or channels, is
considered nonpoint source pollution. Other
nonpoint source pollution comes from agricultural
runoff, construction sites, and other land
disturbances. Point source pollution comes mainly
from industrial facilities and municipal
wastewater treatment plants.
◦ The range of pollutants is vast, depending only on
what gets “thrown down the drain.”

◦ A tanker dumps untreated faecal sludge in a wheat field.

Photo: Vikas Choudhary
WATER
POLLUTANTS

h t t p s : / / w w w. w a t e r- p o l l u t i o n . o rg . u k / m i c r o bi ol o g i c a l - w a t e r-p o l l u t i o n /
◦ Oxygen demanding substances
◦ compose one of the most important types of pollutants because these materials decompose in the watercourse and can
deplete the water of dissolved oxygen.

◦ Sediments and suspended solids

◦ consists of mostly inorganic material washed into a stream as a result of land cultivation, construction, demolition,
and mining operations.
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSpO7nK1Bak

◦ Nutrients
◦ Phosphorus and nitrogen are also common pollutants in municipal wastewater discharges, even if the wastewater has
received conventional treatment

◦ https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/global-warming-pollution-supersize-the-oceans-oxygen-depleted-dead-zones/
 ◦ Heat
◦ Heated effluents lower the solubility of
oxygen in the water because gas solubility in
water is inversely proportional to temperature,
thereby reducing the amount of dissolved
oxygen available to aerobic (oxygen-
dependent) species
◦ Municipal wastewater
◦ contains high concentrations of organic
carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and may
contain pesticides, toxic chemicals, salts,
inorganic solids (e.g., silt), and pathogenic
bacteria and viruses.
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCgY77y
LqOs
◦ Agricultural wastes
◦ typically high in nutrients (phosphorus and
nitrogen), biodegradable organic carbon,
pesticide residues, and fecal coliform bacteria
(bacteria that normally live in the intestinal
tract of warm-blooded animals and indicate
contamination by animal wastes).
https://tunza.eco-generation.org/ambassadorReportView.jsp?viewID=55693
◦ Pollution from petroleum compounds
◦ effect of oil on birds, fish, and other aquatic organisms is well
cataloged; the subtle effects of oil on aquatic life is not so well
understood and is potentially more harmful.
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nshSoLw0tdI

◦ Acids and buses

◦ from industrial and mining activities can alter the water quality
in a stream or lake to the extent that it kills the aquatic
organisms living there, or prevents them from reproducing

◦ Synthetic organics and pesticides

◦ adversely affect aquatic ecosystems as well as making the
water unusable for human contact or consumption. These
compounds may come from point source industrial effluents or
from nonpoint source agricultural and urban runoff.
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Categories
Groundwater is the
water found underground
in the cracks and spaces
in soil, sand and rock.

Covering about 70 percent

of the earth, surface
water is what fills our
oceans, lakes, rivers, and
all those other blue bits on
the world map
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Contamination

“There are many sources of water

contamination, including naturally occurring
chemicals and minerals (for example, arsenic,
radon, uranium), local land use practices
(fertilizers, pesticides, concentrated feeding
operations), manufacturing processes, and
sewer overflows or wastewater releases”
EFFECT OF
POLLUTION ON
STREAMS
◦ One of the most common types of stream pollutants is
the introduction of biodegradable organic material.
When a high-energy organic material such as raw
sewage is discharged into a stream, a number of changes
occur downstream from the point of discharge.

◦ As the organic components of the sewage are oxidized,

oxygen is used at a rate greater than that upstream from
the sewage discharge, and the dissolved oxygen in the
stream decreases markedly.

http://wessayre.co.za/news/the-stream-that-sees-it-all/
 EFFECT OF
POLLUTION ON
LAKES
◦ Water movement in lakes is slower than in streams, so
reaeration is more of a problem in lakes than streams.
Because of the slow movement of water in a lake,
sediments, and pollutants bound to sediments, tend to
settle out of the water column rather than being
transported downstream.
◦ Light and temperature have important influences on a
lake, and must be included in any limnological analysis
(limnology is the study of lakes).

https://starlocalmedia.com/rowlettlakeshoretimes/lake-ray-hubbard-pollution-a-concern/article_a0782244-0f80-11e5-911d-
ff5e8c0f4b45.html
https://www.co.carver.mn.us/Home/Components/News/News/3283/
 EFFECT OF POLLUTION ON
GROUNDWATER
◦ A popular misconception is that all water that moves through the soil will be
purified “naturally” and will emerge from the ground in a pristine condition.
◦ Unfortunately, there are limits to what soil can remove, and groundwater
pollution is becoming an increasing concern throughout the world.
◦ In agricultural regions, the nitrogen and other soluble chemicals in fertilizers
or animal wastes can seep into the groundwater and show up in alarmingly
high concentrations in local drinking water wells.
◦ The agricultural community is becoming more aware of the connection
between agricultural practices and groundwater pollution.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-major-sources-of-groundwater-contamination.html
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Contamination

Agricultural
Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and
animal waste from farms and livestock
operations wash nutrients and pathogens—
such bacteria and viruses—into our
waterways.

Source: Water pollution from agriculture: a global

review
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Contamination
2015
Sewage and Wastewater
Used water is wastewater. It comes from our 7M open
defecation

19M
unimproved sanitation
sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) facilities
and from commercial, industrial, and
agricultural activities (think metals, solvents,
and toxic sludge).
At least 90%
without access to
a sewerage system
Source: WHO, 2017
 ◦ Other potential sources of groundwater pollution include leaking

EFFECT OF POLLUTION underground storage tanks, solid waste landfills, improperly stored
hazardous waste, careless disposal of solvents and hazardous
ON GROUNDWATER chemicals on ground surfaces.

◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0wn_LdEN2A

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351975773/figure/fig4/AS:1028970661298178@1622337131822/llustration-of-landfill-leachate-with-improper-lining-no-lining-mobilization-in.png
EFFECT OF POLLUTION ON OCEANS

◦ Not many years ago, the oceans were considered infinite sinks; the immensity
of the seas and oceans seemed impervious to assault. Now we know that the
seas and oceans are fragile environments, and we are able to measure
detrimental effects.
WATER ENVIRONMENT The oil spill in the
Philippines reaches
Water Contamination the coast of Sitio
Nauway Island,
Guimaras, the
Oil Pollution Philippines.
© Neal Oshima
Big spills may dominate headlines, but
consumers account for the vast majority of
oil pollution in our seas, including oil and
gasoline that drips from millions of cars and
trucks every day
WATER ENVIRONMENT
Water Contamination

Oil Pollution
1. Natural Seeps 2. Oil Drip 3. Recreational Boats

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Google Images Google Images

HEAVY METALS
AND TOXIC
SUBSTANCES
◦ The manufacture of chlorine and lye from brine, called the
chlor-alkali process, was identified as a major source of
mercury contamination.
◦ Elemental mercury is methylated by aquatic organisms
(usually anaerobic bacteria), and methylated mercury finds
its way into fish and shellfish and thus into the human food
chain.
◦ Methylmercury is a powerful neurological poison.
Methylmercury poisoning was first identified in Japan in
the 1950s as “Minamata disease.” Mercury-containing
effluent from the Minamata Chemical Company was found
to be the source of mercury in food fish.
◦ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ZA8ZrK3U4
 HEAVY METALS AND
TOXIC SUBSTANCES
◦ Arsenic, copper, lead, and cadmium are often
deposited in lakes and streams from the air near
emitting facilities. These substances may also
enter waterways from runoff from slag piles,
mine drainage, and industrial effluent.
◦ Effluents from electroplating contain a number of
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/15/heavy-metals-and-dangerous- heavy metal constituents. Heavy metals, copper
chemicals-still-poisoning-europes-seas
in particular, may be toxic to aquatic species as
well as harmful to human health.
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Leading Causes of Death 2019 (globally)

Diarrhoea is usually a symptom of an

infection in the intestinal tract, which can
be caused by a variety of bacterial, viral
and parasitic organisms.
◦ Water pollution stems from many sources and
causes, only a few of which are discussed
here. Rivers and streams demonstrate some
capacity to recover from the effects of certain
pollutants, but lakes, bays, ponds, sluggish
rivers, and oceans have little resistance to the
effects of water pollution.
◦ We have a long history of introducing
pollutants into aquatic environments and have
had only partial success at repairing the
damage that has already been done and
curbing the activities that result in
environmental degradation.
◦ Nonpoint source pollution continues to
be a serious threat to receiving waters,
as does the continued release of sewage
and industrial effluents throughout the
world.
◦ As we have seen with mercury
contamination in fishes, environmental
pollution can have widespread and
lasting consequences.
REFERENCES
◦ https://www.britannica.com/science/water-pollution

◦ https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know

◦ https://www.who.int/philippines/news/feature-stories/detail/many-at-risk-of-contracting-diseases-from-the-poorly-managed-wastewate
r-of-26-million-filipinos

◦ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140325-texas-pollution-oil-spills-animals-science

◦ https://www.plasticcollectors.com/blog/water-pollution-solutions/

◦ https://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Effects_of_Water_Pollution