ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Technology, Environment & Society

Course Title: WATER POLLUTION
Course code: Hum 4249
Teacher’s name: Benadjih Oiriddine Abdou
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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Objectives
At the end of this topic, students should be able to:
Define the following
Water resources,
Water Pollution,
Explain the causes of water pollution,
Analyze the effect of water pollution, and
Explicate some of the techniques used for preventing water pollution

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Introduction
Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful.
Uses of water include agricultural, industrial, household, recreation, and other
environmental activities.
All living things require water to grow and reproduce.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Sources of water
Where does our water come from?
How is it treated?
How do we know it is safe to drink?
To answer these questions, it's important to go back to the basics.
There are two main sources of water:

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Major Compartment of Water

Where are the storage places or reservoirs for the Earth's water?
Oceans, rivers, glaciers, aquifers/ground water, atmosphere, and biosphere.
Oceans are the largest reservoir.
Frozen hydrosphere is the largest reservoir of fresh water, but ground water is the
largest AVAILABLE source of fresh water.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

What Is Water Pollution?

Water pollution occurs when harmful substances often chemicals or microorganisms
contaminate
A stream,
River,
Lake,
Ocean,
Aquifer, or
Any other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the
environment.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Water pollution causes

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution.
Known as a “universal solvent”. Water is able to dissolve more substances than
any other liquid on earth.
It’s for that reason that water is so easily polluted.
Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix
with it, causing water pollution.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Sewage and Wastewater

Inadequate sewage collection and treatment are sources of water pollution.
According to the United Nations, more than 80% of the worldwide wastewater
goes back in the environment without being treated or reused.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Urbanization and Deforestation

Even though it does not have a direct impact on water quality, urbanization and
deforestation have a lot of indirect effects.
For instance, cutting down trees and concreting over large areas generates an
acceleration of flows which does not give enough time for water to infiltrate and
be purified by the ground.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Agriculture
Agriculture has an impact on water pollution due to the use of chemicals such as
Fertilizers,
Pesticides,
Fungicides,
Herbicides or
Insecticides running off in the water, as well as livestock excrement, manure and methane
(greenhouse effect).
Regarding aquaculture, pollution is directly in the water.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Industries
Industries produce a lot of waste containing toxic chemicals and pollutants.
A huge amount of the industrial waste is drained in the fresh water which then
flows into canals, rivers and eventually in the sea.
Another source of water pollution is the burning of fossil fuels, causing air
pollution like acid rain which then flows to streams, lakes, and other stretches of
water.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Marine Dumping
Every day, garbage such as plastic, paper, aluminum, food, glass, or rubber are
deposited into the sea.
These items take from weeks to hundreds of years to decompose, and thus they
are a major cause for water pollution.
Radioactive Waste
Generated - among others - by power plants and uranium mining, radioactive
waste can linger in the environment for thousands of years.
When these substances are released accidentally or disposed improperly, they
threaten groundwater, surface water, as well as marine resources.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Categories of Water Pollution

There are generally two categories of water pollution. They include:
Point source of pollution
Nonpoint source of pollution

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Point source
When contamination originates from a single source, it’s called point source pollution.
Examples include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a:
Manufacturer,
Oil refinery, or
Wastewater treatment facility,
As well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and
illegal dumping.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Nonpoint source
Nonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources.
These may include agricultural or storm water runoff or debris blown into
waterways from land. 

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Water Pollutants
Many different chemicals are regarded as pollutants, ranging from simple
inorganic ions to complex organic molecules.
The water pollutants are all divided up into various classes.
Every class of pollutants has its own specific ways of entering the environment
and its own specific dangers.
All classes have major pollutants in it that are known to many people, because of
the various health effects.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Biological pollutants
Biological pollutants are substances in our environment which come from living
organisms and can affect our health.
They include things such as pollen from trees and plants, insects or insect parts,
certain fungi, some bacteria and viruses, and even animal hair, animal skin scales,
saliva, and urine.
Infectious agents
Infectious agents is a term that is generally used to describe and encompass any
material that can cause an infection that can lead to a disease.
These types of materials are largely bacterial but also largely comprised of Viral,
Fungal, Parasites, etc.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Organic Chemicals
Organic materials are things like petroleum, insecticides and herbicides, detergents,
disinfecting cleaners, and prescription drugs.
One of the most frequently detected highly toxic organic chemicals is methyl tert-butyl
ether (MTBE).
Inorganic Pollutants
Inorganic materials include things like ammonia, chemical waste, fertilizers, and heavy
metals.
Heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, copper, chromium, zinc and barium — though
harmless in very small amounts, act as pollutants when they end up concentrated in
water.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Sediments
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of
weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water,
or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles.
Thermal Pollution
Thermal pollution is the rise or fall in the temperature of a natural body of water
caused by human influence.
A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants
and industrial manufacturers.
It can also be caused by the release of very cold water from the base of reservoirs into
warmer rivers.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Types of water pollution

The second most prevalent kind of pollution after contaminated air, water
pollution afflicts our rivers, lakes, reservoirs, groundwater and aquifers – not to
mention the seas and oceans which cover the majority of our planet.
Surface water pollution
Referring to all water sources above ground, such as rivers, lakes, seas and oceans,
surface water pollution can occur naturally, accidentally and intentionally.
Groundwater pollution
It refers to the pollution of waters that exist underground.
Agriculture is a key source of water pollution, especially for groundwater.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Effects of water pollution

ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Water pollution truly harms biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems.
The toxic chemicals can change the color of water and increase the amount of
minerals - also known as eutrophication - which has a bad impact on life in water.
Thermal pollution, defined by a rise in the temperature of water bodies,
contributes to global warming and causes serious hazard to water organisms.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Effects of water pollution

ON HUMAN HEALTH
Water pollution has very negative effects on public health.
A lot of diseases result from drinking or being in contact with contaminated
water, such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery or skin infections.
In zones where there is no available drinking water, the main risk is dehydration
obviously.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Water Pollution Control

How to solve water pollution?
How can water pollution be prevented?
Here’s a list of water pollution solutions:
Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment consists of removing pollutants from wastewater through
a physical, chemical or biological process.
The more efficient these processes are, the cleaner the water becomes.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Green agriculture
Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of water resources, so it is essential to have
climate-friendly crops, efficient irrigation that reduces the need for water and
energy-efficient food production.
Green agriculture is also crucial to limit the chemicals that enter the water.
Storm water management
Storm water management is “the effort to reduce runoff of rainwater or melted
snow into streets, lawns and other sites and the improvement of water quality”.
It is important to avoid pollutants from contaminating the water and helps to use
water more efficiently.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Air pollution prevention

Air pollution has a direct impact on water contamination as 25% of human
induced CO2 emissions are absorbed by oceans.
This pollution causes a rapid acidification of our oceans, and threatens marine life
and corals.
Preventing air pollution is the best way to prevent this from happening.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Water conservation
Without water conservation, we won’t go very far.
It is central in making sure the world has better access to clean water.
It means being aware that water is a scarce resource, taking care of it accordingly,
and managing it responsibly.
Plastic waste reduction
80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources.
In order to reduce the amount of plastic entering our ocean, we need to both
reduce our use of plastic globally, and to improve plastic waste management
through recycling and other methods.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

Municipal wastewater treatment

In urban areas of developed countries, municipal wastewater (or sewage) is
typically treated by centralized sewage treatment plants.
Well-designed and operated systems can remove 90 percent or more of the
pollutant load in sewage. 
Some plants have additional systems to remove nutrients and pathogens, but
these more advanced treatment steps get progressively more expensive.

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 ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
A subsidiary organ of Organization of Islamic Cooperation

THE END

ANY QUESTIONS

THANK YOU
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