WATER POLLUTION

IMPORTANCE OF WATER
• After air, water is essential for sustenance of every living body.
• Almost all kinds of reactions taking place on the earth are dependent
on water in one form or the other.
• One fourth of our earth is the land while the remaining three fourth is
covered by water.
• The total water distribution is as under
- Ocean = 97. 3 % - Fresh water = 2.7 %
• Approximate distribution of fresh water on and around the earth
• Water held in ice cap and glaciers = 72.20 %
• Underground water and soil moisture = 22.40 %
• Rivers = 05.00 %
• Lakes and swamps = 00.35 %
• Atmosphere = 00.04 %
• Stream channels = 00.01 %
WHO STANDARDS FOR DRINKING
WATER
 WATER RESOURCES
• Water occurs as a solid, liquid and gas
• Amount of water is fixed
• The places where water resides are called Reservoirs
• Water constantly moves from one reservoir to another
 WATER POLLUTION
• Degradation of water quality that adversely affect living
organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses.
• The water pollution can be classified into
• Biological Pollution
• Chemical Pollution
• Physical Pollution

Hence, water is said to be polluted, whose

“Natural quality and characteristics are altered
or degraded with foreign substances such as
physical, chemical, biological etc. so that it
becomes unfit for human consumption”
WATER POLLUTION
WATER POLLUTION SOURCES
• Point Source
• Single large source
• Sewage pipes
• Can localize it to one spot
• Industrial Plants
• Gasoline storage
• Non-point Source
• Diffuse source or many
smaller point sources
• Automobiles
• Fertilizer on fields
WATER POLLUTION SOURCES
 Non-Point Source Pollutants
• Excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural
lands and residential areas.
• Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy
production.
• Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and
forest lands, and eroding stream banks.
• Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned
mines.
• Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty
septic systems.
• Atmospheric deposition are also sources of non-point source
pollution.
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
• This type of pollution changes physical properties of water such as:
• Color
• Taste and Odor
• Turbidity (finely divided suspended matter, colloidal mater, oxidized salts
of iron and manganese, sewage and industrial water cause turbidity
pollution of water). For example:
• Muddy appearance of liquid.
• Liquid clouded with suspended particles.
• Suspended solids and silt contents
• Temperature
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
• This type of pollution includes chemical properties or characteristics of
water such as:
• Acids
• Alkalis
• Gases
• Inorganic substances including salts
• Toxic inorganic compounds
• Foam
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
This type of pollution is due to the presence of micro-organisms and a
number of dangerous organic matters in the water. Micro-organisms
which are generally found in the polluted water are as under:
• Bacteria (unicellular organisms, which are widely distributed in nature)
• Virus (ultra-microscopic, obligate intra-cellular parasites of both plants
and animals)
• Fungi (types of plants, mostly hair like threads,: one unicellular types is
called yeast)
• Algae (unicellular, multicellular water plants forming colonies)
• Protozoa (unicellular animals)
• Worms (round worms or nematodes etc.)
What determines the impact of Exposure?
• Length of, period of, time of exposure
• Concentration - dose
• Recurrence – is contact repeated
• Frequency of recurrence – daily/yearly
• Life cycle sensitivity differences - infant/adult
• Physical condition of victim – robust/sickly
• Presence of other hazards - synergism
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
Color
FACTORS
• Color of water is an important factor for measuring its physical
pollution.
• Color varies with the source that causes water pollution. For instance
water color of River Chenab is different than that of River Indus
probably due to the water course it adopts through particular rocks
and land that add suspended solids.
• Likewise, various colors are discharged into water from tanneries,
textile dyeing and other industries.
• These all variations may be termed as ‘Color pollution’.
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
Taste and Odor
FACTORS
• With increasing water pollution, taste and odor of water is also
changed.
• Industrial wastes containing strong smelling chemical compounds are
discharged into rivers and streams, their taste and odor is affected
adversely.
• Some odorous substances may also be produced by algae.
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
Temperature
FACTORS
• Temperature of polluted water also varies with the type of pollution in
water.
• Hot or warm water from thermal power stations and certain other
industries when discharged in rivers increases temperature of water.
• It may be noted that at high temperature, the growth of living
organisms is increased, which require more BOD thus decreases
dissolved oxygen of water.
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
Turbidity
FACTORS
• Turbidity means muddy or opaque, as liquid clouded with a
suspension of particles.
• This is a phenomenon in which finely divided suspended matter,
colloidal matter, oxidized salts of iron and manganese, sewage and
some industrial wastes cause turbidity in the polluted water.
• Suspended solids from inorganic or organic sources also cause
pollution of water. Suspended solids are usually added into water from
wastes of various industries, hospitals, municipals and restaurants etc.
 PHYSICAL WATER POLLUTION
Foam
FACTORS
• Foam is defined as a mass of small bubbles of gas formed on the
surface of a liquid, such as the froth produced by a solution of soap or
detergent in water.
• The foam may be produced by the activities of micro-organisms in
liquid materials or suspended chemicals.
• Water containing foam pollution is considered as totally unfit for
human consumption because this may either carry suspended
chemical compounds or suspended pathogenic bacteria
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
Acids
FACTORS
• Acids are generally released directly or as by-products of certain
industrial processes.
• Leather tanning, metal smelting and plating, petroleum distillation and
organic chemical synthesis e.g. pesticide factories, fertilizer factories
and batter industries and explosive factories mostly discharge one or
other acids into the rivers or oceans and hence causes acid pollution.
• pH of water decreases and causes corrosion of metal, concrete
structures besides adverse effects to aquatic ecosystems including
fish.
• Higher acidity may limit aquatic life to a few resistant species of
mosses and fungi.
• High acidity may cause leaching of toxic metals especially aluminum
from soil and rocks, making water unfit for drinking or irrigation
purpose.
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
Alkalis
FACTORS
• Alkalis are discharged from certain industries in the water bodies. It
results alkali pollution.
• It alters pH of streams, and rivers resulting in the breakage of natural
buffer system.
• Alkali pollution has similar effects as that of acid pollution and
destroys populations of bacteria, other micro-organism and fish.
• In fish, it causes asphyxiation through coagulation of gill secretions.
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
Heavy Metals
FACTORS
• Many metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium and nickel are highly
toxic. Levels in microgram range can be fatal.
• As the metals are highly persistent, they accumulate in food chains
and produce cumulative effect on humans and animals.
• Heavy metals released as a result of human activities are concentrated
by hydrological and biological processes so that they become
hazardous to both natural ecosystems and human health.
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
Non-Metallic Salts
FACTORS
• Desert soils often contain high concentration of soluble salts including
toxic selenium and arsenic. When water evaporates from such soils,
nonmetallic salts are left in increasing concentrations. Such salts as
sodium chloride (table salt) that are non-toxic at low concentrations
can be mobilized by irrigation and concentrated by evaporation,
reaching levels that are toxic for animals and plants. For instance:
• Salt levels in San Joaquin River in California rose from 0.28 g/L in 1930 to 0.45
g/L in 1970 due to agricultural runoff.
• Salinity levels in the Colorado River and surrounding farm fields have so
increased in recent years that millions of hectares of valuable cropland had be
abandoned.
 CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTION
FACTORS
Toxic Organic Compounds
• Thousands of different natural and synthetic organic chemicals are
used in the chemical industry to make pesticides, fertilizers,
pharmaceuticals, plastics, and pigments etc. that are used by human
in everyday life.
• Many of these chemicals are highly toxic to human even at very low
concentrations as they cause cancer, genetic disorders and birth
defects.
• They also can persists in the environment as they are resistant to
degradation and toxic to organisms when ingested. Contamination of
surface waters and ground water by such organic compounds has
posed a serious threat to human health.
• Runoff of pesticides from farm fields where used on large scale. Much
of this material washes into the nearest waterway to pollute surface
and underground water.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
Bacteria
FACTORS
• Bacteria are a large group of unicellular micro-organisms. They are
widely distributed in nature and many of them cause diseases. Their
size generally varies from 1 to 2 µm.
• One drop of water may contain billions of bacilli bacteria. The mass of
2x1012 million bacteria can be only one gram.
• Bacteria are unable to synthesize their food and hence depend mainly
on the organic matter whether living or dead.
• Bacteria may be either beneficial e.g. saprophytic bacteria or harmful
or pathogenic to human being.
• Cholera, diarrhea, gastroenteritis, dysentery, typhoid fever are
common and severe diseases that are transmitted by certain
pathogenic bacteria in the polluted water.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
Virus
FACTORS
• Virus is a group of sub-microscopic entities, consisting of a single
nucleic acid, surrounded by a protein coat and capable of replication
only within the cells of animals and plants.
• Viruses are obligate intra-cellular parasites. Viruses are infectious
agents and cause diseases in human, animals and plants.
• The most common viruses that spread diseases in man include
Polioviruses, Enteroviruses and Adenoviruses.
• Polluted water from municipal wastes and hospital wastes generally
contain viruses, which cause fatal viral diseases such as polio, hepatitis
etc.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
Fungi
FACTORS
• They are a group of organisms, formerly classified as plants that lack
chlorophyll, leaves, true stems, roots, reproduces by spores and lives
as a saprophyte or parasite.
• Fungi are unicellular type of plants called as yeast, and form mostly
hair like threads.
• Yeast is normally grown to give valuable products such as alcohol and
acetone.
• Fungi that are used to produce anti-biotic are called as molds.
• Some fungi destroy organic matter, plants, and animals, while certain
other fungi are used especially in industries and sanitation.
• Some fungi are harmful and can cause disease in human when
polluted water containing harmful fungi is consumed.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
Algae
FACTORS
• They are unicellular or multicellular plants, occurring in water or moist
ground that has chlorophyll but lack true stems, roots and leaves.
• The most common types are green algae and diatoms. Other types
occur in water are called blue-green algae. They generally grow in
fresh water, salt water, soil and also on rocks.
• Higher concentration of green algae gives nasturtium odor. Poison of
algae in water generally causes liver cirrhosis.
Protozoa
• Protozoa are minute, unicellular invertebrate animal organisms and
are generally hundreds of times greater than bacteria.
• There are various types of protozoa such as amoeboid, flagella and
ciliate protozoa.
• Some protozoa cause malaria, anemia and other diseases.
 BIOLOGICAL WATER POLLUTION
FACTORS
Round Worms or Nematodes
• Round worms or nematodes have a tough outer cuticle e.g. hookworm
and filarial.
• Rounded thread like body and normally narrow at both ends.
• Nematodes are widely distributed in the nature. They are found in
freshwater, sea, in soils, on plants and even parasitize on the animals.
• Free living aquatic nematodes are mostly benthonic organisms and are
closely connected with underground vegetation or live in the soil.
• Filariasis is caused by filarial nematodes.
 Measurement of Water pollution
Quality of water pollution can be measured through:
• Physical examination of water
• Chemical examination of water
• Biological examination of water
 Physical examination of water
Physical examination of water can be observed on the following basis:
• Color
• Odor and taste
• Temperature
• Turbidity
 Chemical examination of water
Chemical examination of water can be undertaken on the following
basis:
• Hardness of water (calcium carbonate prevents leathering of soap)
• Chlorides (mixing of saline water and foul liquid material in water)
• Nitrogen (organic matters in water)
• pH of water
• Oxygen
• BOD or biological oxygen demand
• COD or chemical oxygen demand
• DO or dissolved oxygen
 Chemical examination of water
• BOD or biological oxygen demand
• The amount of oxygen used for biochemical oxidation by micro-organisms
in a unit volume water. In other words BOD is a measure of the amount of
oxygen required by bacteria and other micro-organisms to cause the
decomposition of certain organic and inorganic matter in the water for 5
days at 200C. It is a measure of “degree of water pollution”.
• For excellent drinking water, 5 day BOD at 200C on monthly average should
be in the range of 0.75 to 1.5 mg of O2/lit of H2O. On the other hand, strong
sewage has BOD of several hundred of O2/lit of H2O.
• The greater the BOD, the less desirable the water is for human use. The
more the pollution, the greater the BOD.
• COD or Chemical oxygen demand
• It is the amount of oxygen required by organic compounds in a water
sample for its oxidation by a strong chemical oxidant.
• COD are usually expressed in terms of the amount of oxygen needed to
oxidize the contaminants. Wastes from industries such as textiles and paper
mills etc. With high levels of cellulose have COD values higher than BOD
values.
 Chemical examination of water
• Dissolved oxygen
It is normally abbreviated as DO and is defined by various
Scientists as under:
• “A measure of the amount of oxygen available for biochemical
activity in a given amount of water. DO decreases with the
increase of wastes discharged into water” (Rizvi, 1994)
• “Amount oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water at a given
temperature and atmospheric pressure and is usually expressed as
ppm” (Cunningham and Saigo, 1995).
 Biological examination of water
As mentioned above, drinking water should be free from micro-
organisms, as their presence indicates water pollution.
• There are many methods to determine the presence of bacteria in the
water as under:
• Presumptive test: It is initial method just to detect presence of bacteria.
• Confirmative Test: It is a method to confirm presence of bacteria.
• Total Count of Bacteria and Most Probable Number (MPN): These are the
methods to count number of bacteria in a sample of polluted or unpolluted
water.
Nature, Sources and effects of water pollution
There are several sources of water pollutants or causes which are
responsible for water pollution. However the important ones are given
as under:
• Industrial Wastes (Industrial Water Pollution)
• Sewage of Cities and Towns (Domestic or Municipal Water Pollution)
• Agricultural Wastes (Agricultural Water Pollution)
• Nuclear and Thermal Wastes (Nuclear and Thermal Water Pollution)
• Shipping Wastes (Shipping Water Pollution)
• Miscellaneous Pollution Sources (any other Water Pollution)
 Effects of water pollution
Drinking Water
Water pollution adversely affects the taste and smell of drinking water
hence it becomes unfit for human consumption. Bad odor is generally
produced due to large number of nitrogen-containing substances.
Similarly industrial waste water containing iron, manganese and phenol
etc. produce characteristic smell and taste.
Human Diseases
Different pathogenic micro-organisms including bacteria, fungi, algae,
protozoa, viruses and protozoa are responsible for spread of several
human diseases such as:
• Hepatitis (Jaundice) is caused by virus
• Typhoid is caused by bacteria
• Cholera is caused by bacteria
• Diarrhea is caused by bacteria
• Amoebic dysentery caused by protozoa
 Effects of water pollution
Oxygen Depletion
Petroleum and other oil refineries add a lot of oil into river and sea
which cause oxygen depletion in water. This results in the destruction of
animal life through affecting respiration process and aquatic plant life
through inhibited photosynthetic activity.
Toxic substances including Heavy Metals
Toxic substances including various hazardous chemicals coming from
pesticide and fertilizer plants, acid, alkali and other chemical industries
etc. Some of the heavy metals are highly toxic to human health and
heave shown several secondary effects such as mutagenic,
teratogenicity and/ or carcinogenic effects.
 Effects of water pollution
Toxic Heavy Metals
• Mercury (Hg: Minimata disease was found in Japan following consumption of
mercury contaminated fish )
• Cadmium (CD: can damage kidney, lungs and bones etc.)
• Lead (Pb can cause brain damage which is serious consequence of well-known
plumpish disease)
• Arsenic (carcinogenic)
• Chromium (carcinogenic)
• Zinc (Zn: Zinc Chloride is very toxic and high concentration of its fumes can
cause death)
• Manganese (Mn can cause cramps, tremors, manganese pneumonia and renal
degeneration etc.)
• Nickel (Ni can cause physiological disturbances in leaves of plants. In animal, can
cause dermatitis and respiratory disorders including lung cancer).
 Water pollution control
There is not any single method to control water pollution, but
we have to integrate ad adopt several methods in order to
improve quality of water to make it fit for drinking and
irrigation purposes. Some of the important method to control
water pollution are as under:
• Self-purification of water (to allow settling of organic and
inorganic matters etc. through storage in lakes & Reservoirs)
• Purification with treatment plants
• Enforcement of Standards to protects water resources:
• For industrialists
• For Municipal Corporations