World Water Day 22 March, 2017

World Water Day

World Water Day, on 22 March every year, is about taking action to tackle the water crisis. Today, 1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio.

Today we should remember the importance of water and take an oath to save drinking water available on earth and find the ways to increase the amount of it.

Effects of water pollution

You will notice in the previous pages that water pollution is very harmful to humans, animals and water life. The effects can be catastrophic, depending on the kind of chemicals, concentrations of the pollutants and where there are polluted. Below, we shall see a summary of the effects of water pollution.

The effects of water pollution are varied and depend on what chemicals are dumped and in which locations.

Many water bodies near urban areas (cities and towns) are highly polluted. This is the result of both garbage dumped by individuals and dangerous chemicals legally or illegally dumped by manufacturing industries, health centers, schools and market places.

Death of aquatic (water) animals

The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills organisms that depend on these water bodies. Dead fish, crabs, birds and sea gulls, dolphins, and many other animals often wind up on beaches, killed by pollutants in their habitat (living environment).

Industrial Causes of Water Pollution

Industrial Causes of Water Pollution:

Industrial waste
Industries cause huge water pollution with their activities. These come mainly from:

Sulphur – This is a non-metallic substance that is harmful to marine life.

Asbestos – This pollutant has cancer-causing properties. When inhaled, it can cause illnesses such as asbestosis and some types of cancer.

Lead and Mercury – These are metallic elements and can cause environmental and health problems for humans and animals. It is also poisonous. It is usually very hard to clean it up from the environment once it gets into it because it is non-biodegradable.

Nitrates & Phosphates– These are found in fertilizers, and are often washed from the soils to nearby water bodies. They can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.

Oils – Oils form a thick layer on the water surface because they do not dissolve in water. This can stop marine plants receiving enough light for photosynthesis. It is also harmful to fish and marine birds. A classic example is the BP oil spill in 2012 with killed thousands of animal species.

Oil Pollution by Oil Industries
Routine shipping, run-offs and dumping of oils on the ocean surfaces happen every day. Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. Oil spills cause major problems, and can be extremely harmful to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters and other aquatic life. Because oil does not dissolve, it stays on the water surface and suffocates fish. Oil also gets caught in the feathers of seabirds, making it difficult for them to fly. Some animals die as a result.

References:

http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/industrial-causes-of-water-pollution.html

Types of Water Pollution

Types of water pollution

There are many types of water pollution because water comes from many sources. Here are a few types of water pollution:

1. Nutrients Pollution
Some wastewater, fertilizers and sewage contain high levels of nutrients. If they end up in water bodies, they encourage algae and weed growth in the water. This will make the water undrinkable, and even clog filters. Too much algae will also use up all the oxygen in the water, and other water organisms in the water will die out of oxygen starvation.

2. Surface water pollution
Surface water includes natural water found on the earth's surface, like rivers, lakes, lagoons and oceans. Hazardous substances coming into contact with this surface water, dissolving or mixing physically with the water can be called surface water pollution.

3. Oxygen Depleting
Water bodies have micro-organisms. These include aerobic and anaerobic organisms. When too much biodegradable matter (things that easily decay) end up in water, it encourages more microorganism growth, and they use up more oxygen in the water. If oxygen is depleted, aerobic organisms die, and anaerobic organisms grow more to produce harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.

4. Ground water pollution
When humans apply pesticides and chemicals to soils, they are washed deep into the ground by rainwater. This gets to underground water, causing pollution underground.

This means when we dig wells and bore holes to get water from underground, it needs to be checked for ground water pollution.

5. Microbiological
In many communities in the world, people drink untreated water (straight from a river or stream). Sometimes there is natural pollution caused by microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and protozoa. This natural pollution can cause fishes and other water life to die. They can also cause serious illness to humans who drink from such waters.

6. Suspended Matter
Some pollutants (substances, particles and chemicals) do not easily dissolve in water. This kind of material is called particulate matter. Some suspended pollutants later settle under the water body. This can harm and even kill aquatic organisms that live at the bottom of water bodies.

7. Chemical Water Pollution
Many industries and farmers work with chemicals that end up in water. This is common with Point-source Pollution. These include chemicals that are used to control weeds, insects and pests. Metals and solvents from industries can pollute water bodies. These are poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their development, make them infertile and kill them.

8. Oil Spillage
Oil spills usually have only a localized effect on wildlife but can spread for miles. The oil can cause the death to many fish and get stuck to the feathers of seabirds causing them to lose their ability to fly. 

References:

http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/types-of-water-pollution.html

Causes of Water Pollution

Water Pollution:

Water Pollution

Water they say is life, and indeed they were right. With about 70% of the earth’s cover being water, it undeniably becomes one of our greatest resources. As young students, we learned about the various ways to conserve water; coming to think of it, water is used in almost every important human chores and processes. It is an important element in both domestic as well as industrial purposes. However, a closer inspection of our water resources today, give us a rude shock.

Infested with waste ranging from floating plastic bags to chemical waste, our water bodies have turned into a pool of poison. The contamination of water bodies in simplest words means water pollution. Thereby the abuse of lakes, ponds, oceans, rivers, reservoirs etc is water pollution. Pollution of water occurs when substances that will modify the water in negative fashion are discharged in it. This discharge of pollutants can be direct as well as indirect.

Causes of Water Pollution:

Sewage and waste water

Sewage and Waste Water

Every day, we cook, do laundry, flush the toilet, wash our cars, shower and do many things that use water. Think about how we use water in schools, hospitals and public places. 

Where do you think all the water, liquid waste, poop and urine end up? In many developed communities, wastewater and soluble waste (called sewage) is treated, cleaned and dumped into the sea or river. Even though they are treated, they are never the same as fresh water. 

In some not-so-developed countries, the sewage is not treated but quickly dumped into the sea or water bodies. This is VERY dangerous because they contaminate the environment and water bodies and bring many deadly diseases to us.

Septic Tanks

Every domestic (home) toilet is connected to septic tank usually located outside the house. Each time poop is flushed down the toilet, it goes into this tank, where the solid part is separated from the liquid part. Biological processes are used to break down the solids and the liquid is usually drained out into a land drainage system. From this stage, it can escape into the soil and nearby water bodies.

Ocean and marine dumping

Dumping

Again, think of the rubbish we all make each day. Paper waste, food waste, plastic, rubber, metallic and aluminum waste. In some countries, they are deposited into the sea. These waste types take some time to decompose. For example, it is known that paper takes about 6 weeks, aluminum takes about 200 years and glass takes even more years. When these end up in the sea, they harm sea animals and cause a lot of water animal deaths.

Underground storage and tube leakages
Many liquid products (petroleum products) are stored in metal and steel tubes underground. Other sewage systems run in underground tubes. Over time, they rust and begin to leak. If that happens, they contaminate the soils, and the liquids in them end up in many nearby water bodies.

Atmospheric
Atmospheric deposition is the pollution of water bodies caused by air pollution. Each time the air is polluted with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, they mix with water particles in the air and form a toxic substance. This falls as acid rain to the ground and gets washed into water bodies. The result is that water bodies also get contaminated and this affects animals and water organisms.

References:

http://eschooltoday.com/pollution/water-pollution/causes-of-water-pollution.html

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sources-and-causes-of-water-pollution.php

Types of Pollution

Different types of pollution is based on the sources and part of environment which get polluted and have measurable effect on the living species on the earth.

The main types of Pollution are:

• Water Pollution 
• Air Pollution
• Soil/land Pollution
• Thermal Pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Radioactive Pollution
• Light Pollution

Water Pollution

Water Pollution is the pollution water bodies like oceans, rivers, lakes etc. Various aquatic species depends on these water bodies and life of these species are at risk due to the pollution.

Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution.

Air Pollution



Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth's atmosphere. It may cause diseases, allergies or death in humans; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops, and may damage the natural or built environment.

Smog hanging over cities is the most familiar and obvious form of air pollution. But there are different kinds of pollution—some visible, some invisible—that contribute to global warming. Generally any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered air pollution.

Soil/Land Pollution



Soil contamination or soil pollution as part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals, or improper disposal of waste.
Land pollution means degradation or destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly or indirectly as a result of human activities. Anthropogenic activities are conducted citing development, and the same affects the land drastically, we witness land pollution; by drastic we are referring to any activity that lessens the quality and/or productivity of the land as an ideal place for agriculture, forestation, construction etc. The degradation of land that could be used constructively in other words is land pollution.

Thermal Pollution



Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.

An increase in the optimum water temperature by industrial process (steel fac­tories, electric power houses and atomic power plants) may be called as “Thermal Pollution.” Many industries generate their own power and use wa­ter to cool their generator.

This hot water is released into the system from where it was drawn, causing a warming trend of surface water. If the system is poorly flushed, a permanent increase in the temperature may result. However, if the water is released into the well flushed system, permanent increase in temperature does not occur.

Noise Pollution

Most of us are very used to the sounds we hear in everyday life. Loud music, the television, people talking on their phone, the traffic and even pets barking in the middle of the night. All of these have become a part of the urban culture and rarely disturb us. However, when the sound of the television keeps you from sleeping all night or the traffic starts to give you a headache, it stops becoming just noise and start turning into noise pollution. For many of us, the concept of pollution is limited to nature and resources. However, noise that tends to disrupt the natural rhythm of life makes for one solid pollutant.
Radiation Pollution



Radioactive pollution can be defined as the release of radioactive substances or high-energy particles into the air, water, or earth as a result of human activity, either by accident or by design.

Radiation is the process by which radiant energy is transferred from one place to another in the form of electro-magnetic waves.

he various types of radiation differ from one another by their frequency or wavelength. Higher the frequency or lower the wave­length of a radiation, higher will be its energy. Again, higher the energy of the radiation, it will cause higher damage to the living organisms.

Light Pollution

brightening of the night sky caused by street lights and other man-made sources, which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and inhibits the observation of stars and planets.

Light pollution is excessive, misdirected or inappropriate outdoor lighting. Too much of light pollution washes out view of the Universe, result in increase in the energy consumption, interferes with astronomical research, disrupts ecosystems, affects the health and safety of humans and wildlife. It may surprise you to know that light pollution can have as great an impact on the planet as levels of carbon monoxide and other airborne pollutants.