WATER POLLUTIONINTRODUCTION | CAUSES | EFFECT| PREVENTION

WATER

Fire Extinction

Washing

Processing Food

Drinking

Transportation

Agriculture

Importance of

Water

WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION ?

WATER POLLUTION IS THE CONTAMINATION OF WATER BODIES

(E.G. LAKES, RIVERS, OCEANS, AQUIFERS AND GROUNDWATER).

THIS FORM OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION OCCURS WHEN

POLLUTANTS ARE DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY DISCHARGED INTO

WATER BODIES WITHOUT ADEQUATE TREATMENT TO REMOVE

HARMFUL COMPOUNDS.

WATER POLLUTION AFFECTS THE ENTIRE BIOSPHERE – PLANTS

AND ORGANISMS LIVING IN THESE BODIES OF WATER. IN ALMOST

ALL CASES THE EFFECT IS DAMAGING NOT ONLY TO INDIVIDUAL

SPECIES AND POPULATION, BUT ALSO TO THE NATURAL

BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES.

EXISTENCE

“

”

POLLUTION FROM TOXIC CHEMICALS THREATENS LIFE ON THIS PLANET. EVERY OCEAN AND EVERY CONTINENT, FROM

THE TROPICS TO THE ONCE-PRISTINE POLAR REGIONS IS CONTAMINATED

WORLD WILDLIFE FOUNDATION (WWF)

WHEN EARTH'S POPULATION WAS MUCH SMALLER, NO ONE BELIEVED POLLUTION WOULD EVER

PRESENT A SERIOUS PROBLEM. IT WAS ONCE POPULARLY BELIEVED THAT THE OCEANS WERE

FAR TOO BIG TO POLLUTE. TODAY, WITH AROUND 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET, IT HAS

BECOME APPARENT THAT THERE ARE LIMITS. POLLUTION IS ONE OF THE SIGNS THAT HUMANS

HAVE EXCEEDED THOSE LIMITS.

EARTH IS REFERRED TO AS THE WATER PLANET BECAUSE TWO-THIRDS OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE

IS COVERED IN WATER. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE WATER ON EARTH IS SEAWATER AND IS UNFIT FOR

DRINKING, IRRIGATION, AND INDUSTRIAL USES BECAUSE IT CONTAINS LARGE AMOUNTS OF

DISSOLVED SALTS. ONLY ABOUT 3 PERCENT OF THE EARTH’S WATER IS FRESH WATER AND ONLY A

SMALL PORTION OF THAT WATER CAN BE USED FOR DRINKING AND OTHER HUMAN NEEDS.

CAUSE

MOST WATER POLLUTION DOESN'T BEGIN IN THE WATER ITSELF. TAKE THE OCEANS: AROUND 80 PERCENT OF OCEAN POLLUTION ENTERS OUR SEAS FROM THE LAND. VIRTUALLY ANY HUMAN ACTIVITY CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE QUALITY OF OUR WATER ENVIRONMENT.

WHEN FARMERS FERTILIZE THE FIELDS, THE CHEMICALS THEY USE ARE GRADUALLY WASHED BY RAIN INTO THE GROUNDWATER OR SURFACE WATERS NEARBY. SOMETIMES THE CAUSES OF

WATER POLLUTION ARE QUITE SURPRISING. CHEMICALS RELEASED BY SMOKESTACKS (CHIMNEYS) CAN ENTER THE ATMOSPHERE AND THEN FALL BACK TO EARTH AS RAIN,

ENTERING SEAS, RIVERS, AND LAKES AND CAUSING WATER POLLUTION. THAT'S CALLED ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION. WATER POLLUTION HAS MANY DIFFERENT CAUSES AND THIS IS

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT IS SUCH A DIFFICULT PROBLEM TO SOLVE.

Industrial Waste

Sewage and

Wastewater

Mining Activities

Marine Dumping

Accidental Oil

Leakage

INDUSTRIAL WASTE

INDUSTRIES PRODUCE HUGE AMOUNT OF WASTE WHICH CONTAINS TOXIC

CHEMICALS AND POLLUTANTS WHICH CAN CAUSE AIR POLLUTION AND DAMAGE TO

US AND OUR ENVIRONMENT. THEY CONTAIN POLLUTANTS SUCH AS LEAD,

MERCURY, SULPHUR, ASBESTOS, NITRATES AND MANY OTHER HARMFUL

CHEMICALS. MANY INDUSTRIES DO NOT HAVE PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM AND DRAIN THE WASTE IN THE FRESH WATER WHICH GOES INTO RIVERS,

CANALS AND LATER IN TO SEA. THE TOXIC CHEMICALS HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO

CHANGE THE COLOR OF WATER, INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF MINERALS, WHICH IS

KNOWN AS EUTROPHICATION, CHANGE THE TEMPERATURE OF WATER AND POSE

SERIOUS HAZARD TO WATER ORGANISMS.

SEWAGE AND WASTEWATER

THE SEWAGE AND WASTE WATER THAT IS PRODUCED BY EACH HOUSEHOLD IS

CHEMICALLY TREATED AND RELEASED INTO SEA WITH FRESH WATER. THE

SEWAGE WATER CARRIES HARMFUL BACTERIA AND CHEMICALS THAT CAN

CAUSE SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS. PATHOGENS ARE KNOWN AS A COMMON

WATER POLLUTANT. MICROORGANISMS IN WATER ARE KNOWN TO BE CAUSES

OF SOME VERY DEADLY DISEASES AND BREEDING GROUNDS FOR OTHER

CREATURES THAT ACT LIKE CARRIERS. THESE CARRIERS INFLICT THESE

DISEASES VIA VARIOUS FORMS OF CONTACT ONTO AN INDIVIDUAL. A VERY

COMMON EXAMPLE OF THIS PROCESS WOULD BE MALARIA.

MINING ACTIVITIES

MINING IS THE PROCESS OF CRUSHING THE ROCK AND EXTRACTING COAL AND

OTHER MINERALS FROM UNDERGROUND. THESE ELEMENTS CAN INCREASE THE

AMOUNT OF TOXIC ELEMENTS IN WATER WHICH MAY RESULT IN HEALTH

PROBLEMS. MINING ACTIVITIES EMIT SEVERAL METAL WASTE AND SULPHIDES

FROM THE ROCKS WHICH IS HARMFUL TO WATER.

MARINE DUMPING

THE GARBAGE PRODUCE BY EACH HOUSEHOLD IN THE FORM OF PAPER,

ALUMINUM, RUBBER, GLASS, PLASTIC, FOOD IS COLLECTED AND DEPOSITED

INTO THE SEA IN SOME COUNTRIES. THESE RUBBISH NEED 2 WEEKS TO 200

YEARS TO DECOMPOSE. WHEN SUCH RUBBISH ENTERS THE SEA, THEY NOT

ONLY CAUSE WATER POLLUTION BUT ALSO HARM ANIMALS IN THE SEA.

ACCIDENTAL OIL LEAKAGE

OIL SPILL POSE A HUGE CONCERN AS OIL CANNOT DISSOLVE IN WATER. A SHIP

CARRYING LARGE QUANTITY OF OIL MAY SPILL IF AN ACCIDENT OCCURS WHICH

CAN CAUSE VARYING DAMAGE TO SPECIES IN THE OCEAN DEPENDING ON THE

QUANTITY OF OIL SPILL, SIZE OF OCEAN AND THE TOXICITY OF POLLUTANT.

EFFECTSWATER 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.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.

EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION TODAY

• IN 2010, THERE WAS A HUGE OIL SPILL IN AMERICA BY BP. OF THE 400 MILES OF

LOUISIANA COAST, APPROXIMATELY 125 MILES HAVE BEEN POLLUTED BY THE OIL SPILL.

OVER 1,000 ANIMALS (BIRDS, TURTLES, MAMMALS) HAVE BEEN REPORTED DEAD,

INCLUDING MANY ALREADY ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST. OF THE ANIMALS

AFFECTED BY THE SPILL THAT ARE STILL ALIVE ONLY ABOUT 6% HAVE BEEN REPORTED

CLEANED, BUT MANY BIOLOGISTS AND OTHER SCIENTISTS PREDICT THEY WILL DIE TOO.

IN NOVEMBER 2012, BP AGREED A SETTLEMENT WITH THE US GOVERNMENT WORTH

$4.5BN, INCLUDING A $1.26BN CRIMINAL FINE.

• IN MARCH 2011, A VERY POWERFUL TSUNAMI HIT THE JAPAN COAST. THE SEA LEVEL

ROSE AND WATER CAME INTO THE LAND, DAMAGING 4 OF THE 6 REACTORS IN THE

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)

EXPERTS CONFIRM THAT THERE IS SLIGHT INCREASED RISK OF SOME CANCER TYPES

FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE EXPOSED TO THE RADIATION. THESE INCLUDED PEOPLE

LIVING IN THAT AREA AND SOME WORKERS AT THE PLANT.

WATER POLLUTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Death of aquatic animals

Disruption of food-chains

DiseasesDestructio

n of ecosystems

DEATH OF AQUATIC ANIMALS

THE MAIN PROBLEM CAUSED BY WATER POLLUTION IS THAT IT KILLS LIFE THAT DEPENDS 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).

DISRUPTION OF FOOD-CHAINS

POLLUTION DISRUPTS THE NATURAL FOOD CHAIN AS WELL. POLLUTANTS SUCH AS LEAD AND CADMIUM ARE EATEN BY TINY ANIMALS. LATER, THESE ANIMALS ARE CONSUMED BY FISH AND SHELLFISH, AND THE FOOD CHAIN CONTINUES TO BE DISRUPTED AT ALL HIGHER LEVELS.

DISEASES

EVENTUALLY, HUMANS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS PROCESS AS WELL. PEOPLE CAN GET DISEASES SUCH AS HEPATITIS BY EATING SEAFOOD THAT HAS BEEN POISONED. IN MANY POOR NATIONS, THERE IS ALWAYS OUTBREAK OF CHOLERA AND DISEASES AS A RESULT OF POOR DRINKING WATER TREATMENT FROM CONTAMINATED WATERS.

DESTRUCTION OF ECOSYSTEMS

ECOSYSTEMS (THE INTERACTION OF LIVING THINGS IN A PLACE, DEPENDING ON EACH OTHER FOR LIFE) CAN BE SEVERELY CHANGED OR DESTROYED BY WATER POLLUTION. MANY AREAS ARE NOW BEING AFFECTED BY CARELESS HUMAN POLLUTION, AND THIS POLLUTION IS COMING BACK TO HURT HUMANS IN MANY WAYS.

PREVENTION

WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES ARE CRITICAL TO IMPROVING WATER QUALITY AND REDUCING THE NEED FOR COSTLY WASTEWATER AND DRINKING WATER TREATMENT. BECAUSE WATER POLLUTION CAN COME FROM MANY DIFFERENT SOURCES, A VARIETY OF POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES ARE NEEDED.

Do'sMinimize the use

of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers.

Make a compost pile from

vegetable scraps.

Run the washing machine only

when you have a full load. This

conserves electricity and

water.

Don'ts

pour fat from cooking or any other type of

fat, oil, or grease down the sink.

dispose of household chemicals or cleaning agents down the sink

or toilet.

flush pills, liquid or powder medications or drugs down the

toilet.

WATER PURIFICATION

EARTH IS REFERRED TO AS THE WATER PLANET BECAUSE TWO-THIRDS OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE IS COVERED IN WATER. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE WATER ON EARTH IS SEAWATER AND IS UNFIT FOR DRINKING, IRRIGATION, AND INDUSTRIAL USES BECAUSE IT CONTAINS LARGE AMOUNTS OF DISSOLVED SALTS. ONLY ABOUT 3 PERCENT OF THE EARTH’S WATER IS FRESH WATER AND ONLY A SMALL PORTION OF THAT WATER CAN BE USED FOR DRINKING AND OTHER HUMAN NEEDS. NEARLY ALL THE WATER TO BE USED FOR DRINKING AND OTHER HUMAN REQUIREMENTS MUST BE TREATED TO MAKE IT SAFE. TREATMENT PLANTS PURIFY WATER BY REMOVING SUSPENDED PARTICLES, BACTERIA AND OTHER HARMFUL SUBSTANCES.

OIL SPILL CLEANUP

OIL, OR PETROLEUM, IS AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE NATURAL RESOURCE BECAUSE IT IS A MAJOR SOURCE OF ENERGY. PETROLEUM IS USED MOSTLY AS FUEL FOR INDUSTRY, HEATING AND TRANSPORTATION. IT IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF RAW MATERIAL FOR THE MANUFACTURING OF PLASTICS, SYNTHETIC FIBERS, INSECTICIDES, DETERGENTS, PAINTS AND SOME MEDICINES. OIL SPILLS CAN BE HARMFUL TO THE ENVIRONMENT. OIL SPILLED ON THE GROUND CAN CONTAMINATE GROUNDWATER, STREAMS, RIVERS, AND LAKES THAT MAY BE USED AS SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER. OIL SPILLS ON WATER CAN BE HARMFUL TO AQUATIC PLANTS, FISH AND OTHER ANIMALS. SOME OF THE LARGEST OIL SPILLS HAVE OCCURRED IN THE OCEANS, SEAS, AND MOST RECENTLY IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. SEVERAL TECHNIQUES CAN BE USED TO CLEAN UP OIL SPILLS ON WATER SUCH AS SURROUNDING THE SPILL WITH A FLOATING BARRIER AND SUING PUMPS OR SKIMMERS TO REMOVE THE OIL OR SPREADING DISPERSANTS OVER THE OIL WHICH CAUSE THE OIL TO BREAK UP INTO VERY TINY DROPS THAT MIX WITH THE WATER.

PHOSPHATE CLEANUP

PHOSPHATES ARE IMPORTANT PLANT NUTRIENTS AND ARE USED IN MOST FERTILIZERS. IN SOME AREAS OF THE COUNTRY PHOSPHATES ARE ALSO USED IN DETERGENTS TO INCREASE THE CLEANING POWER OF THE DETERGENT. RUNOFF OF FERTILIZERS FROM FARMLAND WHEN IT RAINS AND THE RELEASE OF WASTEWATER CONTAINING PHOSPHATES CAN CAUSE PHOSPHATES TO END UP IN PONDS AND LAKES. THIS CAUSES ALGAE AND OTHER AQUATIC PLANTS TO GROW SO RAPIDLY THAT THE WATER BECOMES CHOKED WITH PLANTS. THIS PROCESS IS CALLED EUTROPHICATION. BECAUSE PHOSPHATES CAN LEAD TO EUTROPHICATION, MANY AREAS OF THE COUNTRY HAVE BANNED OR RESTRICTED THE USE OF DETERGENTS WITH HIGH PHOSPHATE CONTENT. WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS USE TECHNIQUES TO REMOVE THE PHOSPHATE FROM WASTEWATER BEFORE THE TREATED WATER IS RELEASED INTO RIVERS OR LAKES. THE ACTIVITY CAN BE USED TO DEMONSTRATE HOW PHOSPHATE CAN BE REMOVED FROM WATER USING ALUMINUM IONS IN A PROCESS VERY SIMILAR TO THAT USED IN WATER TREATMENT FACILITIES.

GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION

GROUND WATER IS STORED IN “AQUIFERS”, ZONES OF POROUS ROCK, GRAVEL, OR SAND LOCATED UNDER THE EARTH’S SURFACE. THIS WATER IS OFTEN PUMPED OUT OF THE GROUND AND USED FOR MANY PURPOSES, INCLUDING DRINKING. APPROXIMATELY 53 PERCENT OF THE U.S. POPULATION GETS ITS WATER FROM UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS. ONCE POLLUTED, GROUND WATER IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CLEAN UP.

WATER TREATMENTWATER TREATMENT A WATER COMPANY MUST GO THROUGH SEVERAL STEPS TO INSURE SAFE AND PURE DRINKING WATER FOR THE COMMUNITY. THE WATER THAT IS PROCESSED COMES FROM THE NATURAL WATER CYCLE AND HAS USUALLY BEEN TRANSFERRED AND STORED IN A RESERVOIR BEFORE PROCESSING. THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE FOLLOWED IN A TYPICAL WATER TREATMENT PLANT:

AERATION

COAGULATION

SEDIMENTATION FILTRATION CHLORINATIO

N

GROUP MEMBERSFAITH HO - WATER, POWERPOINT AND EVERYTHING IN

BETWEEN

CAELYN - CAUSES

AINA - EFFECTS

TING YA - PREVENTION

SOURCES & CREDITS

• WATER

1. HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/WATER

2. HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/WATER_POLLUTION

3. HTTP://WWW.EXPLAINTHATSTUFF.COM/WATERPOLLUTION.HTML

• CAUSES

• HTTP://WWW.WATER-POLLUTION.ORG.UK/CAUSES.HTML

• EFFECTS

1. HTTP://ESCHOOLTODAY.COM/POLLUTION/WATER-POLLUTION/EFFECTS-OF-WATER-POLLUTION.HTML

• PREVENTION

1. HTTP://WWW.SRPNET.COM/EDUCATION/PDFX/WATERTREATMENT.PDF