water pollution

Water WarsRising demand vs. diminishing supply

Farah Taleb

IntroductionImportance

Pollution

TypesSourcesCausesEffects

PreventionsConclusion

IntroductionWater importance

Water – A Vital Resource:• Water is essential to life as we know it.• All ecosystems, humans, etc. depend on freshwater

(water that has a salt content or salinity of less than 0.1%)

• Evaporation from lakes, seas and precipitation resupply freshwater so it is considered a renewable resource

IntroductionWater importance

IntroductionWater Pollution

Pollution: The presence of a substance in the environment that because of its chemical composition or quantity prevents the functioning of natural processes and produces undesirable environmental and health effects.

Water Pollution: The unique properties of water which make it universal solvent and a renewable resource also make it a substance which has a great tendency to get polluted.Polluted water is any water that changes in its quality or composition either naturally or as a result of human activities so as to become less suitable for drinking, domestic, agricultural and other uses.


Pollution



TypesWater Pollution

Type Definition

Pathogens infectious agents that cause sickness or death (bacteria, viruses)

Organic wastes enter water through runoff (grass clippings, leaves, yard waste)

Chemical pollutants organic chemicals such as petroleum products and pesticides, these pollutants can travel up the food chain until we consume and also accumulate in fat in organism’s bodies

Sediments make water “muddy or dirty looking”

Nutrients mean more plant growth but nutrients become pollutants when they stimulate undesirable plant growth (agricultural runoff is greatly to blame)Eutrophication(well-nourished,too much of a good thing).

Heat and cold different water temperatures can harm or kill organisms who are used to a certain temperature.

SourcesWater Pollution

There are tow categories of water pollution sources:

1. Point Sources: which are easy to identify, monitor and regulate (factory discharging chemicals into nearby river direct pollution source).

2. Non-Point Sources: which are scattered over a large area, hard to determine and indirect (agricultural runoff, storm-water, drainage).

CausesWater Pollution

Water pollution due to many causes has been assuming menacing proportions:

• Industrial wastes: waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes (cafeteria garbage, dirt and gravel, masonry and concrete, trash, oil, solvents, chemicals, weed grass and trees, wood and scrap lumber, and similar wastes). Heat pollution is commonly caused by industries.

• Sewage: water-carried waste, that is intended to be removed from a community.

• Domestic waste: biodegradable waste, hazardous and toxic chemical pollutants.

• Surface runoff: generated by rainfall, snow or glaciers melting. When it flows among the ground, it can pick up contaminated soil such as petroleum and pesticides or fertilizers.

• Agricultural waste: nutrient and sediment pollution, can cause significant problems resulting in excess algae growth.

Oil Tanker, Iran

Sewage Industrial waste

Domestic waste

Surface runoff Agricultural waste

EffectsWater Pollution

Hydrological Cycle:

Definition: water rises to atmosphere through either evaporation or transpiration and returns to land and oceans through condensation and precipitation (continuous cycle).

Effects:• Changing the earth’s surface: clearing forests, land overgrazed, causes more runoff with

pollutants, so there is less groundwater recharge, also more asphalt so decreased infiltration into the groundwater.

• Polluting the water cycle: smoke or fumes exhausted into the air come down as polluted rain, so chemicals leached into the soil in turn leach into groundwater.

• water supplies: increased population is using a great deal of water.

EffectsWater Pollution: contaminated

rivers

EffectsWater Pollution: great pacific

garbage patch

EffectsAral sea: one of the planet's worst

environmental disasters

One of The largest four seas in the world

It has been steadily shrinking since the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects.

The region's once prosperous fishing industry has been essentially destroyed, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. It is also heavily polluted, with consequent serious public health problems. The retreat of the sea has reportedly also caused local climate change, with summers becoming hotter and drier, and winters colder and longer.

Arab WorldWater Pollution

The Arab world, one of the driest regions on the planet, will tip into severe water scarcity as early as 2015.

Thirteen Arab countries are among the world's 19 most water-scarce nations. People in eight Arab countries already have to make do with less than 200 cubic meters a year each.

"Free water is wasted water" in Arab countries.Governments, which often focus on seeking new supplies of water, should instead concentrate on:• Improving water management, • Rationalizing consumption, • Encouraging reuse, • Protecting water supplies from overuse and

pollution.

Water pollution in GAZA, only 5% of this water fit to drink.

Iraq

LebanonWater Pollution

Water pollution levels in Lebanon

Where to swim ??

Water resources are polluted by:• The discharge of untreated industrial and domestic

wastewater,• Leaching from septic tanks,• Agricultural non-point sources such as pesticides and

nitrates,• Hospital waste and domestic solid waste,• Discharge of motor oil.

The Ghadir river in the South of Beirut is probably the most polluted river in the country.

Al Ghadir River


Pollution



Domestic water use

PreventionsWater Pollution

When we throw something in the garbage, or flush the toilet, we tend to forget about it.

Because individuals are responsible for many non-point sources of pollution, we do not always realize how much we are contributing to water pollution. It seems easier to point the finger at agricultural, industrial, and mining operations. However, here are a few tips: a. Conserve water; the less water you use, the less will be running down the

drains.b. Use pesticides wiselyc. Keep your vehicles running properly. If you have an oil leak, fix it

immediately.d. Use natural cleaners, such as baking soda and vinegar.e. Use detergents with less phosphate; sewage plants can only remove about

30 percent of the phosphates from waste.

While demand on water is rising, its supplies are diminishing.

If the wars of this centaury were fought on oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water – unless we change our approach to managing this precious and vital resource.

ConclusionWater Pollution

Thank You For Your Attention

water pollution

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