WATER POLLUTION
Water is the most important resource for survival on a planet. It is the essence of life on our planet – Earth. Yet if you ever see a river or lake around your city, it would be evident to you that we are facing a very serious problem of Water pollution. Let us educate ourselves about water and water pollution. Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, seventy-six perfect of your body is made up of water.
Water and Water Cycle
As you already know water is everywhere and all around. However, we have a fixed amount of water on earth. It just changes its states and goes through a cyclic order, known as the Water Cycle. The water cycle is a natural process that is continuous in nature. It is the pattern in which the water from oceans, seas, lakes, etc gets evaporated and turns to vapor. After which it goes through the process of condensation, and finally precipitation when it falls back to earth as rain or snow.
What is Water Pollution?
Sources of Water Pollution
- Domestic Waste
- Industrial effluents
- Insecticides and pesticides
- Detergents and Fertilizers
Some of the water pollutions are caused by direct Sources, such as factories, waste management facilities, refineries, etc, that directly releases waste and dangerous by-products into the nearest water source without treating them. Indirect sources include pollutants that infuse in the water bodies via groundwater or soil or via the atmosphere through acidic rain.
Effects of Pollution of Water
The effects of Water Pollution are:
Diseases: In humans, drinking or consuming polluted water in any way has many disastrous effects on our health. It causes typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and various other diseases.
Eradication of Ecosystem: Ecosystem is extremely dynamic and responds to even small changes in the environment. Increasing water pollution can cause an entire ecosystem to collapse if left unchecked.
Effects of the food chain: Turmoil in food chain happens when the aquatic animals (fish, prawns, seahorse, etc) consume the toxins and pollutants in the water, and then the humans consume them.
Prevention of Water Pollution
The best way to prevent large-scale water pollution is to try and reduce its harmful effects. There are numerous small changes we can make to protect ourselves from a future where water is scarce.
Conserve Water: Conserving water should be our first aim. Water wastage is a major problem globally and we are only now waking up to the issue. Simple small changes made domestically will make a huge difference.
Treatment of sewage: Treating waste products before disposing of it in water bodies helps reduce water pollution on a large scale. Agriculture or other industries can reuse this wastewater by reducing its toxic contents.
Use of environment-friendly products: By using soluble products that do not go on to become pollutants, we can reduce the amount of water pollution caused by a household.
Effects Of Water Pollution
The effect of water pollution depends upon the type of pollutants and their concentration. Also, the location of water bodies is an important factor to determine the levels of pollution.
- Water bodies in the vicinity of urban areas are extremely polluted. This is the result of dumping garbage and toxic chemicals by industrial and commercial establishments.
- Water pollution drastically affects aquatic life. It affects their metabolism, and behaviour, and causes illness and eventual death. Dioxin is a chemical that causes a lot of problems from reproduction to uncontrolled cell growth or cancer. This chemical is bioaccumulated in fish, chicken and meat. Chemicals such as this travel up the food chain before entering the human body.
- The effect of water pollution can have a huge impact on the food chain. It disrupts the food chain. Cadmium and lead are some toxic substances, these pollutants upon entering the food chain through animals (fish when consumed by animals, humans) can continue to disrupt at higher levels.
- Humans are affected by pollution and can contract diseases such as hepatitis through faecal matter in water sources. Poor drinking water treatment and unfit water can always cause an outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera, etc.
- The ecosystem can be critically affected, modified and destructured because of water pollution.
Minamata Incident
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that causes adverse change. There are different types of pollution like air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, land pollution. Water pollution is the pollution of bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, seas, oceans as well as groundwater.
Earth is the only planet to have liquid water on its surface. About 71% of the earth’s surface is water-covered and the oceans hold about 96% of all earth’s water, only 2.5% of the water we can use for our essential things. The human body must require the nearest 3-litre water every day. Water is one of the very important elements of our life and the environment. However, this is also a fact that Earth has a fixed amount of water on its surface. Water has the nature to change its state in the form of rain, snow, fog etc. This entire process takes place in a cycle which is called the water cycle.
The water cycle, called the hydrological cycle, involves the following steps:
Evaporation- Because of the sun's heat, the water bodies such as oceans, lakes, seas etc., get heated up, and water evaporates in the air, forming water vapours.
Transpiration- Like evaporation, the plants and trees also lose water from them which goes to the atmosphere. This process is called transpiration.
Condensation- As the water evaporates, it starts to become cool because of the cold atmosphere in the air and because of this cooling down of water leads to the formation of clouds.
Precipitation- Because of the high movements of the wings, the clouds start to collide and then fall back to the earth’s surface in the form of rain. Sometimes they also fall back in the form of snow, hail, sleet etc., depending upon the temperature.
Runoff or Infiltration- After precipitation, the water either flows to the water bodies called runoff or is absorbed into the soil, called infiltration.
Evaporation- Because of the sun's heat, the water bodies such as oceans, lakes, seas etc., get heated up, and water evaporates in the air, forming water vapours.
Transpiration- Like evaporation, the plants and trees also lose water from them which goes to the atmosphere. This process is called transpiration.
Condensation- As the water evaporates, it starts to become cool because of the cold atmosphere in the air and because of this cooling down of water leads to the formation of clouds.
Precipitation- Because of the high movements of the wings, the clouds start to collide and then fall back to the earth’s surface in the form of rain. Sometimes they also fall back in the form of snow, hail, sleet etc., depending upon the temperature.
Runoff or Infiltration- After precipitation, the water either flows to the water bodies called runoff or is absorbed into the soil, called infiltration.
Causes of Water Pollution
There are many reasons for water pollution. Some of the reasons are directly affected by water pollution and some indirectly. Many factories and industries are dumping contaminated water, chemicals, and heavy metals into major waterways as a result of direct water pollution.
One more reason for water pollution is the use of modern techniques in farms. Farmers apply nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium in the form of chemical fertilizers, manure, and sludge. It causes farms to discharge large quantities of agrochemicals, organic matter, and saline drainage into water bodies. It indirectly affects water pollution.
Pollutants can be of various types such as organic, inorganic, radioactive etc. Water pollutants are discharged either from one point from pipes, channels etc., which are called point sources or from various other sources. They can be agricultural areas, industries etc., called dispersed sources.
Some of the major forms of water pollutants are as follows:
Sewage- Domestic sewage from homes contains various forms of pathogens that threaten the human body. Sewage treatment reduces the risk of pathogens, but this risk is not eliminated.
Domestic sewage majorly contains nitrates and phosphates, and excess of these substances allows the algae to grow on the surface of water bodies. Due to this, the clean water bodies become nutrient-rich water body and then slowly, the oxygen level of water bodies reduces. This is called eutrophication or cultural eutrophication (if this step rapidly takes place by the activities of humans). This leads to the early death of water bodies.
Toxins- The industrial or factory wastes that are not disposed of properly and contain chemicals such as mercury and lead are disposed of in the water bodies making the bodies toxic, radioactive, explosive and cancerous.
Sediments- Sediments are the result of soil erosion that is formed in the water bodies. These sediments imbalances the water bodies ecologically. They also interfere in the reproductive cycle of various aquatic animals living in the water.
Thermal pollution- Water bodies get polluted because of heat, and excess heat reduces the oxygen level of the water bodies. Some of the species of fish cannot live in such water bodies with very low oxygen levels. The disposal of cold waters from the power plants leads to increased thermal pollution in the water bodies.
Petroleum oil pollution- The runoff of oil into the water bodies, either accidentally as happened in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, or intentionally, leads to an increase in water pollution.
As water is an important element of human health, polluted water directly affects the human body. Water pollution causes various diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, cancer, etc. Water pollution damages the plants and aquatic animals present in the river by reducing the oxygen content from the water. Polluted water washes the essential nutrients which plants need out of the soil and also leaves large amounts of aluminium in the soil, which can be harmful to plants.
Wastewater and sewage are a by-product of daily life and thus produced by each household through various activities like using soap, toilets, and detergents. Such sewage contains chemicals and bacteria which are harmful to human life and environmental health. Water pollution also leads to an imbalance in our ecosystem. Lastly, it also affects the food chain as the toxins in the water bodies are consumed by aquatic animals like fish, crabs etc., and then humans consume those animals forming turmoil.
Sometimes our tradition also becomes a cause for water pollution. Some people throw the statues of deities, flowers, pots, and ashes in rivers.
There are various standards to define water quality standards. Water meant for swimming may not be clean enough for drinking, or water meant for bathing may not be good for cooking. Therefore, there are different water standards for defined:
Stream standards- Standards that define streams, lakes, oceans or seas based on their maximum use.
Effluent standards- Define the specific standards for the level of contaminants or effluents allowed during the final discharge of those into the water bodies.
Drinking water standards- Define the level of contamination allowed in water that will be supplied for drinking or cooking in the domestic areas.
Different countries regulate their water quality standards through different acts and amendments.
While many of the solutions for water pollution need to be applied on a broader macro-level for that individual, companies, and communities can have a significant and responsible impact on the water quality. Companies, factories have to dispose of leftover chemicals and containers properly as per the product instructions. Farmers also have to reduce the use of nitrates and phosphates from fertilizers, pesticides, and contamination of groundwater.
The Swachh Bharat Mission of the government had led to reduced groundwater contamination. Under the Namami Ganga program, the government has initiated several major projects to clean Ganga. Along with all these steps, conservation of water is the very basic and important step towards water conservation and should be followed globally, treatment of sewage before their disposal in the water bodies and using environment-friendly products that do not form toxins when dissolved in water. These are some small steps that have to be taken into consideration by every human being.
As we all know, “Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” We have to save water. We must keep the water clean. If everyone will follow their responsibility against water to protect it from getting polluted then it will be easy to get clean and healthy drinking water. Clean water is a must for us and our kids' present, future, and healthy environment.
We cannot just live with contaminated waters filled with toxins and no oxygen. We cannot see our wildlife being destroyed and therefore, immediate steps have to be taken by groups of people to first clean the already contaminated water bodies and then keep a check on all the surrounding water bodies. Small steps by every individual can make a huge difference in controlling water pollution.
Changing the properties of water, whether it’s biological, chemical or physical and reducing the quality of water is called water pollution. Water pollution is mainly caused due to human activities. Here is a list of causes for water pollution:
- Domestic waste: Domestic waste is one of the primary causes of water pollution. Sewage from cities and towns are released directly into water bodies without any treatment. Even treated sewage is not completely safe and still pollutes the water.
- Industrial waste: Waste from factories, refineries and other industrial operations are also a major source of water pollution. Some industries release toxic waste like poisonous, radioactive, explosive, carcinogenic (causing cancer) etc into water bodies. These toxic chemicals are very difficult to get rid of and cause severe damage to the ecosystem.
- Chemicals: Industrial waste is not the only source of water pollution. Pesticides, insecticides and other chemical fertilizers used in agriculture also cause water pollution. Even soaps and detergents are contaminants that cause water pollution. Oil spills, plastic and solid waste are also another major source of water pollution.
Contaminated water has lasting effects on the environment. Learn more about the effects of water pollution in this water pollution essay.
Also explore: Pollution essay, essay on water and air pollution essay
Sewage- Domestic sewage from homes contains various forms of pathogens that threaten the human body. Sewage treatment reduces the risk of pathogens, but this risk is not eliminated.
Toxins- The industrial or factory wastes that are not disposed of properly and contain chemicals such as mercury and lead are disposed of in the water bodies making the bodies toxic, radioactive, explosive and cancerous.
Sediments- Sediments are the result of soil erosion that is formed in the water bodies. These sediments imbalances the water bodies ecologically. They also interfere in the reproductive cycle of various aquatic animals living in the water.
Thermal pollution- Water bodies get polluted because of heat, and excess heat reduces the oxygen level of the water bodies. Some of the species of fish cannot live in such water bodies with very low oxygen levels. The disposal of cold waters from the power plants leads to increased thermal pollution in the water bodies.
Petroleum oil pollution- The runoff of oil into the water bodies, either accidentally as happened in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, or intentionally, leads to an increase in water pollution.
Stream standards- Standards that define streams, lakes, oceans or seas based on their maximum use.
Effluent standards- Define the specific standards for the level of contaminants or effluents allowed during the final discharge of those into the water bodies.
Drinking water standards- Define the level of contamination allowed in water that will be supplied for drinking or cooking in the domestic areas.
Water Pollution Essay: Effects Of Water Pollution
Water is vital for all living beings. All humans, plants and animals depend on water for their survival. Consuming contaminated water can have disastrous consequences. Here are some of the effects of water pollution:
- Water-borne diseases: Polluted water is not fit for consumption or any kind of use. It could spread water-borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis etc.
- Damage to the ecosystem: Contaminated water can destroy ecosystems and affect the ecological balance. It could lead to the death and extinction of several aquatic animals and plants. Contaminated water can also lead to soil infertility.
- Eutrophication: Water pollution also leads to eutrophication. The increased amounts of chemicals in the water leads to the growth of algae. The algal layer encourages bacterial growth and reduces the oxygen level. This harms aquatic life adversely.
- Adverse effects of the food chain: Several humans and animals consume aquatic animals and plants. The aquatic life in a contaminated water source carries the toxins and pollutants. Consuming aquatic life from a contaminated water source can indirectly cause the humans and animals to ingest the toxins and pollutants. This could have adverse effects on their health.
Water pollution can have disastrous consequences for life on earth. Learn more about ways to prevent water pollution in this water pollution essay.
Water Pollution Essay: Ways To Prevent Water Pollution
We have only one planet we can call home, so we need to learn to prevent and stop water pollution. Contaminating water sources will lead to water scarcity and a polluted, inhospitable land. Preventing water pollution is the only way to protect ourselves from dire consequences. Here are some simple steps that help prevent water pollution:
- Sewage Treatment: Sewage treatment removes pathogens and toxins to a large extent. Additionally, finding more environment-friendly solutions to dispose of waste also reduces water pollution.
- Use environment-friendly products: Most products used today are laden with harmful chemicals. Shifting to more environment-friendly products like detergents, organic farming methods etc reduces water pollution.
- Water conservation: Water pollution is fast leading to water scarcity. Conserving water helps reduce water shortages and water pollution.
- Waste management: Irresponsible waste management is one of the major causes of water pollution. Proper waste disposal and reduced use of plastics and not littering reduces water pollution.
We all need access to clean and safe drinking water to survive on earth. So, we need to ensure that we put a stop to water pollution to save the planet and continue to exist on earth.
Conclusion
Life is ultimately about choices and so is water pollution. We cannot live with sewage-strewn beaches, contaminated rivers, and fish that are poisonous to drink and eat. To avoid these scenarios, we can work together to keep the environment clean so the water bodies, plants, animals, and people who depend on it remain healthy. We can take individual or teamed action to help reduce water pollution. As an example, by using environmentally friendly detergents, not pouring oil down the drains, reducing the usage of pesticides, and so on. We can take community action too to keep our rivers and seas cleaner. And we can take action as countries and continents to pass laws against water pollution. Working together, we can make water pollution less of a problem—and the world a better place.
