Water pollution | Definition, Causes, Effects and Solutions ..

 #  What is water  pollution ?

         Water pollution is the introduction of chemical , physical  or biological material material that degrades the quality of water and affect the organisms living in it . The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that polluted water is water whose composition has been changed to the extent that it is unusable.It is due to discharge of most toxic  material like pesticides , heavy metal , non degradable , chemical compound.

In some of the world's worst polluted places, babies are born with birth defects, children have lost 30 to 40 IQ points, and life expectancy may be as low as 45 years because of cancers and other diseases.

The waters of the River Ganges flow clear and clean through the Indian city of Rishikesh at the gateway to the Himalayas. In these mountains, nobody would guess that this water will be transformed into one of the most heavily polluted rivers in the world, with faecal bacteria levels up to 31 million per 100 millilitres. This is according to reports from Sankat Mochan Foundation, an organisation struggling to restore the Ganges to its former glory. These levels mean that the sacred river has become synonymous with water pollution, a worldwide problem affecting one in every three people on the planet, according to the United Nations (UN)

Causes of water pollution

➧ Industrial waste : Water is discharged after being used in production process . this waste water may contain acids , alkalis , salts , oil and in some cases harmful bacteria .

➧Mining waste : Mines specially gold and coal mines , are responsible for large  quantities of acid water

➧Surface water : Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other blue bits on the world map. There’s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.

➧Sewage disposal and domestic waste : contamination of fresh water and shallow offshores by sewage is a common occurrence. sewage includes mostly biodegradable matter like human faecal matter , animal waste , dissolved organic compounds .

➧Agriculture waste :  drainage for silage and manure slurry from intensive husbandry causes heavy pollution of some water courses . Plants nutrients , insecticides and pesticides are also introduced into water courses by agriculture particles. Pollution of coastal water accurs due to the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents , sewage an rubbish from ships. 

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➧Toxic metals :Pollution of sea by metallic contaminants accurs through the dumping or discharge of industrial and domestic effluents or from polluted river and to some extent from air . Metals are so poisonous and their dispersion into seas over long periods may be highly dangerous .  

  

➧Dyes : Thousands of dyes are prepared which find their way into the streams through the discharge of effluents from dyeing and printing industries . 

Harmful effects of water pollution 

Diseases in human : Human consuming polluted water effects human health . It causes typhoid , cholera , hepatitis , and various other diseases . 

Affecting aquatic life : Chemical in water body encourage the growth of algae . bacteria feed this algae and this decreases the amount of oxygen in the water body that effect the aquatic life. 

Effect the food chain: It happens when toxins are pollutants enter in the water are consumed by aquatic animals which are than consumed by human . 

Destruction of biodiversity : Water pollution depletes aquatic ecosystems and triggers unbridled proliferation of phytoplankton in lakes — eutrophication —

Prevention of water pollution :

Reduce CO2 emissions to prevent global warming and acidification of the oceans.

Reduce the use of plastics and genral awareness about pollution . 

Before dumping the seage into river , It should be first treated chemically to remove the organic compound present in it . 

Before throwing the industrial waste into the river and lakes they should be treated chemically to neutralize the harmful  substances present in them . 

The use of excess of nitrate and phospate fertilizer should be avoid .

Many cases of illegal waste disposal and other forms of water pollution go unreported and often aren’t cleaned up. Report people who pour oil in storm drains, toss bags of trash in a stream. It is the best way .