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WATER POLLUTION. Introduction. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds .
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Introduction Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Causes Water pollution causes are generally categorized into two types: • Point source • Non–point source
Point sources: • Sewage
Waste water • Domestic wastewater
Non-point sources • Oil effluents
Mechanism There are many ways of how water can be polluted. • Runoff As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters. • Metals get into freshwater Metals are introduced in aquatic systems as a result of the weathering of soils and rocks, from volcanic eruptions, and from a variety of human activities involving the mining, processing, or use of metals and/or substances that contain metal pollutants.
Effects • Waterborne infectious disease Pathogens originating from excreta contaminates the water. • Disparity in the ecosystem Pollution generates disparity in the ecosystem creating Imbalance. It causes changes in food - webs and food chains and shifts biodiversity of animals and plants in ecosystem.
Siltation Suspended soil clouds the water to such a degree that millions of algae, an important base for aquatic food chains, die because they do not receive enough light for photosynthesis.
Eutrophication Is the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates.
Red tide Human activities that affect nutrient concentrations in seawater may be having an important influence on the increasingly more frequent occurrences of red tides in some areas.
Effects due to thermal pollution: • Reduction in dissolve oxygen • Interference with reproduction • Increase in vulnerability to disease • Direct mortality • Invasion of destructive Organism • Destruction of organisms in cooling water
Impact • Environmental Impact water pollution has the ability to destroy many animal habitats, and cause irreparable damage to many ecosystems. • Aquatic life Extreme acidity can kill adult fish and invertebrate life directly and can also damage developing juvenile fish.
Human Illness As pollutant levels increase, human exposure to toxins will also increase. • Extinction Pollution has an adverse impact on wildlife and will continue to do so well into the future. • Economic Effects Pollution, due to its ability to cause illness in humans, can have a significant impact on the world's economy.
Mitigation • Education • Laws Republic Act 9275: The Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 • Economics polluter pays principle • Government Programs • Pollution Fines and Environmental Taxes • Bioremediation • Natural Attenuation
Conclusion and recommendation Water is the most precious resource on our planet and the most vital means for survival. Thus all living things cannot live without water most especially human beings. However, water pollution is caused by human activities We can take individual action to help reduce water pollution, for example, by using environmentally friendly detergents, reducing pesticides, not pouring paints, solvents, oil, antifreeze, or other products containing harmful chemicals down the drain or onto the ground and so on. Most effective way to attain the goal of having clean water is to value self- discipline in each individual in disposing all kinds of waste.
We can take community action too, by helping out in coastal clean-ups and by helping out to maintain our rivers clean. Working together, we can make pollution less of a problem—and the world a better place.
