Prevention of Water Pollution

Prevention of water pollution
important step to take. Here are a few more:
You can help

Never throw rubbish away anyhow. Always look for the correct waste
bin. If there is none around, please take it home and put it in your trash
can. This includes places like the
Dealing with water pollution is something that everyone (including
governments and local councils) needs to get involved with. Here are a few
things you can do to help. Learning about the issue (like you are doing) is
the greatest and most beach, riverside and water bodies.
Use water wisely. Do not keep the tap running when not in use. Also,
you can reduce the amount of water you use in washing and bathing. If we
all do this, we can significantly prevent water shortages and reduce the
amount of dirty water that needs treatment.
Do not throw chemicals, oils, paints and medicines down the sink drain,
or the toilet. In many cities, your local environment office can help with
the disposal of medicines and chemicals. Check with your local authorities
if there is a chemical disposal plan for local residents.
Buy more environmentally safe cleaning liquids for use at home and
other public places. They are less dangerous to the environment.
If you use chemicals and pesticides for your gardens and farms, be
mindful not to overuse pesticides and fertilizers. This will reduce runoffs of
the chemical into nearby water sources. Start looking at options
of composting and using organic manure instead.
If you live close to a water body, try
to plant lots of trees and flowers

around your home, so that when it
rains, chemicals from your home does
not easily drain into the water.
Governments, local councils and laws

Many governments have very strict laws that help minimize water
pollution. These laws are usually directed at industries, hospitals, schools
and market areas on how to dispose, treat and manage sewage. Do you
know the laws in your country? This is the time to find out.
Local authorities must be vigilant and quick and to deal with water issues
of their community to prevent danger. HERE is a serious example from
Flint, Michigan in the USA.
In many developed cities, waste or sewage treatment is very efficient, and
designed to minimise pollution of water bodies. (The next page explains
that process)
There are also lots of organizations and groups that help educate people
on the dangers of water pollution. It is always great to join these groups,
because they regularly encourage other members of their communities to
have a better attitude towards water.
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes,

rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater), very often by human
activities.
Water pollution occur when pollutants (particles, chemicals or

substances that make water contaminated) are discharged directly or
indirectly into water bodies without enough treatment to get rid of
harmful compounds. Pollutants get into water mainly by human causes
or human factors. Water pollution can be a Point-source, Non Point-
source, or Transboundary in nature (Click here to learn more).
Water pollution is the second most imperative environmental concern

along with air pollution.
Any change or modification in the physical, chemical and

biological properties of water that will have a detrimental
consequence on living things, is water pollution.
The water pollution problem Water

covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface.
It is a very important resource for
people and the environment.
Water is obviously crucial to human

health. The WHO advises that at least
7.5 litres per day per person are
necessary to meet “the requirements of most people under most
conditions” and at least another 20 litres per day to cover basic hygienic
needs.*
(WHO, 2015a). UNEP, ISBN Number: 978-92-807-3555-0 Page 17
As long as humans live, water will be needed and consumed. This means
humans are bound to create wastewater. It also means we will produce
other non-water items and the disposal of waste (metals and other
liquids) from that process will affect fresh water ad the environment in
some way.
Water pollution affects drinking water, rivers, lakes and oceans all over
the world. In many developing countries, it is usually a leading cause of
death, by people drinking from polluted water sources.
More to this, water pollution affects not only individual living species but
also populations and entire functioning ecosystems that exist in the
waters.
Humans have now realised the importance of clean water as a

foundation for life. In recent time, more and more organisations and
councils are working hard to educate, protect, restore waterways and
encourage practices that help keep waters from contamination, and also
to preserve water ecosystems from destruction.
Other causes of water pollution.
Apart from the industrial causes of water pollution, as we saw on
the previous page, here are some more:
Sewage and waste water

Every day, we cook, do laundry, flush
the toilet, wash our cars, shower and do
many things that use water. Think about
how we use water in schools, hospitals
and public places.
Where do you think all the water, liquid

waste, poop and urine end up? In many developed
communities,wastewater and soluble waste (called sewage) is treated,
cleaned and dumped into the sea or river. Even though they are treated,
they are never the same as fresh water.
In some not-so-developed countries, the sewage is not treated but

quickly dumped into the sea or water bodies. This is VERY dangerous
because they contaminate the environment and water bodies and bring
many deadly diseases to us. (click to see lesson on Wastewater)
Septic Tanks
Every domestic (home) toilet is connected to septic tank usually located
outside the house. Each time poop is flushed down the toilet, it goes into
this tank, where the solid part is separated from the liquid part.
Biological processes are used to break down the solids and the liquid is
usually drained out into a land drainage system. From this stage, it can
escape into the soil and nearby water bodies.
Ocean and marine dumping

Again, think of the rubbish we all make
each day. Paper waste, food waste,
plastic, rubber, metallic and aluminum
waste. In some countries, they are
deposited into the sea. These waste
types take some time to decompose. For
example, it is known that paper takes
about 6 weeks, aluminum takes about
200 years and glass takes even more years. When these end up in the
sea, they harm sea animals and cause a lot of water animal deaths.
Underground storage and tube leakages

Many liquid products (petroleum products) are stored in metal and steel
tubes underground. Other sewage systems run in underground tubes.
Over time, they rust and begin to leak. If that happens, they
contaminate the soils, and the liquids in them end up in many nearby
water bodies.
Atmospheric
Atmospheric deposition is the pollution of water bodies caused by air
pollution. Each time the air is polluted with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide, they mix with water particles in the air and form a toxic
substance. This falls as acid rain to the ground and gets washed into
water bodies. The result is that water bodies also get contaminated and
this affects animals and water organisms.
Effects of water pollution.

You will notice in the previous pages that water 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. Below, we shall see a summary of the effects
of water pollution. (Make sure you see the factsheet page for some
very unfortunate incidents of water pollution in recent time)
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.
Death of aquatic (water) animals

The main problem caused by water pollution is that it kills organisms
that depend 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.
Did you read about the Water contamination in Flint, Michigan, USA?
Read here.
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.

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Prevention of water pollution

important step to take. Here are a few more:

You can help

If you live close to a water body, try

to plant lots of trees and flowers

Governments, local councils and laws

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes,

Water pollution occur when pollutants (particles, chemicals or

Water pollution is the second most imperative environmental concern

Any change or modification in the physical, chemical and

The water pollution problem Water

Water is obviously crucial to human

Humans have now realised the importance of clean water as a

Sewage and waste water

Where do you think all the water, liquid

In some not-so-developed countries, the sewage is not treated but

Ocean and marine dumping

Underground storage and tube leakages

Effects of water pollution.

Death of aquatic (water) animals

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