GP IRR Checkpoint

topic : water, food, agriculture

issue : polluted water
Rq: Can the expansion of agriculture be impacted by polluted water?

Introduction :
Water pollution occurs when undesirable elements, typically chemicals or
microorganisms, enter a body of water, which lowers its quality and makes it
hazardous for people or the environment. Water contamination from nutrients in
agricultural production happens when fertilizers are administered more frequently
than they are fixed by soil particles or exported from the soil profile (for example,
through plant uptake or when they wash off the soil surface before plants can
absorb them).

Causes:
Water pollution is caused by industry, agriculture, livestock farming,
rubbish, facial water dumping, marine traffic, and fuel spillages. Discharge of
industrial effluents and partially and untreated sewage from cities and towns into
their respective catchments, problems with the upkeep and operation of sewage
and effluent treatment plants, a lack of dilution, and other non-point sources of
pollution are the primary causes of river pollution in the nation is having a huge
impact on agriculture. In addition to organic animal wastes, antibiotics, silage
effluents, and processing wastes from plantation crops, pesticides and fertilizers
used in agriculture have the potential to pollute surfaces and groundwater”
(WPA).

Consequences:
In addition to being poisonous and unfit for human consumption or use in
vital industries like agriculture, it is also the source of illnesses like cholera,
dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and poliomyelitis, which claim the lives of over
500,000 people globally. The quality of the water is causing harm to the
environment, health, agriculture fields and the international economy. In
agriculture, water pollution will damage the water, so the crops won't grow well
since it is polluted.

Global perspective:
 With the scarcity of freshwater and the rising amount of waste being
produced, which is then dumped into the sea, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of
water, as well as on land, water pollution poses a major threat to agriculture
world wide . “Water pollution is a worldwide issue that has gotten worse in both
rich and developing nations, endangering billions of people's physical and
environmental health While concerns related to water quantity, efficiency, and
allocation have received the majority of attention globally, inadequate wastewater
treatment has led to severe water quality issues in many regions of the world,
exacerbating the water crisis”(CDC). In addition to the resource's physical
scarcity, many countries' steadily declining water quality contributes to the
world's growing water scarcity by lowering the amount of clean water available
for usage.

National perspective:
“ In an attempt to tackle this grave threat, numerous environmental laws
have been passed worldwide, including in India, yet things are only getting worse
with time. Recently, there has been an increase in concern over agricultural
diffuse pollution sources in integrated water quality management”(DWR). Other
wealthy industrialized nations, such sources are probably even more important in
developing nations like India, where agriculture and rural habitats still hold a
significant position. mainly traditional agricultural practices with average pesticide
and fertilizer application and large areas under dry farming or only marginal
irrigation; a large population of cattle, since agriculture is almost always
associated with animal husbandry; a culture of living near rivers, if not in them,
with predominantly instream uses for bathing, washing, and other personal
hygiene. India's water supply has been contaminated by both industrial and
agricultural activity.

Similar perspective:

For almost a century, the public has been concerned with the control of water
contamination. The evolution of viewpoints on water pollution over the past 50
years, as well as societal assessments of the viability and practicality of different
solutions, were among the study's main areas of attention. An additional area of
study was the conceptualization of water contamination created by technicians
and natural scientists, who are considered essential knowledge providers.

National course of action:

 Cut back on CO2 emissions to stop the world from warming and the oceans
from becoming more acidic. Minimize the application of fertilizers and chemical
pesticides to crops. Waste water can be safely treated and reduced in order to be
used again for energy production and irrigation without posing a pollution threat.
Reduce the amount of single-use plastics that, many of which are microplastics,
end up floating in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. To protect species and prevent
the waters from becoming less accessible, promote sustainable fishing.
Pretreating a portion of the water before reintroducing it into the streams is
probably the best approach to lessening water pollution. This is an extremely
efficient option because almost all pollutants in wastewater can be removed by
chemical, physical, or biological processes at wastewater treatment plants.

Source evaluation:

A thorough assessment of water quality is a crucial technical step in the

management and treatment of the water environment in agriculture. The
production and transformation mechanisms of black-sticking water bodies were
not well studied by the prior research methodologies. In light of this, the principal
component analysis (PCA) method was utilized to identify the primary pollution
factors and sources of the watershed, and the vertical stratification
characteristics of the water bodies were examined. The single pollution index
method and the comprehensive water quality identification index method (Iwq)
were employed to assess the pollution characteristics of rivers.

Personal perspective:

Polluted water is very harmful. It can hurt animals that inhabit the water or
sea. Water pollution can lead to global warming, which destroys the entire earth
and plants because of dryness due to heat. Global warming will destroy the
iceberg because, because of that, the water level increases, which can cause
huge floods and tsunamis that can destroy entire cities, states, and continents.
So it is really a major issue that everyone needs to work together to stop water
pollution.

Conclusion:
 Unsafe use of unusual water sources, particularly wastewater, in agriculture
can result in the buildup of chemical and microbiological pollutants in crops,
animal feed, soil, and water resources, which can have a serious negative impact
on farmers' and food consumers' health. It may also contribute to resistance to
antibiotics. Wastewater, however, is able to be a useful source of nutrients and
water if properly cleaned and used safely, improving livelihoods and ensuring
food security.

References:
(1)(CDC). “Water Contamination.” Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention,2019,www.cdc.gov/healthywater/other/agricultural/contamination.html
.
(2)(WPA)Moss, Brian. “Water Pollution by Agriculture.” Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 363, no. 1491, 12
Feb. 2008, pp. 659–666, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610176/,

(3)(DWR)Introduction: Department of water resources, river development and

ganga rejuvenation: India (no date) Department of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation | India. Available at:
https://jalshakti-dowr.gov.in/about-department/introduction/ (Accessed: 22
January 2024).

(4)Sagasta, J.M. and Turral, H. Water pollution from agriculture: A global review,
Water pollution from agriculture: a global review - Executive summary. Available
at: https://www.fao.org/3/i7754e/i7754e.pdf (Accessed: 20 February 2024).
(5)Water and Agriculture- OECD. (n.d.). Water and Agriculture.
https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/topics/water-and-agriculture/