Water Pollution occurs when toxic substances, often chemical products, or microorganisms, pollute a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer or other body of water, degrading its quality and effectively poisoning it for humans and the environment. This degradation in water quality translates directly into environmental, social and economic problems. These contaminants can originate from a lot of places like industries, runoff from farms, poor waste disposal, and sewage treatment plants. And in many cases the key problem is the lack of sanitation.
Water pollution is everywhere. It touches us all very closely. And it’s a top priority in the fight for clean water.
If we want to create strategies to reduce the effects of this problem, we need to understand the main sources and causes of water pollution:
Industrial activities
Generate residues that are dumped into rivers and other bodies of water.
Agricultural runoff
Can spread excess fertilizers and pesticides and excess nutrients can help grow algal and lead to oxygen depletion.
Improper waste disposal
Is a major contributor to water pollution and particularly plastics that can be eaten by fish in both rivers and the oceans.
Inadequate sewage treatment
Can lead to harmful diseases giving way to substances such as bacteria, viruses, and chemicals that can make their way into wastewater. The UN says that over 80% of wastewater in the world reaches the sea and rivers untreated.
Radioactive water pollution
Is the presence of radioactive elements at levels higher than what would be considered natural in water bodies, resulting from the irregular disposal of atomic waste produced by plants or hospitals or by nuclear accidents.
Deforestation of areas
Making the soil exposed and more susceptible to erosion. During the rainy season, sediments are carried into bodies of water, which can result in what we call siltation.
