The Impact of Water Pollution on Human Health

Water Pollution Line Graph

Water pollution is a major concern for citizens, and good water quality is essential for human health. It is caused by both natural and human activities, such as animal factory farms, municipal sewage, industrial wastes, and chemicals.

Graphs help experts understand and communicate water pollution data. Biologists used different graphs to summarize ecological data and communicate with engineers who managed the agencies that controlled water pollution.

Causes

There are many causes of water pollution, including fertilizers, pesticides, and animal wastes that wash into rivers and streams. Runoff from farms and sewage treatment plants concentrates nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, which promote the growth of microorganisms that deplete the water of oxygen (see eutrophication). Chemicals from factories and cars can also pollute water by entering the environment as gas or settling on the bottom.

Some pollutants enter the water directly, such as acid rain from chemical spills and the toxic metals leaking from power plants. Others enter the water indirectly, such as the silt that washes into bodies of water from erosion and the organic wastes dumped by industry and individuals.

Nonpoint source pollution, which comes from dispersed sources, is the largest contributor to contamination of the nation’s waterways. It is more difficult to regulate than point source pollution, which is attributed to one specific source. Biologists used graphs to communicate ecological data to engineers and others who managed public agencies responsible for water pollution control.

Effects

As cities grow and industrialize, pollutants enter water systems from human activities. These chemicals can harm people who drink the water and cause diseases in fish and other organisms. Some pollutants are soluble, such as metals and organic pollutants, while others are insoluble, such as oil.

While a few natural events can contribute to pollution, most occur due to human activities. These activities include mining, farming, and power plant cooling systems. These sources of pollution can leave behind chemical residues, such as heavy metals and pesticides, or stress conditions, including changes in pH, hypoxia, turbidity, and temperature.

The Flint water crisis reflects Americans’ heightened concern about drinking-water quality. While Gallup has documented higher levels of concern about other environmental issues, such as global warming and the loss of tropical rainforests, drinking-water quality has been one of the most persistent concerns in recent decades. This is partly because drinking-water pollution has a direct effect on the health of populations, which affects economic and social well-being.

Prevention

Water pollution is when harmful substances contaminate a body of water. This can be caused by anything from chemicals and bacteria to pathogens, sediment and trash. Water is especially vulnerable to pollution because it is a universal solvent. It can dissolve more substances than any other liquid on Earth.

Chemicals are the most common type of water pollution. These chemicals can be anything from metals used in industrial processes to pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture. These chemicals are washed into the water and can affect humans, animals and plants that use it.

Thermal pollution is also a common type of water pollution. This is when the temperature of the water changes. This can be caused by power plants discharging cooling water into rivers, or by global warming. These changes in temperature can kill fish and other aquatic organisms. These changes can also cause diseases in humans who drink the water. This is why it is so important to prevent water pollution.

Conclusion

The availability of fresh water is becoming a worldwide concern. Rising global temperatures deplete water resources, and sewage and chemical wastes pollute groundwater, rivers, lakes and oceans.

Some industrial activities contaminate water, such as the dumping of organic residue from oil and gas drilling and the dumping of chemicals used in mining, petroleum refineries, iron or steel mills, pulp and paper factories and food processing plants. Many of these substances are toxic to humans. Drinking contaminated water can cause illnesses such as cancer and hormone disruption.

In the early 1950s, biologists who worked within the Public Health Service experimented with ways of presenting their data on pollution in streams. They tried to build upon the success of Streeter and Phelps’s graphical method, which involved superimposing biological data over an oxygen sag curve. But this strategy backfired. Engineers who examined these graphs might think that the biologists merely confirmed the validity of their favorite quantifiable indicator, dissolved oxygen.

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The Devastating Effects of Water Pollution

What is Water Pollution Explained in Detail

Water pollution is contamination of bodies of water (lakes, rivers, oceans and aquifers). This is caused by waste from people and animals, chemical substances, and heat.

There are two main types of water pollution: point source and nonpoint source. Point source pollution comes from a specific identifiable source such as a sewage treatment plant or factory. Nonpoint source pollution is contamination from diffuse sources such as agricultural and urban runoff or wind-blown debris.

Causes

Water pollution can be caused by a variety of things. One of the most common causes is industrial waste that is dumped into freshwater systems. This can include chemicals, heavy metals and other dangerous materials that are toxic to humans and animals.

Another common cause is agricultural pollution. This can include fertilizer, animal waste and pesticides that wash into streams, rivers and lakes. It can also include nutrient pollution, which is when excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers cause harmful algal blooms in lakes.

Other sources of water pollution include leaking sewers, which can release raw sewage into waterways. This is a major source of bacteria and other pathogens. It can also include thermal pollution, which is when heat from power plants or other industries causes water to become warmer than it should be. This can make it harder for fish and other species to survive. It can also harm human health by making it more difficult to breathe, as well as causing skin irritation.

Effects

Water pollution causes a lot of damage to people and the environment. It makes it dangerous to drink and also affects aquatic organisms, making them ill and killing them. It can be contaminated with microorganisms, fertilisers, pesticides, pharmaceutical and personal hygiene products, metals, nitrates, plastics, faecal waste and radioactive substances. The contaminants move up the food chain affecting other organisms. It disrupts the balance of the ecosystem and causes a loss of biodiversity.

It destroys the beauty of rivers, lakes and oceans, makes it impossible to use for recreational purposes. It affects the economy as industries that depend on water suffer. It leads to the spread of diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and poliomyelitis caused by bacteria in polluted waters. Chemicals in sewage and other pollutants enter the human body through the skin or the digestive tract. They can cause a variety of health problems such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system disorders and cancers. This is why water quality matters.

Prevention

All living things need pure water to survive. When outside substances pollute our lakes, rivers and oceans, the ecosystem is disrupted. Fish and other aquatic animals die, and plants can’t grow. This can make it difficult for humans to get the nutrients they need from food that grows in the water. Water pollution also hurts the economy by making it more expensive to treat and drink water.

Everyone can help prevent water pollution. Some of the easiest ways are to avoid dumping chemicals or waste down sinks and toilets. This includes avoiding flushing cleaning products, medications and oils down the drain. These can contaminate sewage treatment plants and the drinking water supply.

Other things that can cause water pollution are deforestation, industrial waste, oil spills, faecal waste and animal waste. These contaminants change the water’s chemistry and cause health problems for plants, animals and people. They may also harm the ecosystem by reducing oxygen levels in the water.

Treatment

Water pollution is a serious problem that affects people and the environment. It can cause diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid that kill millions of people every year. It also pollutes the soil and air. Chemicals and waste from factories, hospitals and households can enter rivers, lakes and seas through leakages or improper disposal. These chemicals and waste can lead to the death of fish and other organisms that live in these bodies of water.

Industrial pollutants like chemicals, sewage and paper mill discharge, fertilisers, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and heavy metals can deplete oxygen in water and lead to eutrophication, while gases like CO2 produced by burning fossil fuels can raise the temperature of water.

Wastewater treatment plants can help reduce the level of pollutants in wastewater. This is achieved by spraying or trickling the water over a bed of sand or gravel and using microorganisms to break down organic material. Septic tanks can also help limit water pollution by effectively treating sewage before it is released into the environment.

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