Water Pollution: Types, Causes, Sources

Water pollution is described as the release of pollutants into bodies of water that render them unsafe to drink and harm aquatic ecosystems. Various contaminants, such as hazardous trash, gasoline, and pathogenic bacteria, can pollute water. Water, a renewable resource, is a vital compound for life on Earth. It is the only inorganic liquid that occurs on the Earth naturally.

Covering three-fourth of parts of the Earth, Water contains about (97.5\% ) of the Earth in saline nature, and the rest (2.5\% ) is freshwater. Water being available in such a large quantity is still unavailable for our daily use or is available in degraded quality. Have you ever wondered Why?

In this article, we will learn how the most precious resource of Earth is getting polluted. Continue reading to know more.

What is Water Pollution?

Definition: Water becomes polluted when there are any physical, chemical, or biological changes in its quality that makes water unsuitable for use as well as adversely affect the health of living organisms.

Pollutants

The unwanted particles that enter the water bodies and contaminate them are called pollutants. The water pollutants may include

1. Biological pollutants: These include pathogens, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, etc.
2. Chemical pollutants: These include heavy chemicals like mercury, arsenic, lead, etc., dyeing agents, untreated radioactive substances, etc.
3. Household pollutants: These include faecal matters, synthetic detergents, and soaps, etc.

Sources of Water Pollution

There are various sources of water pollution which are discussed as follows

Ground Water: Contaminants such as hazardous chemicals and pesticides that drain from landfills and septic tanks damage aquifers below the surface. Besides, groundwater can spread contamination far from the original polluting source when it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.
Besides, groundwater can spread contamination far from the original polluting source when it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.

Surface Water: Surface water gets polluted from things floating on the water surface in lakes, streams, and oceans. Surface water may also get polluted from oil spills and gasoline waste, which float and affect the water on the surface.

Ocean Water: Ocean pollution or marine pollution originates on land along the coast. Streams and rivers carry contaminants from various sources that reach the ocean. Marine debris particularly plastic is blown away by the wind or washed away in storms via drains and sewers.

Point Source: When contamination occurs from a single source, it is called point-source pollution. Point sources include wastewater discharged from oil refineries, or wastewater treatment facilities, leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal dumping.

Non-point Source: Non-point source pollution is contamination derived from multiple sources. These may include contaminated water from rains, agricultural, and debris blown into waterways from the land.

Transboundary: Transboundary pollution happens when contaminated water from one country is spilt into another country’s waters. It can result from a disaster like an oil spill or the slow, downriver creep of industrial, agricultural, or municipal discharge.

Causes of Water Pollution

Water is a vulnerable liquid as it is a universal solvent and dissolves more substances than any other liquid can.

Sewage:

The sewage/ wastewater is produced in the household and industries is treated chemically and released into the water bodies like sea and river. This chemically treated water gets mixed with fresh water and pollutes it. The sewage water carries various pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms), which may cause serious health problems and diseases.

Industrial Wastes:

Industries produce tremendous waste containing harmful chemicals like lead, mercury, sulphur, nitrates, etc. Many industries drain wastewater directly into freshwater, which pollutes lakes and rivers, which further mix with seawater. These toxic substances change the colour of the water and increase the number of minerals in the water.

Agriculture:

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used in farms for crops and plants. When it rains, these chemicals get mixed with rainwater and flow down into rivers and lakes, which causes severe damage to water bodies.

Mining Activities:

Mining activities include crushing rocks and extracting coal and other minerals underground. These extracted elements contain harmful and toxic chemicals. Mining activities emit a large number of metal wastes and sulphides from rocks harmful to water.

Oil Spills:

Accidental leakage of oil on water bodies pose a serious threat to marine life. Wildlife other than aquatic life also gets poisoned by oil waste.

Radioactive Wastes:

The element used in the production of nuclear energy is Uranium, which is a highly toxic chemical. Other toxic radioactive wastes include radium, thorium, and actinium. These contaminants may cause different types of biological damage to humans and marine life.

Effects of Water Pollution

Water pollution affects both plants and animals and leads to a severe impact on the aquatic ecosystem. The major effects of water pollution are as follows-

1. Water-borne diseases: Sewage results in the growth of pathogens in the water. These pathogens are responsible for many diseases that result from drinking or being in contact with contaminated water, such as diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, or skin infections.
2. Eutrophication: Microorganisms use oxygen in decomposing organic wastes causing deoxygenation of water which stimulates algal blooming. These algae grow and cover a layer on top of the water body that blocks the sunlight from reaching the marine plants, due to which plants are unable to perform photosynthesis. This results in the death of many organisms such as fish and plants.
3. Contamination of the food chain: Some algae even produce toxins. Various pollutants like cadmium and lead are consumed by aquatic animals (fishes and shellfish), which humans then consume can cause severe health problems.
4. Environment: The toxic chemicals can change the colour of water, generate a foul smell, and increase the number of minerals, which negatively impacts life in water. Thermal pollution contributes, and global warming causes a serious hazard to water organisms.
5. Impurities of groundwater: At many places, groundwater is threatened with contamination due to the seepage from industrial and municipal effluents. These contaminants can cause various health problems like blue baby syndrome, black foot disease, and lung/skin cancer.

Measures to Control Water Pollution

1. Avoid the wastage of water.
2. Laws for industrial units should be implemented strictly so that polluted water is not disposed of directly into rivers and lakes.
3. Industrial effluents should be treated chemically before disposing them off in water bodies.
4. Over utilisation of pesticides and fertilizers should be avoided.
5. Sewage should be treated before discharging it into water bodies.
6. Throwing of garbage like plastics, wrappers, faecal matter, etc., should be avoided.
7. Cleaning of utensils and clothes, bathing of animals and humans near rivers and lakes should strictly be avoided.
8. Rivers and lakes should be cleaned from time to time.

Related Topic to Study

Summary

In this article, we studied that humans, as well as natural activities, cause water pollution. There are various effects and causes of water pollution which can be controlled by taking preventive measures.

FAQs

We have provided some frequently asked questions about water pollution here:

Q.1. What are some harmful effects of water pollution?
Ans: Some harmful effects of water pollution are Destruction of biodiversity, contamination of the food chain, Lack of potable water, Water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, jaundice, etc., and Infant mortality.

Q.2. What are the causes of water pollution?
Ans: The causes of water pollution are as follows: Industrial waste, Marine dumping, Sewage and wastewater, Oil spills, Agriculture, Global warming, Radioactive wastes, Mining, Leakage of sewage pipes, and Eutrophication.

Q.3. What are the three main types of water pollution?
Ans: The three main types of water pollution are as follows: Point source, non-point source, and transboundary.

Q.4. What is water pollution, and what are its effects?
Ans: Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies due to the addition of harmful substances in water due to human or natural activities. It degrades the quality of water and makes it unfit for use. The effects of water pollution are as follows: Water pollution causes various diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, cancer, etc. It also damages the plants and aquatic animals present in the river by reducing the oxygen content from the water.

Q.5. How do we detect water pollution?
Ans: Water pollution is detected in laboratories, where small samples of water are analysed for different contaminants.

Now that you are provided with all the necessary information on Water Pollution and we hope this article on Water Pollution has helped you. If you have any questions feel to post your comment below. We will get back to you at the earliest.