{"id":572,"date":"2021-06-21T07:09:41","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T07:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexuniversity.co.in\/LMS\/?p=572"},"modified":"2023-06-26T04:15:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T04:15:27","slug":"water-pollution-save-water-save-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/2021\/06\/21\/water-pollution-save-water-save-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"WATER POLLUTION – Save Water Save Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\nBritish poet W. H. Auden once noted, \u201cThousands have lived without love, not one without water.\u201d Yet while we all know water is crucial for life, we trash it anyway. Some 80 percent of the world\u2019s wastewater is dumped\u2014largely untreated\u2014back into the environment, polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThis widespread problem of water pollution is jeopardizing our health. Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other forms of violence combined. Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are finite: Less than 1 percent of the earth\u2019s freshwater is actually accessible to us. Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, when global demand for freshwater is expected to be one-third greater than it is now.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSip a glass of cool, clear water as you read this, and you may think water pollution is a problem . . . somewhere else. But while most Americans have access to safe drinking water, potentially harmful contaminants\u2014from arsenic to copper to lead\u2014have been found in the tap water of every single state in the nation.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nStill, we\u2019re not hopeless against the threat to clean water. To better understand the problem and what we can do about it, here\u2019s an overview of what water pollution is, what causes it, and how we can protect ourselves.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Water Pollution<\/u><\/h2>\r\n \r\n\r\nWater pollution occurs when harmful substances\u2014often chemicals or microorganisms\u2014contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean, aquifer, or other body of water, degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Causes of Water Pollution<\/u><\/h3>\r\n \r\n\r\nWater is uniquely vulnerable to pollution. Known as a \u201cuniversal solvent,\u201d water is able to dissolve more substances than any other liquid on earth. It\u2019s the reason we have Kool-Aid and brilliant blue waterfalls. It\u2019s also why water is so easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into and mix with it, causing water pollution.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Categories of Water Pollution<\/u><\/h3>\r\n \r\n\r\nGroundwater<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWhen rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an aquifer (basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwater\u2014one of our least visible but most important natural resources.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater, pumped to the earth\u2019s surface, for drinking water. For some folks in rural areas, it\u2019s their only freshwater source. Groundwater gets polluted when contaminants\u2014from pesticides and fertilizers to waste leached from landfills and septic systems\u2014make their way into an aquifer, rendering it unsafe for human use.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRidding groundwater of contaminants can be difficult to impossible, as well as costly. Once polluted, an aquifer may be unusable for decades, or even thousands of years. Groundwater can also spread contamination far from the original polluting source as it seeps into streams, lakes, and oceans.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSurface water<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nCovering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is, from sources other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60 percent of the water delivered to American homes.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBut a significant pool of that water is in peril. According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNutrient pollution<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMunicipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fair share of toxins as well. There\u2019s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBut a significant pool of that water is in peril. According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our lakes are polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources. While plants and animals need these nutrients to grow, they have become a major pollutant due to farm waste and fertilizer runoff. Municipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fair share of toxins as well. There\u2019s also all the random junk that industry and individuals dump directly into waterways.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOcean water<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nEighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) originates on land\u2014whether along the coast or far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from farms, factories, and cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel out to sea.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMeanwhile, marine debris\u2014particularly plastic\u2014is blown in by the wind or washed in via storm drains and sewers. Our seas are also sometimes spoiled by oil spills and leaks\u2014big and small\u2014and are consistently soaking up carbon pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nPoint source<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWhen contamination originates from a single source, it\u2019s called point source pollution. Examples include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a manufacturer, oil refinery, or wastewater treatment facility, as well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and oil spills, and illegal dumping.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe EPA regulates point source pollution by establishing limits on what can be discharged by a facility directly into a body of water. While point source pollution originates from a specific place, it can affect miles of waterways and ocean.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNonpoint source<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources. These may include agricultural or storm water runoff or debris blown into waterways from land. Nonpoint source pollution is the leading cause of water pollution in U.S. waters, but it\u2019s difficult to regulate, since there\u2019s no single, identifiable culprit.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTransboundary<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt goes without saying that water pollution can\u2019t be contained by a line on a map. Transboundary pollution is the result of contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another. Contamination can result from a disaster\u2014like an oil spill\u2014or the slow, downriver creep of industrial, agricultural, or municipal discharge.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Types of Water Contamination<\/u><\/h3>\r\n \r\n\r\nAgricultural<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNot only is the agricultural sector <\/a><\/em><\/strong>the biggest consumer of global freshwater resources, with farming and livestock production using about 70 percent of the earth\u2019s surface water supplies, but it\u2019s also a serious water polluter.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAround the world, agriculture is the leading cause of water degradation. In the United States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams, the second-biggest source in wetlands, and the third main source in lakes. It\u2019s also a major contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nEvery time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock operations wash nutrients and pathogens\u2014such bacteria and viruses\u2014into our waterways. Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-one threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nSewage and wastewater<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nUsed water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge). The term also includes storm water runoff, which occurs when rainfall carries road salts, oil, grease, chemicals, and debris from impermeable surfaces into our waterways\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMore than 80 percent of the world\u2019s wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused, according to the United Nations; in some least-developed countries, the figure tops 95 percent.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn the United States, wastewater treatment facilities process about 34 billion gallons of wastewater per day. These facilities reduce the amount of pollutants such as pathogens, phosphorus, and nitrogen in sewage, as well as heavy metals and toxic chemicals in industrial waste, before discharging the treated waters back into waterways. That\u2019s when all goes well.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBut according to EPA estimates, our nation\u2019s aging and easily overwhelmed sewage treatment systems also release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOil Pollution<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nBig spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority of oil pollution in our seas, including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of cars and trucks every day.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMoreover, nearly half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into marine environments each year comes not from tanker spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities. At sea, tanker spills account for about 10 percent of the oil in waters around the world, while regular operations of the shipping industry\u2014through both legal and illegal discharges\u2014contribute about one-third. Oil is also naturally released from under the ocean floor through fractures known as seeps.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRadioactive substances<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRadioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the environment. It\u2019s generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for research and medicine.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRadioactive waste can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making disposal a major challenge. Consider the decommissioned Hanford nuclear weapons production site in Washington, where the cleanup of 56 million gallons of radioactive waste is expected to cost more than $100 billion and last through 2060. Accidentally released or improperly disposed of contaminants threaten groundwater, surface water, and marine resources.\r\n\r\n \r\n

The Effects of Water Pollution<\/u><\/h3>\r\n \r\n\r\nOn human health<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTo put it bluntly: Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are often closest to the most polluting industries.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWaterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nDiseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThousands of people across the United States are sickened every year by Legionnaires\u2019 disease (a severe form of pneumonia contracted from water sources like cooling towers and piped water), with cases cropping up from California\u2019s Disneyland to Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe problem goes far beyond Flint and involves much more than lead, as a wide range of chemical pollutants\u2014from heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury to pesticides and nitrate fertilizers\u2014are getting into our water supplies. Once they\u2019re ingested, these toxins can cause a host of health issues, from cancer to hormone disruption to altered brain function. Children and pregnant women are particularly at risk.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nEven swimming can pose a risk. Every year, 3.5 million Americans contract health issues such as skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and hepatitis from sewage-laden coastal waters, according to EPA estimates.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOn the environment<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi\u2014all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWhen water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in the water. This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can create \u201cdead zones,\u201d where waters are essentially devoid of life.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn certain cases, these harmful algal blooms can also produce neurotoxins that affect wildlife, from whales to sea turtles. Urge your governor to take action to fight harmful algal blooms\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTake Action<\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nChemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways as well. These contaminants are toxic to aquatic life\u2014most often reducing an organism\u2019s life span and ability to reproduce\u2014and make their way up the food chain as predator eats prey. That\u2019s how tuna and other big fish accumulate high quantities of toxins, such as mercury.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMarine ecosystems are also threatened by marine debris, which can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Much of this solid debris, such as plastic bags and soda cans, gets swept into sewers and storm drains and eventually out to sea, turning our oceans into trash soup and sometimes consolidating to form floating garbage patches. Discarded fishing gear and other types of debris are responsible for harming more than 200 different species of marine life.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMeanwhile, ocean acidification is making it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive. Though they absorb about a quarter of the carbon pollution created each year by burning fossil fuels, oceans are becoming more acidic. This process makes it harder for shellfish and other species to build shells and may impact the nervous systems of sharks, clownfish, and other marine life.\r\n\r\n \r\n

Prevention of Water Pollution<\/u><\/h3>\r\n \r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and non-biodegradable items to keep them from ending up down the drain.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Maintain your car so it doesn\u2019t leak oil, antifreeze, or coolant.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces runoff and avoid applying pesticides and herbicides.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • If you have a pup, be sure to pick up its poop.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    British poet W. H. Auden once noted, \u201cThousands have lived without love, not one without water.\u201d Yet while we all know water is crucial for life, we trash it anyway. Some 80 percent of the world\u2019s wastewater is dumped\u2014largely untreated\u2014back…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":573,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,2],"tags":[132],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lms.apexedu.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}