1. What are the sources of water pollution?

Water pollution generally comes from agricultural, domestic and industrial areas. Domestic areas are contributing highest amount of water pollution compared to the other said areas given that we use water for almost all the things that we do while we are in our own house, such as washing of clothes and dishes, taking a bath and cooking. Agricultural is the next on the list given that plenty of water will be needed for the growth of the crops. And lastly, industrial areas are causing water pollution for using water in producing some products. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, industrial areas are producing lesser water pollution compared to the other sources of water pollutants, eventhough each industry needs more water compared to domestic and agricultural purposes. This is because, every industry is mandated by the law to limit their emission of any kind of pollutant in the environment, so they are obliged to have water treatment facility to somehow lessen the concentration of pollutants before letting it go to natural bodies of water. Aside from agricultural, domestic and industrial areas, water pollution comes from commercial and institutional areas such as beach resorts, camping sites and offices. However, given that the types of pollutants that may be added to water bodies from these areas are almost the same as domestic pollutants, therefore it is usually mixed with domestic waste water for the treatment and disposal. From the sources of pollutants mentioned, most dangerous and toxic water pollutants can be produced from industrial areas due to some industries that are using toxic or hazardous materials in their processes. Therefore, strict rules and regulations are imposed on each industry for the waste disposal to limit the emission of harmful pollutants in the environment.

2. What are the indicators for water pollution?

There are six indicators of water pollution namely, BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), COD (chemical oxygen demand), TSS (total suspended solids), color, pH and oil and greases. Sometimes taste, odor, temperature, amount of nutrients (nitrate and phosphorous) and metals (copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and mercury) are also considered as indicator of water pollution depending on the source of water pollution. Among the given indicators, BOD, COD, pH and oil and greases are considered as chemical indicators because of involvement of chemical reaction. BOD is a measure of effluent strength in terms of the amount of dissolved oxygen utilized by microorganisms during the oxidation of organic components in the effluent. COD, on the other hand, is the measure of amount of organic compounds in water. This value is important to measure because the more organic compounds are present in the

water, the more microorganisms will be present in the water that may result to scarcity of dissolved oxygen in the water bodies. pH, as commonly known, determines the strength of acidity and basicity of the water. Most of the aquatic life form cannot live in less than 4 or more than 8 pH values. Oil and greases may affect the aquatic life by blocking the sun light which in turn decreases the amount of oxygen produced therefore it will also be an important indicator of water pollution. TSS and color are physical indicators because of its ability to indicate the pollution while no chemical reactions are involved. TSS can be determined by measuring the dry-weight of particles trapped by a filter, typically of a specified pore size. Sometimes the amount of pathogens that are present in the water is measured and considered as biological indicators. This may be required for testing drinking water quality.

3. Give 1 incident of water pollution (local or international).

Camelford water pollution incident

The Camelford water pollution incident involved the accidental contamination of the drinking water supply to the town of Camelford, Cornwall, England with 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate in July 1988, raising the concentration to 3,000 times the admissible level. As the aluminium sulphate broke down it produced several tonnes of sulphuric acid which "stripped a cocktail of chemicals from the pipe networks as well as lead and copper piping in peoples homes." Many people who came into contact with the contaminated water experienced a range of short-term health effects, and many victims suffered longterm effects whose implications remained unclear as of 2012. There has been no rigorous examination or monitoring of the health of the victims since the incident, which is Britain's worst mass poisoning event. Inquests on people who died many years later found very high levels of aluminium in the brain. Immediately after the contamination the authorities said that the water was safe to drink, possibly with juice to cover the unpleasant taste. In an inquest in 2012 into the death of one of the victims, the coroner stated that South West Water Authorityhad been "gambling with as many as 20,000 lives" when they failed to inform the public about the poisoning for 16 days, a delay he called unacceptable. In the aftermath of the contamination the public were reassured that there was no risk to health. There were allegations of a cover-up and West Somerset Coroner Michael Rose stated: "I found there was a deliberate policy to not advise the public of the true nature until some 16 days after the occurrence of the incident." Following an investigation by the government's Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment, Michael Meacher, the former Environment Minister, claimed that "various associated bodies tried to bury the inquiry from the start." Meacher told one newspaper: "This has become a tug of war between the truth and an attempt to silence the truth."

Identity of the pollutant aluminum sulphate How it pollutes the water and its effect the water contains aluminum sulphate and it can poison the person who consumes it. The aluminum sulphate may affect the person shortly or after a long time depending on his/her body structure. The short term effect on the health was differed between individuals however the long term health effect was mostly the high content of aluminum present in the brain that caused their death. Some of the researchers also mentioned that this incident have caused Alzheimers disease to some people living in the Camelford.

What are the treatment measures since anyone who had drank the water in Camelford way back 1988 can still be infected by the aluminum sulphate poisoning therefore they are recommended to drink a liter of water with high content of silicon to alter the effect. Strict regulation of the drinking water treatment is now observed to avoid the repetition of this kind of incident in the future.

References BCC News. Camelford Water Poisoning: Authority Gambled with Lives. Last Accessed on January 17, 2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-17367243 UC Davis. What is BOD? Last Accessed on January 17, 2013. http://drinc.ucdavis.edu/dairyp/ dairyp9_new.htm Wikipedia. Camelford Water Pollution Incident. Last Accessed on January 17, 2013. http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelford_water_pollution_incident