Water Pollution

Water pollution is defned as presence of any foreign substance (organic,

inorganic, biological or radiological) in water which tends to degrade the
quality so as to constitute a hazard, or impair the usefulness of water.
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers,
oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants
are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate
treatment to remove harmful compounds.
Water pollution aects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water.
!n almost all cases the eect is damaging not only to individual species and
populations, but also to the natural biological communities.
Water pollution has emerged as one of the gravest environmental threats in
!ndia. !ts biggest sources are city sewage and industrial waste that are
discharged untreated into the rivers. "espite the best eorts of the
government, only about #$ per cent of the waste water that is generated in
the cities is treated and the rest is discharged into the rivers.
Water pollution is a reality of human e%istence. &ctivities like agriculture and
industrial production generate water pollution apart from the biological
waste. !n !ndia, every year, appro%imately '$,$$$ million litres of wastewater,
both industrial and domestic, is generated in urban areas. !n some cases
even radio(active materials are discharged into the rivers bodies by some
companies, who for the sake of saving money on water treatment, throw all
the norms to the winds.
&ll eorts by the government to put a check on wastewater management
have failed as the treatment systems require high capital investment for
installation and also high cost is incurred on operational maintenance. )he
cost of establishing and running a wastewater treatment plant in a factory
can be as high as *$ percent of the total e%penditure. +ence despite the
presence of government norms, e,uents continue to -ow into the river
bodies untreated.
.n the other hand, the government of !ndia is spending millions of rupees
every year on water pollution control. &ccording to rough estimates, !ndian
government has spent nearly *$,$$$ crore rupees till now on various
schemes in !ndia, like the /anga &ction 0lan and 1amuna &ction 0lan, to
control water pollution in rivers. 2ut no positive results have been achieved
as yet. )he government should realise that all eorts to get the river(bodies
free from water pollution will fail unless the process of untreated industrial
and other wastewater getting into the water bodies is not stopped.
+ence the government should, instead of spending money on pollution
control schemes, divert its resources to encourage wastewater treatment in
agriculture and industrial sector. )he money spent on pollution control should
be spent on giving subsidies to the industries which generate wastewater and
on strict monitoring of their adherence to the norms.
!t should not be forgotten that only $.3 per cent of total water available on
this planet is ft for consumption for human beings, animals 4 plants. )he
remaining 55.6 per cent is present either as sea water or as glaciers on the
mountains. +ence ignoring the issue of water pollution any longer would
mean inviting a )hird World War which would be fought for the control of
water resources.
7ike clean air, fresh water is also becoming a scarcity. )he limited availability
of fresh water and its unequal distribution make water pollution a matter of
great concern. Water pollution is generally localized and confned, making it
more severe.
)he pollutants undergo many reactions and can become hazardous. 6$ 8 of
!ndia9s fresh water is polluted, including several high altitude lakes. While
water pollution is easier to study and manage, its control is highly comple%
and very costly.
Water contains various types of impurities such as dissolved gases, dissolved
minerals, suspended matters and even microbes. )he presence of water
pollutants alters the amount of dissolved o%ygen and biochemical o%ygen
demand.
"issolved o%ygen (".) is the amount of o%ygen present in the aquatic system
that is available for aquatic life and is essential for sustaining the plant and
animal life in any aquatic system. )he 2iochemical .%ygen "emand (2.") is
a measure of the o%ygen required by aerobic micro(organisms to bio(
chemically o%idize the organic matter present in the waste and is e%pressed
in mg:#.
&nother quick measure of organic matter present in waste is ;hemical
.%ygen "emand (;.") and in this case chemical o%idants (potassium
dichromate in acidic conditions) are used instand of aerobic micro(organisms
for the o%idation of organic matter. /enerally ;." of a waste will be higher
than its 2." because more organic compound can be chemically o%idized
than biochemically.
Types of Water Pollution:
Natural Water Pollution:
7eaching of rocks, decaying of organic or dead matter, soil erosion and silting
etc.
Man-made Water Pollution:
"eforestation, industrial set up near water bodies, industrial waste, domestic
sewage radio(active waste, synthetic chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides etc.
.ur rivers, lakes, and beaches are beautiful, but are they safe< =very day, the
to%ic runo from parking lots, busy roads and quiet subdivisions makes its
way into our streams and oceans. =ven the oil burning o from cars on the
roads gets washed into the groundwater and streams by way of the storm
drain every time it rains.
)he more houses we build, the more pollution we will add to our environment.
=very time we lay down a new parking lot or piece of roadway, there is an
impact on our environment.
0lanning growth and designing communities are part of the local
government>s ?ob. !f you are curious about what changes are about to happen
where you live. &t home, there are things you and your family can do to cut
back on water pollution in your neighborhood@
# "on>t litter. )rash that is thrown in the streets usually winds up down
storm drains.
* Watch those sprinklers. 0lace water sprinklers so they water the grass or
-owers and not the street or sidewalk. &lso, don>t water on windy days or in
the hottest part of the day so more water will be absorbed by plants and less
will be wasted.
3 &bout fertilizers@ they are good for the garden, but too much of a good
thing can hurt the environment by causing algae bloom. ;heck with a garden
store to fnd out how much fertilizer your soil needs and consider using
organic fertilizers.
A ;ompost your grass clippings to make natural fertilizer or leave it on the
lawn as a source of nutrients.
Agents of water pollution
!ndustry is one of the greatest source of pollution, accounting for more than
half the volume of all water pollution and for the most deadly pollutants.
Bome manufacturing facilities use huge quantities of freshwater to carry
away wastes of many kinds. )he waste(bearing water, or e,uent, is
discharged into streams, lakes, or oceans, which in turn disperse the polluting
substances. )he pollutants include grit, asbestos, phosphates and nitrates,
mercury, lead, caustic soda and other sodium compounds, sulphur and
sulphuric acid, oils, and petrochemicals.
!n addition, numerous manufacturing plants pour out undiluted corrosives,
poisons, and other no%ious by(products. )he construction industry discharges
slurries of gypsum, cement, abrasives, metals, and poisonous solvents.
&nother pervasive group of contaminants entering food chains isthe
0olychlorinated 2iphenyl (0;2) compounds, components of lubricants, plastic
wrappers, and adhesives. !n yet another instance of pollution, hot water
discharged by factories and power plants causes so(called thermal pollution
by increasing water temperatures. Buch increases change the level of o%ygen
dissolved in a body of water, thereby disrupting the water9s ecological
balance, killing o some plant and animal species while encouraging the
overgrowth of others.
)owns and municipalities are also ma?or sources of water pollution. !n many
public water systems, pollution e%ceeds safe levels. .ne reason for this is
that much groundwater has been contaminated by wastes pumped
underground for disposal or by seepage from surface water. When
contamination reaches underground water tables, it is diCcult to correct and
spreads over wide areas. !n addition, many D.B. communities discharge
untreated or only partially treated sewage into the waterways, threatening
the health of their own and neighboring populations.
&long with domestic wastes, sewage carries industrial contaminants and a
growing tonnage of paper and plastic refuse. &lthough thorough sewage
treatment would destroy most disease(causing bacteria, the problem of the
spread of viruses and viral illness remains. &dditionally, most sewage
treatment does not remove phosphorus compounds, contributed principally
by detergents, which cause eutrophication of lakes and ponds. =%creted
drugs and household chemicals also are not removed by present municipal
treatment facilities, and can be recycled into the drinking water supply.
Eain drainage is another ma?or polluting agent because it carries such
substances as highway debris (including oil and chemicals from automobile
e%hausts), sediments from highway and building construction, and acids and
radioactive wastes from mining operations into freshwater systems as well as
into the ocean. &lso transported by rain runo and by irrigation return(-ow
are animal wastes from farms and feedlots, a widespread source of pollutants
impairing rivers and streams, groundwater, and even some coastal waters.
&ntibiotics, hormones, and other chemicals used to raise livestock are
components of such animal wastes. 0esticide and fertilizer residues from
farms also contribute to water pollution via rain drainage.
tarry oil residues are encountered throughout the &tlantic, as are Btyrofoam
and other plastic rubbish. 0lastic bits litter sections of the 0acifc as far north
as &mchitka !sland near &laska. /arbage, solid industrial wastes, and sludge
formed in sewage treatment, all commonly dumped into oceans, are other
marine pollutants found worldwide, especially along coastal areas.
Dangers of Water Pollution:
Firtually all water pollutants are hazardous to humans as well as lesser
speciesG sodium is implicated in cardiovascular disease, nitrates in blood
disorders. Hercury and lead can cause nervous disorders. Bome contaminants
are carcinogens. !t cause liver and nerve damageI skin eruptions, vomiting,
fever, diarrhoea, and foetal abnormalities.
"ysentery, salmonellas, ;ryptosporidium, and hepatitis are among the
maladies transmitted by sewage in drinking and bathing water. !n the Dnited
Btates, beaches along coasts, riverbanks, and lakeshores have been ruined
for bathers by industrial wastes, municipal sewage, and medical waste. Water
pollution is an even greater problem in the )hird World, where millions of
people obtain water for drinking and sanitation from unprotected streams and
ponds that are contaminated with human waste. )his type of contamination
has been estimated to cause more than 3 million deaths annually from
diarrhoea in )hird World countries, most of them children.