WATER POLLUTION

DEFINITION OF WATER POLLUTION

y Water pollution is an undesirable change in the

state of water, contaminated with harmful substances.

y Any change in the physical, chemical and

biological properties of water that has a harmful effect on living things is water pollution.
y Water pollution affects all the major water

bodies of the world such as lakes, rivers, oceans and groundwater.

y Polluted water is unfit

for drinking and for other consumption processes. It is also not suitable for agricultural and industrial use.
y The effects of water

pollution are harmful to human beings, plants, animals, fish and birds.
y Due to water pollution,

the entire ecosystem gets disturbed.

CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION

SEWAGE AND WASTEWATER y Domestic households, industrial and agricultural practices produce wastewater that can cause pollution of many lakes and rivers.
y Sewage is the term used for wastewater that

often contains faeces, urine and laundry waste.

y Untreated sewage water in such areas can

contaminate the environment and cause diseases such as diarrhoea.

y Sewage in developed countries is carried

away from the home quickly and hygienically through sewage pipes.
y Sewage is treated in water treatment plants

and the waste is often disposed into the sea.

y Sewage is mainly biodegradable and most

of it is broken down in the environment.

INDUSTRIAL WATER AND WATER POLLUTION

y Industry is a huge source of water pollution, it produces pollutants that are extremely harmful to people and the environment. y Pollutants from industrial sources include:
y Asbestos y This pollutant is a serious health hazard and carcinogenic. Asbestos fibres can be inhaled and cause illnesses such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, lung cancer, intestinal cancer and liver cancer.

y Lead
y

This is a metallic element and can cause health and environmental problems. Lead is harmful to the health of many animals, including humans, as it can inhibit the action of bodily enzymes.

y Mercury
y

This is a metallic element and can cause health and environmental problems. Mercury is also harmful to animal health as it can cause illness through mercury poisoning.

y Nitrates
y

The increased use of fertilisers means that nitrates are more often being washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.

y Phosphates
y

The increased use of fertilisers means that phosphates are more often being washed from the soil and into rivers and lakes. This can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.

y Sulphur This is a non-metallic substance that

is harmful for marine life.

y Oils Oil does not dissolve in water, instead it

forms a thick layer on the water surface. This can stop marine plants receiving enough light for photosynthesis. It is also harmful for fish and marine birds.
y Petrochemicals This is formed from gas or

petrol and can be toxic to marine life.

OIL POLLUTION
y Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping.

y Oil cannot dissolve in

water and forms a thick sludge in the water.

y This suffocates fish, gets caught in the

feathers of marine birds stopping them from flying and blocks light from photosynthetic aquatic plants.

y Oil spills cause a very localised problem

but can be catastrophic to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters.

MARINE DUMPING
y Dumping of litter in the sea can cause huge problems. Different items take different lengths of time to degrade in water:
y Cardboard Takes 2 weeks to degrade. y Newspaper Takes 6 weeks to degrade. y Photodegradable packaging Takes 6 weeks y y y y y

to degrade. Foam Takes 50 years to degrade. Styrofoam Takes 80 years to degrade. Aluminium Takes 200 years to degrade. Plastic packaging Takes 400 years to degrade. Glass It takes so long to degrade that we dont know the exact time.

ATMOSPHERIC y Atmospheric deposition is the pollution of water caused by air pollution. y In the atmosphere, water particles mix with carbon dioxide sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, this forms a weak acid. y Air pollution means that water vapour absorbs more of these gases and becomes even more acidic. y When it rains the water is polluted with these gases, this is called acid rain. y When acid rain pollutes marine habitats such as rivers and lakes, aquatic life is harmed.

GLOBAL WARMING
y An increase in water temperature can

result in the death of many aquatic organisms and disrupt many marine habitats.
y For example, a rise in water

temperatures causes coral bleaching of reefs around the world. This is when the coral expels the microorganisms of which it is dependent on. This can result in great damage to coral reefs and subsequently, all the marine life that depends on it.

y The rise in the Earths water temperature

is caused by global warming.

y Global warming is a process where the

average global temperature increases due to the greenhouse effect.

The burning of fossil fuel releases greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. This causes heat from the sun to get trapped in the Earths atmosphere and consequently the global temperature rises.

EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION

1) The food chain is damaged. When toxins are in the water, the toxins travel from the water the animals drink to humans when the animals meat is eaten.

2) Diseases can spread via polluted water. Infectious diseases such as typhoid and cholera can be contracted from drinking contaminated water

3) Acid rain, which can harm fish or plant life in lakes and rivers.

4) Pollutants in the water will alter the overall chemistry of the water, causing changes in acidity, temperature and conductivity. 5) Marine food sources are contaminated or eliminated by water pollution. 6) Altered water temperatures can kill the marine life and affect the delicate ecological balance in bodies of water, especially lakes and rivers.

ISSUE AND IMPLICATION

Pollution Caused by Oil Spills
Shetland Oil Spill y In January of 1993, an oil tanker ran aground off the Shetland Islands, Scotland in the United Kingdom.
y This oil threatened seabirds, salmon, sea-trout, gray seals, otters, and other species on and around the islands. y The quick action by government officials and the luck of the rough seas has minimized the damage in the case of this spill.

y After this spill, the problem of water

pollution in the United Kingdom has been examined more clearly.

Pollution Caused by Industrial Dumping or Projects

Hong Kong Waste Fee y As recently as 1995, all of the factories in Hong Kong dumped their detergents, toxic chemicals, and waste water into the territory's harbor.
y This waste has corroded pipes and dribbled

toxic metals into the harbor. This has caused serious water pollution in the Hong Kong harbor.

y The government has shown its commitment

to cleaning up the water pollution in Hong Kong.

y Enviropeace is a private firm which must be

paid to treat this factory waste.

y Currently the Hong Kong taxpayer must pay

for the waste treatment plant.

Pollution Caused by a Combination of Different Types of Waste Dumping

Baltic Sea Pollution y The Baltic Sea has a severe water pollution problem.
y Nations surrounding the sea have been

dumping untreated human waste, toxic materials, and metal into the sea since the 1960s.

y Specific waste being dumped into the sea

includes factory waste being deposited directly into the sea or rivers which feed directly into the sea.
y Another type of waste is agricultural run off

from all western European countries.

y The environmental pollution in the Baltic Sea

can cause damage to the sea.

Water pollution in Malaysia

y A good example is the construction of a new

golf course near the waterfall at tourist attraction Frasers Hill in the state of Pahang.
y Cause it to become extremely murky and dirty

due to the silt and sand that comes from the construction.
y The waterfall which has been the centre point of

the hill has now lost all its attraction just because of the overwhelming need to attract more tourists to the place by building more facilities.

y The Jeriau waterfall has been adversely

affected by the siltation caused by the development of the new 18-hole golf resort.
y Trees had to go and the soil was left with

nothing to hold on to. For each green, terraces had to be cut into the steep mountain terrain and had left scars.
y The greens have to be constantly watered and

the little river became bigger and bigger and muddier.

y Chemicals and high doses of fertilizers are

used to keep the greens green and the grass short and tight.
y The toxins are washed away with the water and

poison the drinking source of the Orang Asli further down the stream.

What are the Ways to Prevent Water Pollution?

y Toxic products should be stored and disposed

off properly. As a matter of fact, it is better to use non-toxic, products for the house as far as possible.
y Dispose off your trash in a proper manner and

try and incorporate the recycling habit as far as possible.

y Refrain from throwing litter into streams, lakes,

rivers, or seas.

y Try using environmentally friendly household

products.
y Try using natural fertilizers and pesticides as

far as possible, or if not, do not overuse them or over-water gardens and lawns.
y Also, actively conserve water by turning the tap

off when you do not need running water, such as while brushing teeth