WATER POLLUTION !!

   

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 affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.

Water pollution can come from a number of different sources. If the pollution comes from a single source, such as an oil spill, it is called point-source pollution. If the pollution comes from many sources, it is called nonpoint-source pollution.

Most types of pollution affect the immediate area surrounding the source. Sometimes the pollution may affect the environment hundreds of miles away from the source, such as nuclear waste, this is called transboundary pollution.

TYPES:

SURFACE WATER POLLUTION

GROUNDWATER

MICROBIOLOGICAL

OXYGEN DEPLETING

NUTRIENTS

SUSPENDED MATTER

CHEMICAL

CAUSES:

SEWAGE and WASTE WATER

INDUSTRIAL WASTE

OIL POLLUTION

ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION

MARINE DUMPING

RADIOACTIVE WASTE

UNDERGROUND STORAGE LEAKAGES

GLOBAL WARMING

EUTHROPICATION 

PREVENTING:

What you can do ??

If you want to help keep our waters clean, there are many things you can do to help. You can prevent water pollution of nearby rivers and lakes as well as groundwater and drinking water by following some simple guidelines in your everyday life.

• Conserve water by turning off the tap when running water is not necessary. This helps prevent water shortages and reduces the amount of contaminated water that needs treatment.

• Be careful about what you throw down your sink or toilet. Don’t throw paints, oils or other forms of litter down the drain.

• Use environmentally household products, such as washing powder, household cleaning agents and toiletries.

• Take great care not to overuse pesticides and fertilisers. This will prevent runoffs of the material into nearby water sources.

• By having more plants in your garden you are preventing fertiliser, pesticides and contaminated water from running off into nearby water sources.

• Don’t throw litter into rivers, lakes or oceans. Help clean up any litter you see on beaches or in rivers and lakes, make sure it is safe to collect the litter and put it in a nearby dustbin.