WATER
(PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION)
ACT,1974
WHAT IS POLLUTION?
Pollution is the introduction of harmful
materials into the environment. These
harmful materials are called pollutants.
Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic
ash. They can also be created by human
activity, such as trash or runoff produced by
factories. Pollutants damage the quality of
air, water, and land.
IS POLLUTION A
GLOBAL PROBLEM?
Pollution is a global problem. Although
urban areas are usually more polluted than
the countryside, pollution can spread to
remote places where no people live. For
example, pesticides and other chemicals
have been found in the Antarctic ice sheet.
In the middle of the northern Pacific
Ocean, a huge collection of microscopic
plastic particles forms what is known as the
Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
WATER POLLUTION
Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad,
and has garbage floating in it. Some polluted
water looks clean, but is filled with harmful
chemicals you can’t see or smell. Polluted water
is unsafe for drinking and swimming. Some
people who drink polluted water are exposed to
hazardous chemicals that may make them sick
years later. Others consume bacteria and other
tiny aquatic organisms that cause disease.
Sometimes, polluted water harms people
indirectly. They get sick because the fish that live
in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They have too
many pollutants in their flesh.
CAUSES OF WATER
POLLUTION
Water is uniquely vulnerable to
pollution. Known as a “universal
solvent,” water is able to dissolve more
substances than any other liquid on
earth. It’s the reason we have Kool-Aid
and brilliant blue waterfalls. It’s also
why water is so easily polluted. Toxic
substances from farms, towns, and
factories readily dissolve into and mix
with it, causing water pollution.
AGRICULTURAL
Not only is the agricultural sector the biggest consumer of global
freshwater resources, with farming and livestock production
using about 70 percent of the earth’s surface water supplies, but
it’s also a serious water polluter. Around 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’s also a major contributor of
contamination to estuaries and groundwater. Every time it rains,
fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock
operations wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and
viruses—into 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.
SEWAGE AND
WASTEWATER
Used 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.
More than 80 percent of the world’s 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. In 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’s when all goes well. But according to EPA estimates,
our nation’s aging and easily overwhelmed sewage treatment systems also
release more than 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater each year.
Big 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. Moreover, 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—through both legal and illegal
discharges—contribute about one-third. Oil is also naturally released from under
the ocean floor through fractures known as seeps.
DIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES
Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally
released by the environment. It’s 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. Radioactive
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
EFFECTS OF WATER
POLLUTION
Pollution of water affects both humans and aquatic life. Most water sources close to cities
and urban centres are polluted by garbage and dumping of chemicals, legally or illegally.
Below are some of the common as well as adverse effects of polluting water bodies.
EFFECTS ON HUMAN BEINGS
Life is a cycle, and humanity’s irresponsible behavior often comes back to haunt it.
Adding contaminants to water bodies has affected the human family in several ways.
According to a 2017 WHO report, 2.1 billion people do not have access to safe water. In
2019, it stated that 785 million people lack access to essential drinking water.
One of the main effects of this is diseases. World Health Organisation notes that there are
about 120,000 cholera-related deaths annually. Also, the Fukushima tragedy, for example,
increased the prevalence of thyroid cancer in exposed infants by 70%.
DEATH OF AQUATIC LIFE
Animals and plants that depend on water for life are the most affected by polluted water.
Statistics from the Centre for Biological Diversity on the effects of the Deep Horizon spill
provides a useful glimpse of the impact of pollution on aquatic life. In the report, the 2010
spill on the Gulf of Mexico harmed over 82,000 birds, 25,900 marine animals, 6165 sea
turtles, and an unknown number of fish and invertebrates.
FOOD CHAIN DISRUPTION
Pollution disrupts the food chain by moving the toxins from one level in the chain to higher
levels. In some cases, pollution can wipe out an entire part of the food chain. Such affect the
other organisms by either causing excessive growth, in case the predator dies or death (if it
wipes out the prey).
DESTRUCTION OF ECOSYSTEMS
The introduction or elimination of certain microorganisms distorts the ecosystem. Nutrient
pollution, for example, leads to an increase in algae, which depletes the water of oxygen,
thereby leading to the death of fish and other aquatic life.
ECONOMIC EFFECTS
Managing and restoring polluted water bodies are expensive. For example, Japan declared in
2019 that it is running out of space to contain the contaminated water after the Fukushima
disaster. It currently has over a million tons of contaminated water stored in tanks. Research
shows that it will cost at least $660 billion to clean up the effects of the disaster.
In normal conditions, it costs more to purify drinking water, not to mention the health cost of
treating diseases resulting from contaminated water.
WAYS TO PREVENT
WATER POLUTION
1. Wastewater treatment
Wastewater treatment consists of removing pollutants from wastewater through a physical, chemical or biological
process. The more efficient these processes are, the cleaner the water becomes.
2. Green agriculture
Globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of water resources, so it is essential to have climate-friendly crops,
efficient irrigation that reduces the need for water and energy-efficient food production. Green agriculture is also
crucial to limit the chemicals that enter the water.
3. Stormwater management
Stormwater management is the effort to reduce runoff of rainwater or melted snow into streets, lawns and other
sites and the improvement of water quality” according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is
important to avoid pollutants from contaminating the water and helps to use water more efficiently.
4. Air pollution prevention
Air Pollution has a direct impact on water contamination as 25% of human induced Carbondioxide emissions are
absorbed by oceans. This pollution causes a rapid acidification of our oceans, and threatens marine life and corals.
Preventing air pollution is the best way to prevent this from happening.
5. Plastic waste reduction
80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources. In order to reduce the amount of plastic entering our ocean, we
need to both reduce our use of plastic globally, and to improve plastic waste management.
6. Water conservation
Without water conservation, we won’t go very far. It is central in making sure the world has better access to clean
water. It means being aware that water is a scarce resource, taking care of it accordingly, and managing it
responsibly.
