Water pollution, Science

Water Pollution

Pollution of  fresh water is one of  the most serious environmental problems of the world as a whole. In our country most of the rivers and lakes are polluted and their waters are unfit for drinking. According  to an estimate nearly 2/3rds of all illness in  India is related to water - borne diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis, jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea  and dysentry. About 73 million workdays are lost due to these diseases every year. Pollutants from different sources enter surface waters as depicted in Fig. 16.3. Now we shall take up these sources one by one and discuss how  they cause pollution. 

i) Water is required in large quantities  in industrial processes, for cooling. washing, diluting chemicals or cleaning purposes. Power plants, fertiliser  factories,  steel mills, paper mills, refineries, sugar factories  and automobile factories  are examples of industries which mostly dump their wastes in rivers or into the sea. It is not a rare sight to see the used water with foul smelling chemicals just standing  around the factories as a symbol of total disregard of civic responsibility. 

ii) Community wastes (sewage and garbage) from urban and rural settlements account for four times as much water as industrial wastes. Most of these wastes are discharged untreated into the water courses. Out of India's 3119  towns and cities, only 217 have partial (209) or full (8) sewage treatment facilities. It is not unusual to find whole localities where waste water, with all its filth,  just  stands  around the houses where poor people live.

iii) Water  that flows on the surface of cultivated fields where fertilisers,  pesticides, insecticides and other agrochemicals are used, contributes much to the pollution of water. This water, on absorption also pollutes the underground sources.  

1537_water pollution.png

iv)  Nuclear and thermal power stations  use large quantities of water for cooling purposes. They discharge  the resultant hot water often containing chemicals, into water streams. This results in increase in temperature of  the water of  the stream, which is injurious for fish, and other aquatic organisms. 

V)  Pollution of river water by  ferries which leave a certain amount of  oil on river surfaces and similar  pollution by ships on the high seas interferes with the supply of oxygen needed for plants, and animals such as  fish etc. in water. Offshore  exploration for petroleum, and accidental oil spills cause similar problems for under-water life. 

vi)  Acid water from mines, and also  from rain pollutes water in rivers and in  the sea.  

vii)  Suspended particles  in  the air, such as the pesticides sprayed through an aircraft are brought down into the water bodies by rain and thus cause pollution of water.

So far, you have seen, how water on the surface of the land is polluted by various means. Now, let us talk about our underground water resources and see if  they are free of pollution. Ordinarily one would expect underground water to be free of pollutants, because bacteria and deca  y-causing  fungi present in the soil  can remove most organic  contaminants  beforewater reaches the water body underneath the soil. But sometimes, the underground water is polluted with heavy metals, nitrates, chlorides etc. You may wonder how do pollutants enter the groundwater? Previously, industries were accustomed to running waste waters to pits. There the pollulants would seep into  the ground. Also some of  the wastes, were buried in deep wells made in the soil. from which pollutants were constantly discharged. Anolher reason  is excessive use of fertilisers in the fields, which gradually seep down to the ground water. Having seen how our water resources both on surface and underground, are pollutt.d, we shall now discuss the effects of water pollution on the life forms. Some of the worst problems have been created by pollution of  streams.  with heavy metals such as  lead and mercury coming out of industrial wastes. These pollutants make bathing and drinking water from such sources dangerous. Fish from such sources are also not safe to eat.  

Posted Date: 9/28/2012 6:07:30 AM | Location : United States

Related Discussions:- Water pollution, Assignment Help, Ask Question on Water pollution, Get Answer, Expert's Help, Water pollution Discussions

Write discussion on Water pollution
Your posts are moderated
Related Questions
Burns : There are two types of burns which we are to discuss: 1) Chemical 2) Thermal Chemical burns have already been discussed in Sec. 16.7; so we shall discuss thermal

Explain the Composition of pancreatic juice Pancreatic juice is the secretion of the exocrine part of the pancreas.  It is alkaline in reaction.  Its pH is 8.0 - 8.3. It consis

Although certain physiological aspects of disposition of substances by organs within the body had received atten-tion earlier, it was in 1937, with the seminal work of Teorell, tha

Explain Abductor Muscles Abductor muscle is a muscle that serves to draw a part out, or from the median line (as the abductor oculi, which draws the eye outward). Abductor m

Explain the Proximal Convoluted Tubule - Structures of a Nephron Proximal Convoluted Tubule or proximal tubule (PCT): The proximal tubule is the most proximal part of the renal


Procedures for Treatment of Chemical Burns : Accidental splashing of chemicals onto the skin can produce burns as a result of the corrosive nature of the substance involved. It ca

what is the unsaturated