Causes and Consequences of Water Pollution

Water is one of the most important elements used to sustain life on Earth. Two-thirds of the globe is covered in water. Unfortunately, water is extremely susceptible to pollution because it is a universal solvent that will dissolve many substances.

When harmful substances enter bodies of water, there is a risk of making the water toxic. Water pollution is a serious problem and can lead to negative effects on health, the environment, and the economy.

What is Water Pollution?

Water pollution is defined as the release of a substance into a body of water to the point where the contaminant interferes with the natural functioning ecosystem.

Water pollutants come from one of two sources: point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel. A dispersed source is a broad, unconfined area where a variety of contaminants can run into the water.

Controlling water pollution from a point source is easier than controlling water contaminants from a dispersed source. The majority of water pollution comes from a dispersed source.

Water pollution can also include the release of energy into bodies of water. This pollution would be in the form of radioactivity or heat instead of chemicals, trash, or microorganisms.

What Causes Water Pollution?

Water pollution can come from many sources, including pathogenic microorganisms, organic waste, fertilizers, plant nutrients, toxic chemicals, heat, petroleum, sediments, and radioactive substances. Domestic sewage is the leading cause of pathogens and organic substances in the water. Treating the sewage reduces the levels of toxins in wastewater, but it does not get rid of them completely.

Solid waste is another big source of water pollution. This category of waste includes trash, electronic waste, and construction waste created by humans.

This problem is especially prevalent in developing countries that lack the infrastructure to properly handle solid waste. In some places, this waste is dumped into bodies of water as a form of disposal.

Solid waste that was dumped on land can make its way to bodies of water and contaminate it that way. Many solid waste items, such as plastics and electronics, can leach harmful chemicals into bodies of water as they break down.

Petroleum oil is a pervasive water pollutant. Catastrophic oil spills have been documented all across the globe, but this pollution also happens when oil on the roads is carried off in surface water runoff and into larger bodies of water. The oil and water do not mix well, but it is difficult to separate the two substances once they are together.

Industrial waste and agriculture sites are two industries that contribute a lot to water pollution. Many industrial sites produce toxic chemicals, and several do not have proper waste management systems in place. This waste can be dumped into nearby freshwater areas and can pollute the whole system.

Many farmers spray crops with chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides to keep the pests away. They can seep into the groundwater and potentially harm the ecosystem.

When it rains, the chemicals can mix with rainwater and flow into rivers, streams, or the ocean. The toxic chemicals make the water harmful to drink and can cause the water temperature to change, harming the inhabitants of the water.

Global warming is also a contributor to water pollution. Rising temperatures can cause stress or even death to animals that are not adapted to warmer temperatures. If large amounts of animals die off, their decomposing bodies exacerbate the problem and cause further damage.

Water Pollution Consequences

Solid waste and domestic sewage can add a lot of plant nutrients, like nitrates and phosphates, to the water. These two substances in water promote the growth of algae which can lead to algal blooms. These plants lower the oxygen in the water and lead to the death of the body of water. This process is called eutrophication.

It is a naturally occurring process that happens slowly in nature. It can be sped up by human interactions and can lead to the premature death of the water system. Oceans have a natural capacity to absorb pollutants, but that capacity is limited.

Contamination from sewage, oil, trash, shipwrecks, and other pollutants can harm marine life. Harmful materials are sometimes washed up on the shore, which can harm humans.

Researchers estimate that floating plastic waste has accumulated in five subtropical gyres that now cover roughly 40% of the world’s oceans. Pollution in the ocean can lead to dead zones in coastal areas and water acidification which is harmful to the ocean’s inhabitants.

Water pollution is deadly. It causes millions of deaths and makes about 1 billion people sick per year. Low-income communities are at a higher risk for water contamination problems because their homes are usually closest to the factories doing the polluting.

Water pollution does not just affect people in developing countries or lower-income communities though. Accidental or illegal sewage dumping and farm-water runoff contribute to pollutants in the waterways.

Thousands of people in the U.S. contract Legionnaires’ disease every year. Cholera, giardia, and typhoid are also illnesses that can be contracted from drinking contaminated water.

This is not even getting into cases such as the Flint Michigan water crisis where the water has been contaminated by lead in the pipes. The problems go beyond that and include a large range of pollutants from lead, mercury, arsenic, pesticides, and nitrate fertilizers.

These toxins can lead to a lot of health problems if they are ingested. They can lead to hormone disruption, cancer, or altered brain function, just to name a few.

Swimming in contaminated waters can lead to a whole host of problems too. Estimates show 3.5 million Americans suffer from skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and more from swimming in coastal waters that are polluted with sewage.

Healthy ecosystems rely on a complex balance of interactions between the animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi in an area. Messing with one part of the system can mess up the whole chain.

Harm to one area is harmful to every area. The same goes for humans. Water pollution affects our health and the health of the world around us.