Causes And Effects Of Water Pollution

Water pollution has been seriously affecting the life of humans, plants as well as animals. The eco-system of rivers, streams, lakes, seas and oceans is also getting deteriorated due to the contamination of water, through various sources. This condition also leads to the outbreak of numerous diseases, majority of them being lethal and contagious. However, before going about finding a solution to the problem, we need to look into its underlying causes. In the following lines, we have provided information on the causes and harmful effects of water pollution. Go through them and then decide on your course of action.

Sources Of Water Pollution

Dumping of industrial wastes, containing heavy metals, harmful chemicals, by-products, organic toxins and oils, into the nearby source of water is one of the visible causes of water pollution.
Another cause for the contamination of water is the improper disposal of human and animal wastes.
Effluents from factories, refineries, injection wells and sewage treatment plants are dumped into urban water supplies, leading to water pollution.
A number of pollutants, both harmful and poisonous, enter the groundwater systems through rain water.
The residue of agricultural practices, including fertilizers and pesticides, are some of the major sources of water pollution.
Untreated pollutants are drained into the nearest water body, such as stream, lake or harbor, causing water pollution.
Another major source of water pollution comprises of organic farm wastes. When farm land, treated with pesticides and fertilizers, is irrigated, the excess nitrogen and poisons get mixed into the water supply, thereby contaminating it.
Pathogens, sediments and chemical pollutants are other sources of water pollution.
The corporeal wastes produced by humans and farmed organisms pollute rivers, lakes, oceans and other surface waters.

Harmful Effects Of Water Pollution

A number of waterborne diseases are produced by the pathogens present in polluted water, affecting humans and animals alike.
Pollution affects the chemistry of water. The pollutants, including toxic chemicals, can alter the acidity, conductivity and temperature of water.
Polluted municipal water supplies are found to pose a threat to the health of people using them.
As per the records, about 14000 people perish or incur various communicable diseases due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water.
The concentration of bacteria and viruses in polluted water causes increase in solids suspended in the water body, which, in turn, leads to health problems.
Marine life becomes deteriorated due to water pollution. Lethal killing of fish and aquatic plants in rivers, oceans and seas is an aftereffect of water contamination only.
Diseases affecting the heart, poor circulation of blood and the nervous system and ailments like skin lesion, cholera and diarrhea are often linked to the harmful effects of water pollution.
Carcinogenic pollutants found in polluted water might cause cancer.
Alteration in the chromosomal makeup of the future generation is foreseen, as a result of water pollution.
Discharges from power stations reduce the availability of oxygen in the water body, in which they are dumped.
The flora and fauna of rivers, sea and oceans is adversely affected by water pollution.

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