factors responsible for water pollution 500 word
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Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution.
We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution has spread with it. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with around 7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits.
How serious is the problem? According to the environmental campaign organization WWF: "Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated."
There are many causes for water pollution. The main one is plastics. The reason for that is that plastics take four hundred and fifty years to decompose in the water. Also many companies use plastic and people throw it in the waterways. Because water can float and be carried by the wind, it can cause harm to unsuspecting creatures hundreds of feet from where it was originally dumped.
Such waste includes bags, bottles, cups, straws, cup lids, utensils, six pack holders, cling wrap, fishing line, bait bags, and floats.
The second highest cause of water pollution is ship waste. Ships used to take much garbage with them on their ships and dump them. This was very common until the government took action.
Some of the businesses that contribute to the water pollution are businesses that repair and maintain motor vehicles, electroplate, operate printing and coping equipment, perform dry cleaning and laundry services, process photographs, operate labs, involve building and construct roads, provide pest control, preserve wood, and make Furniture.
Water pollution doesn¹t just effect humans, it affects are whole ecosystem. Birds and marine life are affected by it. More than fifty species of birds are known to ingest plastic. When they eat plastic, they feel full, so some of them die of starvation. Algal blooms are another thing that kills marine life. Algal blooms are sea scum, whale food, and sea sawdust. Algal blooms are bundles of fine threads, rusty brown, they have a fishy smell, and are common in
August through December.
Water is our main source of our life. We need it to live, drink, bathe, recreation, manufacturing, and power. We need water for almost everything, if we don't start cleaning up we will be in big trouble. Bunches of families dispose of chemicals everyday. It affects us drastically and we depend on it to be clean.
Right now the government is fining people for illegal dumping. But that is all the government is doing.
Answer:
Causes of Water Pollution
Water pollution is caused due to several reasons. Here are the few major causes of water pollution:
Sewage And Waste Water: Sewage, garbage and liquid waste of households, agricultural lands and factories are discharged into lakes and rivers. These wastes contain harmful chemicals and toxins which make the water poisonous for aquatic animals and plants.
Dumping: Dumping of solid wastes and litters in water bodies causes huge problems. Litters include glass, plastic, aluminum, styrofoam etc. Different things take different amount of time to degrade in water. They affect aquatic plants and animals.
Industrial Waste: Industrial waste contains pollutants like asbestos, lead, mercury and petrochemicals which are extremely harmful to both people and environment. Industrial waste is discharged into lakes and rivers by using fresh water making the water contaminated.
Oil Pollution: Sea water gets polluted due to oil spilled from ships and tankers while traveling. The spilled oil does not dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge polluting the water.
Acid Rain: Acid rain is pollution of water caused by air pollution. When the acidic particles caused by air pollution in the atmosphere mix with water vapor, it results in acid rain.
Global Warming: Due to global warming, there is an increase in water temperature. This increase in temperature results in death of aquatic plants and animals. This also results in bleaching of coral reefs in water.
Eutrophication: Eutrophication is an increased level of nutrients in water bodies. This results in bloom of algae in water. It also depletes the oxygen in water, which negatively affects fish and other aquatic animal population.
important ways of treating polluted watersTreating polluted water
It is very important to prevent the polluting of water bodies and remove existing contaminants or reducing the concentration of these contaminants so as to make it fit for desired use. Following are some of the ways of treating polluted water:
Industrial Treatment: The raw sewage is needed to be treated correctly in a water treatment plant before it can be safely released into the environment. To reduce the amount and toxicity of waste, it is passed through a number of chambers and chemical processes in water treatment plant.
Denitrification: Conversion of nitrates in gas is called Denitrification. It is an ecological approach to prevent leaching of nitrates in soil. It stops ground water from getting contaminated.
Ozone Waste Water Treatment: Ozone waste water treatment method is becoming very popular. In this method, the pollutants in water are broken down by an ozone generator. Ozone oxidizes bacteria, molds, organic material and other pollutants in water.
Septic Tanks: Septic tanks are used to treat sewage at the place of location instead of treating it in any plant or sewage system. This system is used at the individual building level.The sewage is separated into solid and liquid components and treated separately.
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