Question

what is meant by water pollution?write down its main harmful effects

Answer 1

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Water pollution can be defined as the contamination of water bodies. Water pollution is caused when water bodies such as rivers, lakes, oceans, groundwater, and aquifers get contaminated with industrial and agricultural effluents.The effects of water contamination can be felt for years to come.

Answer 2

Water pollution:

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment.

The main sources of water pollution are the following:

• Discharge of untreated Raw Sewage from households and factories
• Chemicals dumped from Factories
• Agricultural run-offs that make their way into our rivers and streams and groundwater sources
• Urbanization
• The rising use of synthetic organic substances
• Oil Spills
• Acid Rain caused by the burning of Fossil Fuels
• Human littering in rivers, oceans, lakes and other bodies of water.
• Harmful litter includes plastics, aluminum, glass and Styrofoam.

Effect of Polluted Water on Humans

How does water pollution affect humans? Try drinking untreated water nowadays and your body will immediately react to it. You will get a stomach ache at the least. Water-borne diseases account for the deaths of 3,575,000 people a year! That’s equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every hour, and the majority of these are children. 

Infectious diseases can be spread  through contaminated water. Some of these water-borne diseases are Typhoid, Cholera, Paratyphoid Fever, Dysentery, Jaundice, Amoebiasis and Malaria. 

Chemicals in the water also have negative effects on our health. 

Pesticides – can damage the nervous system and cause cancer because of the carbonates and organophosphates that they contain. Chlorides can cause reproductive and endocrinal damage.

Nitrates – are especially dangerous to babies that drink formula milk. It restricts the amount of oxygen in the brain and cause the “blue baby” syndrome.

Lead – can accumulate in the body and damage the central nervous system. 

Arsenic – causes liver damage, skin cancer and vascular diseases

Flourides -  in excessive amounts can make your teeth yellow and cause damage to the spinal cord.

Petrochemicals – even with very low exposure, can cause cancer.