Scribd
Upload
190 views

Non Technical Presentation

Water pollution is a major global problem that causes millions of deaths annually. It occurs when harmful chemicals, particles, or biological materials are introduced into water systems, negatively impacting human and environmental health. There are two main sources of water pollution - point sources which discharge pollutants from identifiable sources like pipes or drains, and non-point sources where pollution comes from diffuse origins like agricultural runoff. Common causes of water pollution include sewage, detergents, agricultural and urban runoff, litter, and byproducts from the oil and shipping industries. Effective solutions require coordinated international, national, and local policies and actions.

Uploaded by

Sreejith
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
190 views

Non Technical Presentation

Water pollution is a major global problem that causes millions of deaths annually. It occurs when harmful chemicals, particles, or biological materials are introduced into water systems, negatively impacting human and environmental health. There are two main sources of water pollution - point sources which discharge pollutants from identifiable sources like pipes or drains, and non-point sources where pollution comes from diffuse origins like agricultural runoff. Common causes of water pollution include sewage, detergents, agricultural and urban runoff, litter, and byproducts from the oil and shipping industries. Effective solutions require coordinated international, national, and local policies and actions.

Uploaded by

Sreejith
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Non Technical Presentation

Water Pollution

Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water
resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested
that water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the
deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.

What is Water pollution?

Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful
effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives (in) it. When humans drink polluted water it often has
serious effects on their health. Water pollution can also make water unsuited for the desired use.

Source of water pollution

Point sources

Point source water pollution refers to contaminants that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source,
such as a pipe or ditch. Examples of sources in this category include discharges from a sewage treatment
plant, a factory, or a city storm drain. The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) defines point source for regulatory
enforcement purposes. The CWA definition of point source was amended in 1987 to include municipal
storm sewer systems, as well as industrial storm water, such as from construction sites.

Non-point sources

Non-point source pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete
source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a
large area.

A common example is the leaching out of nitrogen compounds from fertilized agricultural lands. Nutrient
runoff in storm water from "sheet flow" over an agricultural fi ed or a forest are also cited as examples of
NPS pollution.
Contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and highways, called urban runoff, is
sometimes included under the category of NPS pollution. However, because this runoff is typically
channeled into storm drain systems and discharged through pipes to local surface waters, it becomes a
point source.

Where does water pollution come from?

Water pollution is usually caused by human activities. Different human sources add to the pollution of
water. There are two sorts of sources, point and nonpoint sources. Point sources discharge pollutants at
specific locations through pipelines or sewers into the surface water. Nonpoint sources are sources that
cannot be traced to a single site of discharge.

Examples of point sources are: factories, sewage treatment plants, underground mines, oil wells, oil tankers
and agriculture.

Examples of nonpoint sources are: acid deposition from the air, traffic, pollutants that are spread through
rivers and pollutants that enter the water through groundwater.
Nonpoint pollution is hard to control because the perpetrators cannot be traced.

Common causes of water pollution

 Sewage and wastewater: Out of sight, out of mind? Surfers will tell you that sewage contains all kinds of horrific
nasties, from sanitary products, condoms, paper, and plastics, to bacteria and viruses that can make you extremely
ill.

 Soaps and washing detergents: Phosphates in detergents can fertilize rivers and seas, causing algal blooms that
use up oxygen and kill fish life.
 Invasive species: Often carried around the world by ships, they suddenly appear in rivers, lakes, and seas where they
have no predators, quickly wiping out their natural rivals.

 Atmospheric deposition: This is air pollution that returns to Earth as land and water pollution, including acid rain
that falls into oceans, rivers, and seas, chemical discharges from chimneys (smokestacks), and fly ash from waste
incinerators.

 Highway and street runoff: Cars obviously wear out as they drive down roads—but it's less obvious that they
wear out and leave toxic residues on the roads themselves. Heavy storms wash poisoned sludge off roads into
surrounding land where it drains into rivers or groundwater.

 Agricultural runoff: Fertilizers, weedkillers, and other farm chemicals wash into rivers and groundwater,
causing algal blooms and potentially contaminating drinking water.

 Litter: Plastic bottles and bags can last up to 500 years in the environment without biodegrading (breaking down
naturally). If you've ever done a beach clean and studied the waste you collect, you will have noticed that the vast
majority of it is small, random bits of plastic.

 Oil production: Most oil is produced offshore and transported by ships, so it's no surprise that the oil industry is a
big polluter. Despite the huge media attention they gain, tanker accidents account for only about 10 percent of the
total amount of oil that enters the oceans. Unfortunately, they often create a huge amount of pollution in one
place, overwhelming the local ecosystem.

 Ship pollution: Several decades after important international agreements to stop marine pollution were
signed, oil leakage and waste disposal from ships (including cruise ships, warships, and tankers) remains a
significant cause of ocean pollution.

You might also like