Water Pollution

Ento-6117
• For water to be useful for drinking and irrigation, it must not be polluted
beyond certain thresholds.
• According to the World Health Organization, in 2008 approximately 880
million people in the world (or 13% of world population) did not have
access to safe drinking water.
• At the same time, about 2.6 billion people (or 40% of world population)
lived without improved sanitation, which is defined as having access to a
public sewage system, septic tank, or even a simple pit latrine.
• Each year approximately 1.7 million people die from diarrheal diseases
associated with unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor
hygiene.
• Almost all of these deaths are in developing countries, and around 90% of
them occur among children under the age of 5
• Any natural water contains dissolved chemicals, some of which are
important human nutrients while others can be harmful to human
health.
• The concentration of a water pollutant is commonly given in very
small units such as parts per million (ppm) or even parts per billion
(ppb).
• An arsenic concentration of 1 ppm means 1 part of arsenic per million
parts of water.
 EPA Drinking Water Standards, 1989
Max. Permissable
Contaminant Health Effects Amount (ppm) Sources
Organic Chemicals

Endrin Nervous system, kidney effects. 0.0002 Insecticide: cotton, grains, orchards - illegal in US

Lindane Nervous system, kidneys, carcinogen. 0.0004 Insecticide: seeds and soil, foliage, wood.

Methoxychlor Nervous ssytem, kidney effects. 0.01 Insecticide: fruits and vegetables.

2, 4-D Liver-kidney effects. 0.01 Herbicides in agriculture, forestry, pastures, aquatic.

2, 4, 5-TP Silvex Liver-kidney effects 0.01 Herbicide: cancelled in 1984.

Toxaphane Carcinogen. 0.0005 Insecticide: cotton, corn, grains.

Benzene Carcinogen. 0.005 Fuel tanks, solvents, manufacture of chemicals and

pharmaceuticals, pesticides, paints, plastics.
Carbon Tetra-Cl Possible carcinogen. 0.005 Common cleaning agent. Coolant manufacture.

p-Dichlorobenzene Possible carcinogen. 0.075 Insecticides, moth balls, air deoderizers.

1, 2-Dichloroethane Possible carcinogen. 0.005 Manufacture of insecticides.

1, 2-Dichloroethelyne Liver-kidney effects. 0.007 Manufacture of plastics, dyes, perfume, paint.

1, 1, 1-Trichloroethane Nervous system effects. 0.2 Manufacture of food wrappings, synthetic fibers.

Trichloroethane Possible carcinogen. 0.005 Dry-cleaning materials. Manufacture of pesticides,

paints, waxes, varnishws, paint stripper, degreaser.

Vinyl Chloride Carcinogen. 0.002 PVC pipes and solvents used to join them. Industrial
waste from manufacture of plastics and syn-rubber.
What Is Water Pollution?
• Water pollution occurs when harmful substances—often
chemicals or microorganisms—contaminate a stream, river, lake,
ocean, or other body of water, degrading water quality and
rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.
• This widespread problem of water pollution is risking our
health.
• Unsafe water kills more people each year than war and all other
forms of violence combined.
• Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are limited: Less than 1
percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us.
• Without action, the challenges will only increase by 2050, when
global demand for freshwater is expected to be one-third
greater than it is now.
 Water Pollution
Pollution can affect both surface waters

and groundwater
Sources of Water
Pollution

• There are various classifications of water pollution.

• The two chief sources of water pollution can be seen as
1. Point source
2. Non-Point source
Point source
• Those sources which discharge water pollutants directly into the water are known as
point sources of water pollution.

– Oil wells situated near water bodies,

– factories,
– power plants,
– underground coal mines,

Non-Point source
• Those sources which do not have any specific location for discharging pollutants, in the
water body are known as non-point sources of water pollution.

• Run-offs from agricultural fields, lawns, gardens, construction sites, roads and streets
Pollution can come from
either a point source
or a non-point source
Agricultural fields
Road salt
 What are the types of water pollution
1. Nutrients Pollution
•Some wastewater, fertilizers and sewage contain
high levels of nutrients.

•If they end up in water bodies, they encourage

algae and weed growth in the water

•This will make the water undrinkable, and even

clog filters.

•Too much algae will also use up all the oxygen

in the water, and other water organisms in the
water will die out of oxygen starvation.

eutrophication
2. Surface water pollution
•Surface water includes natural water found on the earth's surface, like
rivers, lakes and oceans.
•Hazardous substances coming into contact with this surface water,
dissolving with the water can be called surface water pollution.
3. Oxygen Depleting
•Water bodies have micro-organisms including aerobic and anaerobic
organisms.
•When to much biodegradable matter end up in water, it encourages more
microorganism growth, and they use up more oxygen in the water.
•If oxygen is depleted, aerobic organisms die, and anaerobic organism grow
more to produce harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.
4. Ground water pollution
•When humans apply pesticides and chemicals to soils, they are washed
deep into the ground by rain water.
•This gets to underground water, causing pollution underground.
•This means when we dig wells and bore holes to get water from
underground, it needs to be checked for water pollution.
•Ground water can become contaminated from natural sources or different
types of human activities.
•Residential, municipal, commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities
can all affect ground water quality.
•Contaminants may reach ground water from activities on the land surface,
such as releases or spills from stored industrial wastes; leaking
underground petroleum storage systems;
5. Chemical Water Pollution
•Many industries and farmers work with chemicals that end up in water.
•These include chemicals that are used to control weeds, insects and pests.
•Metals and solvents from industries can pollute water bodies.
•These are poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their
development, make them infertile and kill them.
6. Oil Spillage
•Oil spills usually have only a localized effect on wildlife but can
spread for miles.
•The oil can cause the death to many fish and get stuck to the
feathers of seabirds causing them to lose their ability to fly.
Effects of Water Pollution
• The effects of water pollution are varied and depend on what
chemicals are dumped and in which locations.
• Many water bodies near urban areas are highly polluted.
• This is the result of both garbage dumped by individuals and
dangerous chemicals legally or illegally dumped by manufacturing
industries, health centers, schools and market places.
Effects of Pollution of Water
1.Disease: In humans, drinking or consuming polluted water in any
way has many disastrous effects on our health. It causes typhoid,
cholera, hepatitis and various other diseases.
2.Destruction of Ecosystems: Ecosystems are extremely dynamic
and respond to even small changes in the environment. Water
pollution can cause an entire ecosystem to collapse if left unchecked.
3.Eutrophication: Chemicals in a water body, encourage the growth
of algae. These algae form a layer on top of the pond or lake.
Bacteria feed on this algae and this decreases the amount of
oxygen in the water body, severely affecting the aquatic life there.
4.Effects the food chain: Disruption in food chains happens when
toxins and pollutants in the water are consumed by aquatic
animals (fish, shellfish etc) which are then consumed by humans.
Major Water Pollutants and Their
Sources

Table 20-1, p. 532

Common Diseases Transmitted to Humans
through Contaminated Drinking Water

Table 20-2, p. 532