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Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, including lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs, and groundwater, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities, such as industrial, agricultural, and urban runoff, including stormwater. Water pollution can also be caused by natural sources, such as mercury filtering from the Earth's crust. The main water pollutants include bacteria, viruses, pesticides, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals, plastics, radioactive substances, and toxic chemicals. These contaminants can lead to the degradation of aquatic ecosystems and the spread of water-borne diseases, causing more than 500,000 deaths worldwide each year.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main Causes | Sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater |
| Water Bodies Affected | Lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs, and groundwater |
| Contaminants | Toxic waste, petroleum, disease-causing microorganisms, sewage, oil spills, pesticides, fertilizers, radioactive substances, plastic, and more |
| Impact | Harming the economy, reducing agricultural yields, spreading water-borne diseases, reducing ecosystem services, and causing extreme droughts |
| Global Statistics | More than 80% of the world's sewage flows into seas and rivers untreated, and more than 80% of the world's wastewater flows back into the environment without treatment |
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What You'll Learn
Oil and petroleum
However, human activities are responsible for most oil pollution in our seas. Consumers account for a significant portion of this pollution, with oil and gasoline dripping from cars and trucks every day. Land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities are major contributors, with nearly half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil entering marine environments annually originating from these sources. The shipping industry also plays a role, with routine operations and discharges contributing about one-third of the oil in waters worldwide. Oil spills, whether from tankers or other sources, are particularly harmful as they can severely contaminate beaches, sediments, and cause serious harm to marine wildlife, vegetation, birds, and plants that grow in or near the water.
Oil spills can result in closed beaches and harbours, affecting fishing and hunting activities, which is detrimental to communities that depend on these resources. Oil pollution can also contaminate water sources intended for drinking, with hydrocarbons containing sulfur and nitrogen mixing with water in the atmosphere and falling as acid rain, causing environmental damage to water bodies, plants, and even infrastructure. Furthermore, the transportation and storage of oil are subject to leakage, adding to the pollution of water resources.
In addition to the direct impacts on the environment and ecosystems, oil pollution in water has economic consequences. The World Bank President, David Malpass, has warned that deteriorating water quality due to pollution stalls economic growth and exacerbates poverty in many countries. When the biological demand for oxygen in water increases, the GDP of affected regions can decrease significantly.
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Sewage and wastewater
Wastewater, or sewage, can be categorised into three types: domestic sewage, industrial sewage, and storm sewage. Domestic sewage, also known as sanitary sewage, carries used water from residences and contains millions of microorganisms per gallon, including coliform bacteria from the human intestinal tract. Industrial sewage contains used water from manufacturing or chemical processes, which often includes specific, identifiable chemical compounds. Storm sewage, on the other hand, carries organic materials, suspended and dissolved solids, and other substances picked up from the ground.
The disposal of domestic wastewater is a significant technical challenge due to the presence of impurities, which, despite amounting to a small fraction of the sewage by weight, are present in large volumes. These impurities include putrescible organic materials, plant nutrients, and disease-causing microbes. Inadequately treated wastewater can introduce a range of contaminants, including pathogens, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, heavy metals, and endocrine disruptors, which threaten both human health and marine species.
According to the United Nations, more than 80% of the world's sewage is released into seas and rivers without any treatment, causing a range of issues. Sewage pollution has been linked to seagrass die-offs, harmful algal blooms, and weakened reefs. It also poses risks to human health, with water users being susceptible to harmful illnesses, including viruses and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.
Overall, sewage and wastewater are significant contributors to water pollution, and the inadequate treatment of wastewater poses risks to both the environment and human well-being.
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Agricultural activities
Agriculture is a major contributor to water pollution, and the sector consumes about 70% of the world's surface water supplies. It is the leading cause of water degradation, and in the United States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams.
Another issue is the use of wastewater in agriculture, which can lead to the accumulation of microbiological and chemical pollutants in crops, livestock products, and soil and water resources. This can have severe health impacts on exposed food consumers and farm workers and may exacerbate antimicrobial resistance. The use of veterinary medicines, such as antibiotics, vaccines, and growth promoters, is a relatively new class of agricultural pollutants that move from farms through water to ecosystems and drinking water sources.
Irrigated agriculture has been linked to increased malaria incidence in the tropics, and the expansion of irrigation practices has contributed to transferring agricultural pollution to water bodies. The area equipped for irrigation has more than doubled in recent decades, and the total number of livestock has also increased significantly, further intensifying the impacts of agricultural activities on water quality.
In addition to the direct impacts of agricultural practices, there are also indirect effects on water quality. For example, agriculture intensification can lead to increased soil erosion, salinity, and sediment loads in water. The excessive use or misuse of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers, can further degrade water quality. The complex relationships between agricultural systems and freshwater systems make it challenging to fully understand the extent of the problem and implement effective solutions. However, recognizing the issue is the first step towards finding solutions and mitigating the harmful impacts of agricultural activities on water resources.
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Industrial activities
The release of wastewater or effluent from industrial facilities is a significant issue. This can include inadequately treated or untreated sewage, which can contain nutrients, pathogens, solids, and organic waste. In addition, the discharge of chemicals and other toxic substances from industrial processes can have a detrimental impact on water bodies. For example, the release of petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels and lubricants, can contaminate water resources.
Another concern is the presence of microplastics in the water, which are often the result of industrial processes and can be harmful to marine wildlife and humans who consume seafood. Radioactive waste is also a serious contaminant, which can be generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and military weapons production. This type of pollution can persist in the environment for thousands of years, making it a challenging issue to address.
Furthermore, industrial activities can contribute to eutrophication, which is the process of nutrient enrichment in water bodies, leading to excessive algae growth and the creation of "dead zones" where aquatic life cannot survive due to a lack of oxygen. This is often caused by the release of fertilizers and other nutrients into water sources. Industrial runoff, including stormwater, can also carry pollutants such as road salts, oil, grease, and chemicals into waterways, further degrading aquatic ecosystems.
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Radioactive substances
Radioactive contamination of water can occur through both natural and anthropogenic sources. Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) can percolate from soil sediments into aquifers, causing groundwater contamination. Examples of NORM include uranium, thorium, and radium, which can dissolve in water or release radioactive gases. Uranium mining and nuclear power plants are significant sources of radioactive waste, which can persist in the environment for thousands of years.
Anthropogenic sources of radioactive pollution include nuclear weapon testing, nuclear powerhouses, and the improper disposal of radioactive waste. Nuclear reactors produce radioisotopes, such as Cobalt-60 and Iridium-192, used in medical equipment like X-rays and MRI machines. These medical applications can also introduce radioactive elements into water supplies. Industrial activities, such as oil and gas drilling, can unearth radioactive elements in bedrock, contributing to water pollution.
The production and testing of military weapons, as well as scientific laboratories, are additional sources of radioactive contamination. Wind, gravity, and rainfall can further spread this contamination, depositing it into the soil, groundwater aquifers, and water bodies. Standard water treatment plant filters may not be sufficient to remove all radioactive contaminants, highlighting the need for stronger regulations and monitoring.
Radioactive water pollution poses a severe threat to human health, as it can cause various diseases and increase the risk of cancer. Public drinking water systems implement measures to test and filter out radionuclides, adhering to regulations set by organizations like the EPA in the United States. However, inconsistent and incomplete testing across different regions remains a concern.
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Frequently asked questions
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs, and groundwater. Water pollution occurs when contaminants mix with these water bodies.
The sources of water pollution can be categorised as either point sources or non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse, such as agricultural runoff. The main water pollutants include bacteria, viruses, parasites, fertilisers, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, nitrates, phosphates, plastics, faecal waste, and even radioactive substances.
Water pollution can have devastating impacts on surrounding ecosystems, including the degradation of aquatic ecosystems and the spread of water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. It can also reduce ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polluted water is water whose composition has been changed to the extent that it is unusable, causing diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and poliomyelitis, which kill more than 500,000 people worldwide every year.
