Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Water pollution

Water pollution is a large set of unfavorable belongings upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. Although natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause main changes in water quality and the environmental status of water, these are not deemed to be pollution. Water pollution has many causes and characteristics. Increases in nutrient loading may lead to eutrophication. Organic wastes such as sewage inflict high oxygen demands on the getting water leading to oxygen depletion with potentially severe impacts on the whole eco-system. Industries discharge a variety of pollutants in their wastewater including grave metals, organic toxins, oils, nutrients, and solids. Discharges can also have thermal effects, especially those from power stations, and these too reduce the available oxygen. Silt-bearing runoff from many activities together with construction sites, deforestation and agriculture can reduce the penetration of sunlight through the water column, restricting photosynthesis and causing blanketing of the lake or river bed, in turn damaging ecological systems.

Pollutants in water consist of a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical chemistry or sensory changes. A lot of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can apparently produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water’s physical chemistry includes acidity, conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is the fertilization of surface water by nutrients that were previously scarce. Even many of the municipal water supplies in developed countries can present health risks.

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