Name: Areen Espanioly

Group:BA-610

Subject Name: Hygiene and

Ecology

Report: The problems of water

pollution

Resource: Wikipedia.org
Our planet is comprised primarily of water.
Aquatic ecosystems cover more than two-
thirds of the Earth's surface. And all life on
.Earth as we know it relies on water to survive
Yet water pollution is a very real threat to our
survival. It is considered by most scholars and
politicians the world's biggest health risk,
threatening not only humans, but also myriad
other plants and animals that rely on water to
:live. According to the World Wildlife Fund
Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life "
on this planet. Every ocean and every
continent, from the tropics to the once-
".pristine polar regions, is contaminated
So what is water pollution? What causes it and
what effects is it having on the world's aquatic
ecosystems? And most importantly—What can
?we do to fix it
Water pollution: occurs when a body of water
becomes contaminated. The contamination
could be caused by physical debris such as
plastic water bottles or rubber tires, or it
could be chemical such as the runoff that finds
its way into waterways from factories, farms,
cities, cars, sewage treatment facilities, and
air pollution. Water pollution occurs any time
that contaminants are discharged into aquatic
ecosystems that do not have the capacity to
.absorb or remove the
Water Sources
When we think about the causes of water
pollution, we have to think about where it
comes from. There are two different sources
of water on our planet. First, there is surface
water—that's the water that we see in oceans,
rivers, lakes, and ponds. This water is home to
many plant and animal species that rely not
only on the quantity but also the quality of
.that water to survive
No less important is groundwater—the water
stored below the surface in the Earth's
aquifers. This water source feeds our rivers
and oceans and forms much of the world's
.supply of drinking water

Both of these water sources are critical to life

on Earth. And both can become polluted in
.different ways
:Surface Water Pollution Causes
Bodies of water can become polluted in a
number of ways. Point source pollution refers
to contaminants that enter a waterway via a
single, identifiable source, such as a waste
water treatment pipe or a factory chimney.
Non-point source pollution is when the
contamination is coming from many scattered
locations. Examples of non-point source
pollution include the nitrogen runoff from
agricultural fields that leaches into rivers and
streams, or oil from parking lots into city
.sewers
Groundwater Pollution Causes
Groundwater can also be affected by point and
non-point source pollution. A chemical spill
can seep directly into the ground, polluting
the water below. But more often than not,
groundwater becomes polluted when non-point
sources of contamination such as agricultural
runoff or prescription medications find their
.way into the water within the Earth
How Does Water Pollution Affect The
??Environment
If you do not live near water, you may not
think that you are affected by pollution of the
world's waters. But water pollution affects
every single living thing on this planet. From
the tiniest plant to the largest mammal and
yes, even humans in between, we all rely on
water to survive. The water from your tap may
be filtered by a water treatment facility
before it gets to you, but ultimately it comes
from either surface or groundwater sources
Fish that live in polluted waters become
polluted themselves. Fishing is already
restricted or prohibited in many of the world's
waterways due to contaminants. When a
waterway becomes polluted—either with trash
or with toxins—it diminishes its capacity to
.support and sustain life
??Water Pollution: What Are The Solutions
By its very nature, water is a very fluid thing.
It flows throughout the world without regard
for borders or boundaries, crossing state lines
and country borders alike. That means that
pollution caused in one part of the world could
affect a community in another. This makes it
difficult to impose any one set standard on the
.ways we use and protect the world's water
There are a number of international laws that
aim to prevent dangerous levels of water
pollution. These include the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1978
MARPOL International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships. In the U.S.,
the 1972 Clean Water Act and the 1974 Safe
Drinking Water Act were created to help
protect both surface and ground water
.supplies
?How Can You Prevent Water Pollution
The best things that you can do to prevent
water pollution are to educate yourself about
the world's water supply and support
conservation projects both locally and around
.the world
Learn about the choices that you make that
affect the world water, from spilling gas at the
station to spraying chemicals on your lawn and
look for ways to reduce the number of
chemicals you use each day. Sign up to help
clean litter off of beaches or out of rivers and
oceans. And support laws that make it harder
for polluters to pollute—the Clean Water Act in
particular has often come under political
.attack
Water is the world's most vital resource. It
belongs to all of us and it is up to everyone to
.do their part to protect it
?How can we stop water pollution
There is no easy way to solve water pollution;
if there were, it wouldn't be so much of a
problem. Broadly speaking, there are three
different things that can help to tackle the
problem—education, laws, and economics—and
.they work together as a team
Education
Making people aware of the problem is the
first step to solving it. In the early 1990s,
when surfers in Britain grew tired of catching
illnesses from water polluted with sewage,
they formed a group called Surfers Against
Sewage to force governments and water
companies to clean up their act. People
who've grown tired of walking the world's
polluted beaches often band together to
organize community beach-cleaning sessions.
Anglers who no longer catch so many fish have
campaigned for tougher penalties against
factories that pour pollution into our rivers.
Greater public awareness can make a positive
.difference
Laws
One of the biggest problems with water
pollution is its transboundary nature. Many
rivers cross countries, while seas span whole
continents. Pollution discharged by factories in
one country with poor environmental
standards can cause problems in neighboring
nations, even when they have tougher laws
and higher standards. Environmental laws can
make it tougher for people to pollute, but to
be really effective they have to operate across
national and international borders. This is why
we have international laws governing the
oceans, such as the 1982 UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea (signed by over 120 nations),
the 1972 London (Dumping) Convention, the
1978 MARPOL International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships, and the
1998 OSPAR Convention for the Protection of
the Marine Environment of the North East
Atlantic. The European Union has water-
protection laws (known as directives) that
apply to all of its member states. They include
the 1976 Bathing Water Directive (updated
2006), which seeks to ensure the quality of the
waters that people use for recreation. Most
countries also have their own water pollution
laws. In the United States, for example, there
is the 1972 Clean Water Act and the 1974 Safe
.Drinking Water Act
Economics
Most environmental experts agree that the
best way to tackle pollution is through
something called the polluter pays principle.
This means that whoever causes pollution
should have to pay to clean it up, one way or
another. Polluter pays can operate in all kinds
of ways. It could mean that tanker owners
should have to take out insurance that covers
the cost of oil spill cleanups, for example. It
could also mean that shoppers should have to
pay for their plastic grocery bags, as is now
common in Ireland, to encourage recycling and
minimize waste. Or it could mean that
factories that use rivers must have their water
inlet pipes downstream of their effluent
outflow pipes, so if they cause pollution they
themselves are the first people to suffer.
Ultimately, the polluter pays principle is
designed to deter people from polluting by
making it less expensive for them to behave in
an environmentally responsible way
.Our clean future
Life is ultimately about choices—and so is
pollution. We can live with sewage-strewn
beaches, dead rivers, and fish that are too
poisonous to eat. Or we can work together to
keep the environment clean so the plants,
animals, and people who depend on it remain
healthy. We can take individual action to help
reduce water pollution, for example, by using
environmentally friendly detergents, not
pouring oil down drains, reducing pesticides,
and so on. We can take community action too,
by helping out on beach cleans or litter picks
to keep our rivers and seas that little bit
cleaner. And we can take action as countries
and continents to pass laws that will make
pollution harder and the world less polluted.
Working together, we can make pollution less
.of a problem—and the world a better place