WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION?

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 results when contaminants mix with these water bodies.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION?

-Agricultural

Not only is the agricultural sector the biggest consumer of global freshwater resources, with farming and
livestock production using about 70 percent of the earth’s surface water supplies, but it’s also a serious
water polluter.

-Sewage and wastewater

Used water is wastewater. It comes from our sinks, showers, and toilets (think sewage) and from
commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities (think metals, solvents, and toxic sludge).

-Oil pollution

Big spills may dominate headlines, but consumers account for the vast majority of oil pollution in our
seas, including oil and gasoline that drips from millions of cars and trucks every day. Moreover, nearly
half of the estimated 1 million tons of oil that makes its way into marine environments each year
comes not from tanker spills but from land-based sources such as factories, farms, and cities.

-Radioactive substances

Radioactive waste is any pollution that emits radiation beyond what is naturally released by the
environment. It’s generated by uranium mining, nuclear power plants, and the production and testing
of military weapons, as well as by universities and hospitals that use radioactive materials for
research and medicine.

WHERE IS THE POLLUTION COMING FROM?

-Point source pollution

When contamination originates from a single source, it’s called point source pollution. Examples
include wastewater (also called effluent) discharged legally or illegally by a manufacturer, oil refinery,
or wastewater treatment facility, as well as contamination from leaking septic systems, chemical and
oil spills, and illegal dumping.
-Nonpoint source

Nonpoint source pollution is contamination derived from diffuse sources. These may include
agricultural or stormwater runoff or debris blown into waterways from land. Nonpoint source
pollution is the leading cause of water pollution in U.S. waters, but it’s difficult to regulate, since
there’s no single, identifiable culprit.

-Transboundary

It goes without saying that water pollution can’t be contained by a line on a map. Transboundary
pollution is the result of contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another.

WHAT TYPE OF WATER IS BEING IMPACTED?

-Groundwater pollution

When rain falls and seeps deep into the earth, filling the cracks, crevices, and porous spaces of an
aquifer (basically an underground storehouse of water), it becomes groundwater—one of our least
visible but most important natural resources. Nearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater,
pumped to the earth’s surface, for drinking water.

-Surface water pollution

Covering about 70 percent of the earth, surface water is what fills our oceans, lakes, rivers, and all
those other blue bits on the world map. Surface water from freshwater sources (that is, from sources
other than the ocean) accounts for more than 60 percent of the water delivered to American homes.
But a significant pool of that water is in peril.

According to the most recent surveys on national water quality from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, nearly half of our rivers and streams and more than one-third of our lakes are
polluted and unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking. Nutrient pollution, which includes nitrates and
phosphates, is the leading type of contamination in these freshwater sources.

-Ocean water pollution

Eighty percent of ocean pollution (also called marine pollution) originates on land—whether along the
coast or far inland. Contaminants such as chemicals, nutrients, and heavy metals are carried from
farms, factories, and cities by streams and rivers into our bays and estuaries; from there they travel
out to sea. Meanwhile, marine debris—particularly plastic—is blown in by the wind or washed in via
storm drains and sewers.

Our seas are also sometimes spoiled by oil spills and leaks—big and small—and are consistently
soaking up carbon pollution from the air. The ocean absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made
carbon emissions.
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION?

-On human health

Water pollution kills. In fact, it caused 1.8 million deaths in 2015, according to a study published in
The Lancet. Contaminated water can also make you ill. Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1
billion people. And low-income communities are disproportionately at risk because their homes are
often closest to the most polluting industries.

Waterborne pathogens, in the form of disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal
waste, are a major cause of illness from contaminated drinking water. Diseases spread by unsafe
water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid.

-On the environment

In order to thrive, healthy ecosystems rely on a complex web of animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi—
all of which interact, directly or indirectly, with each other. Harm to any of these organisms can create
a chain effect, imperiling entire aquatic environments.

When water pollution causes an algal bloom in a lake or marine environment, the proliferation of
newly introduced nutrients stimulates plant and algae growth, which in turn reduces oxygen levels in
the water. This dearth of oxygen, known as eutrophication, suffocates plants and animals and can
create “dead zones,” where waters are essentially devoid of life.

HOW CAN WE PREVENT WATER POLLUTION?

We’re all accountable to some degree for today’s water pollution problem. Fortunately, there are
some simple ways you can prevent water contamination or at least limit your contribution to it:

-Learn about the unique qualities of water where you live. Where does your water come from? Is the
wastewater from your home treated? Where does stormwater flow to? Is your area in a drought?
Start building a picture of the situation so you can discover where your actions will have the most
impact—and see if your neighbors would be interested in joining in!

-Reduce your plastic consumption and reuse or recycle plastic when you can.

-Properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and nonbiodegradable items

-Maintain your car so it doesn’t leak oil, antifreeze, or coolant.

-If you have a yard, consider landscaping that reduces runoff and avoid applying pesticides and
herbicides.

-Dont flush your old medications! Dispose of them in the trash to prevent them from entering local
waterways.
-Be mindful of anything you pour into storm sewers, since that waste often won’t be treated before
being released into local waterways. If you notice a storm sewer blocked by litter, clean it up to keep
that trash out of the water. (You’ll also help prevent troublesome street floods in a heavy storm.)

-If you have a pup, be sure to pick up its poop.