Water pollution is the act of contaminating lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater by the discharge directly or indirectly without treatment of harmful chemicals or compounds. It affects plants, animals, and any organism living the polluted bodies of water and anyone who uses the water to drink.
Water pollution is a major global problem. It can directly cause death and diseases and it is estimated to cause in the neighborhood of 14,000 deaths on a daily basis. Many people in large countries such as India to this day have no access to a proper toilet which directly leads to the death of over 1,000 Indian children daily due to complications from diarrhea. There are even more people world-wide who have no access to clean drinking water due to water pollution which leads to even more sickness and deaths.
Water pollution is also a big problem in the United States, as it is estimated that 45% of streams and rivers are polluted along with a similar percentage of lakes. This leads to other problems as many pollutants are carried by rivers and streams into the ocean, spreading the problem even more. In addition to the obvious problems attributed to water pollution, there are also derivative effects such as silt surface runoff which can greatly inhibit photosynthesis in many aquatic plants, upsetting the balance of nature in these regions and causing huge problems for the animals of the region that depend on the aquatic plants for food.
The direct and indirect effects of water pollution have a dramatic effect on communities all over the world, and only in the last few decades have we begun to really understand the extent to which the ecology of many regions is being ruined by it. Government regulations and policing companies that pollute are the key to putting a stop to this destructive practice and preserving both human and animal life.
Water pollution is a major global problem. It can directly cause death and diseases and it is estimated to cause in the neighborhood of 14,000 deaths on a daily basis. Many people in large countries such as India to this day have no access to a proper toilet which directly leads to the death of over 1,000 Indian children daily due to complications from diarrhea. There are even more people world-wide who have no access to clean drinking water due to water pollution which leads to even more sickness and deaths.
Water pollution is also a big problem in the United States, as it is estimated that 45% of streams and rivers are polluted along with a similar percentage of lakes. This leads to other problems as many pollutants are carried by rivers and streams into the ocean, spreading the problem even more. In addition to the obvious problems attributed to water pollution, there are also derivative effects such as silt surface runoff which can greatly inhibit photosynthesis in many aquatic plants, upsetting the balance of nature in these regions and causing huge problems for the animals of the region that depend on the aquatic plants for food.
The direct and indirect effects of water pollution have a dramatic effect on communities all over the world, and only in the last few decades have we begun to really understand the extent to which the ecology of many regions is being ruined by it. Government regulations and policing companies that pollute are the key to putting a stop to this destructive practice and preserving both human and animal life.
