Effects Of Water Pollution
Effects of water pollution can range from mild effects which don’t have serious consequences to our health, to serious water pollution where the effects on life can be deadly.
As you’re already aware, in every country across the world, water is a vital element in survival. From hygiene to a healthy diet, water is incorporated in all aspects of life.
So when a water supply becomes contaminated, the effects of water pollution can be devastating and possibly even lethal. Even in the most developed of countries water can be contaminated in a variety of ways.
Water born infectious diseases can be spread in drinking water and or in public water ways, killing aquatic life and becoming harmful to humans.
Types And Effects of Water Pollution
If a disease is spread in a contaminated water supply, there are several options to consider when naming the source. Overgrowth of algae due to high waste dump levels can cause nutrient contamination in fish and sea life, affecting our food supply and infecting our water.
Chemical contamination is also a serious option to be considered, however while the amount of spillage and runoff into public water ways is minimal, the source may not always be intentional. Due to failing pipes or tanks, leakage can allow harmful contaminants into the water. Chemicals diluted into the public water supply can cause infections, spread disease or death.
The drinking water supply is not the only public safety hazard when thinking about the effects of water pollution. Public swimming pools, beaches or lakes can also be full of bacteria or disease. Harmful bacteria can cause various side affects including rashes, pink eye, respiratory illness, hepatitis and diarrhea or vomiting. Common diseases spread through water pollution are Hookworm, Amoebiasis and Giardiasis.
Some water pollution effects aren’t as devastating to humans as they are to the organisms and ecosystem below the surface of the water. Run-off from the land can settle on the surface of the water, blocking sunlight, clogging fish gills and killing plants and aquatic life.
Oil, anti-freeze and silt are among the most common contaminants due to run-off pollution. If fertilizer finds its way into the water supply it can help the bacteria in the water grow more quickly. Littering is also a popular element in water pollution, the most common source for litter in water ways comes from boats or debris that is swept up by the wind.
Using less plastics and containing construction sites more securely along the coasts can help eliminate some of the contamination happening in the water supply.
There are ways to prevent the effects of water pollution though.
Start by recycling your plastics, while discovering ways to use the products less frequently. Shopping bags and other light weight plastics are easily carried by the winds, and much more easily dumped in the water. Minimizing mercury emissions will also help reduce water pollution.
Albacore tuna is unsafe to eat in large quantities, due to the dangerous levels of mercury. Reducing coal burning emissions from power plants and chlorine production facilities can help lower the levels of mercury emissions.
Safely disposing of oils can help with run off pollution, while regular maintenance of pipes and tanks can ensure our water supply will be safe from contamination.
