Water plays an important part in our lives. It covers nearly 70 percent of the Earths surface and is needed by many living organisms to grow and develop. Sadly, many of us take water for granted. We continue to pollute our rivers, lakes, and oceans and kill many organisms in the process. Without realizing it, we are also slowly depriving ourselves of much needed clean and healthy water supplies.
Our blatant disregard for waters value has negatively impacted the quality of the water we drink, leaving several of our water systems unfit to be used by humans. Water pollution occurs when a body of water is negatively affected because of human amounts of contaminants.
There are two types of water pollutants - point source and non point source. Point sources of pollution happen when harmful substances are spilled directly into a body of water like the Exxon Valdez oil spill. In non point source, pollutants find their way to the water indirectly because of environmental changes. This may occur when fertilizer from a field is carried into a stream by rain. This is responsible for many contaminants in streams and lakes.
What are the problems caused by water pollution? If drinking water is contaminated, it may have a different odor or color. Worse, it can make you sick. Among the many contaminants are:
1. Heavy metals from industrial use. These can enter and pollute nearby lakes and rivers and once they slowly accumulate, can cause birth defects and cancer. They also cause unpleasant odors and tastes to drinking water.
2. Microbial pollutants cause infectious disease like typhoid fever and cholera. These types of pollutants are a serious problem and health concern for developing countries.
Suspended particles - reduce the quality of drinking water by causing discoloration and imparting a bad taste to drinking water.
These problems should give you enough reason to care enough to do your part to protect our water systems through proper water conservation.