Water Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Solutions - Prof. Reginald C. Eze, Papers of History of Education

Download Water Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Solutions - Prof. Reginald C. Eze and more Papers History of Education in PDF only on Docsity! Muctar Ibrahim Jr SCI-1000C-107 Mr. Reginald C Eze 11-26-08 WATER POLLUTION AND THE SOCIETY Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the physical systems or living organisms they are in. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light energy. Pollutants, the elements of pollution, can be foreign substances or energies, or naturally occurring; when naturally occurring, they are considered contaminants when they exceed natural levels. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution. My topic is going to be about water pollution. When you think of problems in the world today, water pollution isn't one that would normally come up. In fact it is one of the worst problems in the world today. Water pollution, by definition, is the contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by any substances harmful to living things. All living things contain it, live in it, and most need it to survive, so water pollution is a big problem, if not the biggest. If severe, the pollution can kill off birds, fish, and any animals that use the water source. In some cases even killing an entire species There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories exist: direct(point source) and indirect(non point source) contaminant sources point source- Point source pollution is contamination that enters the environment through any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, such as a smokestack, pipe, ditch, tunnel, or conduit. Point source pollution remains a major cause of pollution to both air and water. Point sources are differentiated from non-point sources, which are those that spread out over a large area and have no specific outlet or discharge point. Point source pollution in the United States is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Point sources of water pollution include municipal sewage treatment plant discharges and industrial plant discharges. Municipal sewage treatment plant point sources can contribute pollution in the form of oxygen-depleting nutrients and in the form of pathogens that cause serious health hazards in drinking water and swimming areas. Industrial point sources can contribute pollution in the form of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. In the United States and other countries, these practices are regulated, although this doesn't mean that pollutants can't be found in these waters. Non-point source pollution occurs when water, running over the land surface and through the ground, collects natural or human-made pollutants and deposits them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, seas, or groundwater. Examples of non-point source pollution can include: Excessive and improper use of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural land and residential areas Oil, grease and toxic chemicals runoff Illegal dumpsites Soil erosion from construction sites, if not properly maintained Pesticides from urban and rural runoff. The effects of water pollution to a body of water can be devastating to the environment, the people and animals that depend on that source of water. The effects of water pollution vary greatly depending on what type of pollutant is involved and how large the body of water is. The more severe effects of water pollution is caused due to garbage and chemicals being dumped either legally or illegally into bodies water that are near major metropolises, One of the most troubling and serious effects of water pollution is the death of the marine life that reside in the water ecosystems due to the depletion of oxygen. Fish, birds, and dolphins have been found dead on beaches, a casualty of the effects of water pollution. The effect of water pollution of this type adversely affects the food chain from the tiniest micro organism’s right up Bibliography  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2000). National Water Quality Inventory: 2000 Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Wastewater Management. (1999). Introduction to the National Pretreatment Program. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.  www.cleanwatercampaign.com/html/547.htm - 14k wikipedia.org/wiki/ Water pollution  www.grinningplanet.com/2005/09-06/water-pollution-causes- article.htm