Causes of Water Pollution

Most Anthropogenic causes account for the majority of water contamination. This means that humans are to blame for water pollution. The introduction of pollutants into a body of water is known as water pollution. These can have negative consequences for the species that reside in or interact with the water. However, water contamination can also be caused by natural processes or phenomena.

Water is known as the universal solvent because of its ability to dissolve a wide range of compounds. This is also the reason why water pollution is so common. The following are some of the factors that contribute to water pollution:

• Sewage and wastewater: Many households dump their garbage into bodies of water. Furthermore, houses that do not have access to a municipal treatment facility may use septic tanks, which eventually infiltrate into the soil and pollute groundwater.
• Industrial effluents and Industrial Usage: Some companies may discharge their untreated wastes directly into bodies of water, such as rivers. Furthermore, a variety of sectors use water as a coolant, resulting in thermal pollution. Increased water temperatures can lead to a fall in oxygen levels, which can kill fish and other species.
• Eutrophication: Eutrophication occurs when a huge amount of nutrients is injected into a body of water, causing algae to develop rapidly. This can lower the oxygen level in the water, making it impossible for the fish to breathe. Furthermore, this occurrence has the potential to release harmful poisons into the water, which can hurt or kill most species, including people.
• Deforestation: Soil erosion can be caused by deforestation. When loose soil particles enter a body of water, they can cause the water to become murky. This can make the water muddy, and it also has the ability to harm aquatic organisms mechanically (such as sand particles getting stuck in gills).
• Agricultural run-offs: Fertilizers and other chemicals found in agricultural run-off can contaminate water. Furthermore, several of these fertilizers have the potential to cause eutrophication.
• Accidents: Leaks and oil spills are two examples of accidents. Oil spills are very harmful to the environment and marine life. It occurs when incidents involving huge oil tankers, barges, or drilling rigs occur. The Deep Water Horizon oil disaster, which happened on April 20, 2010, was the most well-known.

Water is one of the most important natural resources on the planet, and it has existed for millennia. In reality, the same water we drink has been around in some form or another since the dinosaur era. More than two-thirds of the earth’s surface is covered with water. This equates to1 octillion litres (1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres) of water dispersed over the oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams. Although this is a large amount of water, only about 0.3 % of it is suitable for human consumption. That number has decreased as commercialization and industrialization have developed. Furthermore, water contamination has been caused by inefficient and obsolete techniques, a lack of understanding, and a variety of other factors.