We did not inherit the earth from our ancestors - we borrow it from our children
We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to. - Terri Swearingen
Sources of Water Pollution
Without water there would be no life on earth. The human body is comprised mostly of water, as are all living organisms. 70% of our planet's surface is covered in water, but 97% of it is found in the world's oceans and most of the rest lies underground and in glaciers. Canada contains 14% of the world's lake water and 9% of it's river water. While Canadians average 350L per day per capita, second only to the United States, much of the world's population does not have access to safe drinking water, an estimated 1 billion or more people. There are many, many sources of water pollution. They can be divided into the following five general categories:
1. Nutrients: the addition of nitrogen or phosphorous in particular as these are the nutrients that are most limiting in nature. When we add them plant and algae growth accelerates causing eutrophication.
2. Chemical: many, many, many items could be listed here. But some of particular concern include pesticides, synthetic hormones, heavy metals, industrial discharge, gasoline, pharmaceuticals, toxic chemicals, acid rain, and more, inlcuding some we add on purpose to our drinking water! You may also want to check out the links on Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals for more information on trace contaminants in our water.
3. Sediments physical sediments caused from erosion are another source of water pollution that is often not considered pollution because it is only "dirt", however aside from the physical problems it presents the smaller fractions of the sediments also carry chemical pollution with it. .
4. Oxygen Depleting Substances biodegradable wastes can push up the Biological Oxygen Demand causing the waters to go anoxic (without oxygen) and result in massive fish kills among other things. Sewage is of particular concern, as is manure waste from farms, and this is also results in eutrophication.
5. Microbial Pollution pathogenic bacteria etc that generally come from livestock or improperly treated human sewage.
Water Pollution Links
Environment Canada's Freshwater website - if you go to Water Management they have water pollution there
What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing
to ourselves and to one another. Gandhi
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