Water Pollution in 2022 & How To Help

What is water pollution?

In the most simplified definition - water pollution occurs when harmful substances (chemicals, plastics, oil, etc.) make their way into waterways (stream, lake, river, aquifer, etc.) degrading water quality and rendering it toxic to humans or the environment.

Forms of water pollution:

There are three seperate categories when it comes to water pollution: groundwater, surface water, and ocean water. However, pollution can further be categorized into point source, and nonpoint source.

Groundwater -- this water source is fresh water from rain, melting ice, or snow, that soaks into the soil and stored in the tiny spaces (pores) between rocks and particles of soil. This water source accounts for nearly 95% of the United State's fresh water resources. DEF This is the most easily disturbed through all of our individual actions. This water can be polluted through pesticides and fertalizers as well as leaching from landfills and septic systems. You can help in SOLVING the contamination of groundwater by avoiding pesticides and fertalizers in your own yard (specifically, keep it from running off and into local draingage), properly dispose of chemical cleaners, oils, and nonbiodegradables.

Surface water -- is all water naturally open to the atmosphere, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, streams, impoundment's, seas, estuaries, and on. However, this also includes springs, wells or other collections of water that are directly influenced by surface waters. DEF Half of our rivers, more than one-third of our lakes are unfit for swimming, fishing, and drinking. They are majorly polluted by farm waste and fertalizer runoff. Nutrient pollution, nitrates, and phosphates are major contributers to toxic water. Municipal and industrial waste discharges contribute their fairshare of toxins, as both untreated and treated waste can negatively affect the waterways. This problem is a big bigger one to tackle, as there doesn't seem to be many feasible options. You can help in SOLVING the contamination of surface water by not pouring fat or grease down the drain, report water polluters, properly dispose of chemical cleaners, or find more sustainable and eco-friendly solutions to usual chemical cleaners. As well as properly disposing of oil and non-biodegradables.

Ocean water -- the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the Earth's surface while providing 97% of Earth's water. Perhaps one of the most distraughtful. There are three collected areas of debris and garbage within the ocean: Eastern Garabage Patch, Western Garbage Patch, and the Subtropical Convergence Zone. 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic or 80,000 tonnes of plastic, exist in just a single one of these garbage patches. The ocean water is not just polluted by plastics by from chemicals, nutrients, heavy metals from farms, factories, and cities by streams and rivers. The ocean can be dramatically damaged by major and minor oil spills. It takes up to 15 years for smaller oil spills to be completely cleaned and the water rehabilitated. Finally, the ocean water absorbs as much as a quarter of man-made carbon emissions. Meaning, even when we are not directly polluting the ocean, we are causing harm to it's ecosystem. You can help in SOLVING the contamination of ocean water by:

- Reducing your overall plastic consumption (get rid of single

use plastics, as well as avoiding Tupperware containers and food

that comes prepackaged in plastic)

- Help with beach cleanups, properly dispose of non-

biodegradables.

- Take public transporation, bike, car pool, or walk when you can.

- Attempt at making your everyday as green as possible. Avoid

buying things you do not need. Try making your own coffee at

home instead of going to Starbucks, Dunkin', Costa, Tim

Horton's, etc. Take time out of your day to learn and educate

yourself and others about environmental concerns.

Point Source Pollution -- any discernable, confined, and discrete conyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. DEF This contamination is discharged both illigally and legally from manufactures, oil refineries, waste water treatment facilities. As well as contamination from leaking septic systems.

Non-point Source Pollution -- this generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage or hydrologic modifitcation. DEF The most common of these pollutions include: excess fertilizer, herbicides, insecticides from agricultural lands and residental areas. Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from runoffs, bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic systems. Since there is no single source and sometimes no identifiable culprit of the contaimination, it is hard to regulate. A majority of the time, nonpoint source pollution comes from severe storms that cause run-offs and blows debris into the waterways.

"Water and air, two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans." - Jacques Yves Cousteau

What are the effects of water pollution?

On humans -- 3.5 million Americans contract health issues such as skin rashes, pinkeye, respiratory infections, and hepatitis from swimming, bathing, and accidentally swallowing contaminated costal waters layered with sewage. When ingesting contaminated water, the risk of becoming dealthy ill is very real. In fact, of the 1 billion people sickened by toxic water, 1.8 million of them face the unfortunate death; as contaminated water can cause cholera, giardia, and typhoid.

On the environment -- Aside from the ocean, rivers, lakes, and streams are very susceptible to algae blooms. Caused by the introduction of new nutrients into waterways, this causes plant and algae growth which reduces oxygen in the water. These algae blooms and plant growth can cause "dead zones" for water life, where the water is essentially void of all aquatic life. Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal water runoff can contaminate waterways — reducing an organism’s life span and ability to reproduce. Marine debris can strangle, suffocate, and starve animals. Ocean acidification can make it tougher for shellfish and coral to survive.

"You are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody." - Rousseau 1754

In summary, the pollution and contaimination of waterways go much further than reducing plastic and taking action with your local government. It is something that every one of us must take and acknowledge both resposibility and accountability for. We must all take charge and create change to live in a healthier world.

Reuse and recycle,

Viron