Q.

) Write a Report on the letter head of the NGO on water pollution and earth along
with the effects .etc

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WATER POLLUTION

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 INTRODUCTION

We know water’s another name is life. Water is one of the most

important natural resources, which is absolutely essential in
having life and living life. A part from sustaining life, water is
used for various essential purposes. And water pollution is again
a major global problem, which harms the comfortable living of
us.
It has been proved that water pollution is a major cause of death
and disease worldwide. In the world everyday more than 1400
people die for water pollution only. The amount of water
pollution in India has increased to such an extent that it has
become serious and many people are suffering from various
diseases due to this
water pollution.
So water pollution is an important topic of discussion.

WATER POLLUTION
Water pollution is the contamination of water in water bodies
such as rivers, oceans, lakes, and swamps. This means that one
or more substances have built up in water to the extent of
causing problems to people, animals and plants.

Addition of certain substances to the water such as organic,

inorganic, biological, radiological heat which degrades the
quality of water so that it becomes unfit for use. Water pollution
is not only confirmed to surface water, but it has also spread to
ground water, sea and ocean.

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 Water Resources On Earth

About three fourths of our planet earth’s surface is covered by

water. However, very little of it is available for consumption.
Most (about 97%) of the water on the earth is present in the seas
and oceans. It is too salty to be of any use for drinking,
agriculture and industrial purposes. The remaining 3% and fresh
water. 75% of which is locked up in the polar ice caps and in
glaciers and quite deep under the Earth’s surface as underground
water. The fresh water, which we can use, comes to us from two
sources:
1. Surface water
2. Ground water

1. Surface Water: Rain and

snow are good natural resources
of fresh water. It is estimated that
of all the precipitation (rain water
and snow) that falls on the earth,
about one-third is absorbed by the
plants and another one-third seeps
down into the soil and the
remaining one-third runs off the
surface into streams and rivers. This part of precipitation, which
runs off to form streams, rivers and lakes,
is called the surface water.
2. Ground Water: The part of precipitation that seeps into the
ground as a result of gravity and fills the pores between soil
particles and rocks under it is called ground water.

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 Water Pollution Parameters

Water may be called polluted when the following parameters

stated reach beyond a specified concentration in water.

1.Physical Parameter: Colour, order, turbidity, taste,

temperature and electrical conductivity constitute the physical
parameters and are good indicators of contamination.
For instance colour and turbidity are visible evidences of
polluted water while an offensive odour or a bitter and difference
than normal taste also makes water unfit for drinking.

2.Chemical Parameters: These include the amount of

carbonates, sulphates, chlorides, fluorides, nitrates and metal
ions. These chemicals form the total dissolved soils, present in
water.

3.Biological Parameters:The biological parameters include

matter like algae, fungi, viruses,prototozoa and bacteria. The life
forms present in water are effected to a good extent by the
presence of pollutants. The pollutants in water may cause a
reduction in the population of both lower and higher plants and
animals lives. Thus, the biological parameters give an indirect
indication of the amount of pollution in water.

Cause of Water Pollution

There are many reasons for water pollution. They are discussed
Below.
01.Sewage and Domestic Wastes:The sewage and waste water
that is produced by each household is chemically treated and
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 released in to
sea with fresh
water. The
sewage water
carries harmful
bacteria and
chemicals that can cause serious health
problems. Pathogens are known as a
common water pollutant; The sewers of
cities house several pathogens and thereby diseases.
Microorganisms in water are known to be causes of some very
deadly diseases and become the breeding grounds for other
creatures that act like carriers. These carriers inflict these
diseases via various forms of contact onto an individual. A very
common example of this process would be Malaria.

02.Industrial waste: Industries

produce huge amount of waste which
contains toxic chemicals and pollutants
which can cause air pollution and
damage to us and our environment.
They contain pollutants such as lead,
mercury, sulphur, asbestos, nitrates and many other harmful
chemicals. Many industries do not have proper waste
management system and drain the waste in the fresh water which
goes into rivers, canals and later in to sea. The toxic chemicals
have the capability to change the color of water, increase the
amount of minerals, also known as Eutrophication, change the
temperature of water and pose serious hazard to water
organisms.

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03.Agricultural Discharges:
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides
are used by farmers to protect crops
from insects and bacterias. They are
useful for the plants growth.
However, when these
chemicals are mixed up with water
produce harmful for plants and
animals. Also, when it rains, the
chemicals mixes up with rainwater
and flow down into rivers and canals
which pose serious damages for aquatic animals.

04.Accidental Oil leakage:

Oil spill pose a huge concern as large
amount of oil enters into the sea and
does not dissolve with water; there by
opens problem for local marine
wildlife such as fish, birds and sea
otters. For e.g.: a ship carrying large
quantity of oil may spill oil if met with
an accident and can cause varying damage to species in the
ocean depending
on the quantity of oil spill, size of ocean, toxicity of pollutant.

05.Radioactive waste: Nuclear energy is

produced using nuclear fission or fusion.
The element that is used in production of
nuclear energy is Uranium which is highly
toxic chemical. The nuclear waste that is
produced by radioactive material needs to
be disposed off to prevent any nuclear accident. Nuclear waste
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can have serious environmental hazards if not disposed off
properly. Few major accidents have already taken place in
Russia and Japan.

06.Thermal Pollutants: These pollutants include the waste

chiefly from atomic, nuclear and thermal power plants. The
discharge of un-utilised heat is highest in the thermal power
plants which adversely affect the aquatic environment. Apart
from electric power plants, various industries with cooling
requirement contribute to thermal loading. Recently it is reported
that about 20% more heat is given to cooling waters in nuclear
power plants than fossil fuel plants of equivalent size.

07.Mining activities: Mining is the

process of crushing the rock and extracting
coal and other minerals from underground.
These elements when extracted in the raw
form contains harmful chemicals and can
increase the amount of toxic elements
when mixed up with water which may result in health problems.
Mining activities emit several metal waste and sulphides from
the rocks and is harmful for the water.

08. Marine dumping: The garbage

produce by each household in the form of
paper, aluminum, rubber, glass, plastic,
food if collected and deposited into the sea
in some countries. These items take from 2
weeks to 200 years to decompose. When
such items enters the sea, they not only cause water pollution but
also harm animals in the sea.

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09.Leakage from sewer lines: A small leakage
from the sewer lines can contaminate the
underground water and make it unfit for the people to
drink. Also, when not repaired on time, the leaking
water can come on to the surface and become a
breeding ground for insects and mosquitoes.

10. Underground storage leakage: Transportation of coal

and other petroleum products through underground pipes is well
known. Accidentals leakage may happen anytime and may cause
damage to environment and result in soil erosion.

11. Burning of fossil fuels: Fossil fuels

like coal and oil when burnt produce
substantial amount of ash in the atmosphere.
The particles which contain toxic chemicals
when mixed with water vapor result in acid rain. Also, carbon
dioxide is released from burning of fossil fuels which result in
global warming.

12. Global warming: An increase in earth’s

temperature due to greenhouse effect results in
global warming. It increases the water
temperature and result in death of aquatic
animals and marine species which later results in water pollution.

Effects of Water Pollution

Water pollution damages human health makes our living
conditions precarious and threatens life on the planet.

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1. Effects on aquatic ecosystem: Polluted water reduces
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) content, thereby, eliminates sensitive
organisms like plankton, molluscs and fish etc.
- Biocides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals
directly eliminate sensitive aquatic organisms.
- Hot waters discharged from industries, when added to water
bodies, lowers its DO content.

2. Effects on human health:The polluted

water usually contains pathogens like virus,
bacteria, parasitic protozoa and worms;
therefore, it is a source of water borne diseases like jaundice,
cholera, typhoid, arnoebiasis etc.
- Mercury compounds in waste water are converted by bacterial
action into extremely toxic methyl mercury, which can cause
numbness of limbs, lips and tongue, deafness, blurring of vision
and mental derangement.
- Groundwater contains high levels of arsenic. As a result, the
black bruises on the hands and soles of the feet are called
blackfoot disease.

3. Hazards of ground water pollution: Presence of excess

nitrate in drinking water is dangerous for human health and may
be fatal for infants.
- Excess nitrate in drinking water reacts with haemoglobin to
form non-functional methaemoglobin, and impairs oxygen
transport. This condition is called methaemoglobinemia or blue
baby syndrome.
- Excess fluoride in drinking water causes neuro- muscular
disorders, gastro-intestinal problems, teeth deformity, hardening
of bones and stiff and painful joints (skeletal fluorosis).

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- High concentration of fluoride ions is present in drinking water
in 13 states of India. The maximum level of fluoride, which the
human body can tolerate is 1.5 parts per million (mg/1 of water).
Long term ingestion of fluoride ions causes fluorosis.
- Over exploitation of ground water may lead to leaching of
arsenic from soil and rock sources and contaminate ground
water. Chronic exposure to arsenic causes lack foot disease. It
also causes. Diarrhoea, Peripheral neuritis, hyperkeratosis and
also lung and skin cancer.
- Arsenic contamination is a serious problem (in tube well dug
areas)the Ganges Delta, west Bengal causing serious arsenic
poisoning to large numbers of people. A 2007 study found that
over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are probably
affected by arsenic poisoning of drinking water.

4. Biological Magnification: Heavy metal is harmful to

species. When it inters in the food chain, harms all the species in
the chain through increasing concentration of toxicants or
pollutants in different trophic levels of the food chain, which is
called biological magnification. Common examples of heavy
metals are Mercury and DDT. These toxic materials that are
ingested by the organisms cannot be metabolized or excreted.
And, therefore they are passed on to the other trophic levels.
Gradually as they go higher up the trophic levels, the
concentration of these toxicants increases; thereby causing
immense damage to the organisms. The concentration of DDT in
fish-eating birds disturbs the calcium metabolism, thereby
leading to thinner egg shells and a gradual decline in the bird
population.
5. Eutrophication: Soaps, phosphates (alkalis) of detergents
mixed with the water of closed ponds, reservoirs, cause large
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amounts of algae, weeds, and weeds to grow. As a result, the
amount of dissolved oxygen in the water decreases and fish and
aquatic animals die. This is called Eutrophication.
6. Algal Bloom: Excessive algal bloom is harmful. Some algae
are toxic to human beings and living organisms. Large amounts
of nutrients in the water are the main cause of harmful
planktonic growth. They ultimately cause the deterioration of
water quality along with the decline in fish population.

Control of Water Pollution

1. Administration of water pollution control should

be in the hands of state or central government.
2. Scientific techniques should be adopted for
environmental control of catchment areas of rivers,
ponds or streams.
3. Industrial plants should be based on recycling operations as it
helps prevent disposal of wastes into natural waters but also
extraction of products from waste.
4. Plants, trees and forests control pollution as they act as natural
air conditioners.
5. Trees are capable of reducing sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide
pollutants and hence more trees should be planted.
6. No type of waste (treated, partially treated or untreated)
should be discharged into any natural water body.
7. Qualified and experienced people must be consulted from time
to time for effective control of water pollution.
8. Public awareness must be initiated regarding adverse effects
of water pollution using the media.
9. Laws, standards and practices should be established to prevent
water pollution and these laws should be modified from time to
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time based on current requirements and technological
advancements.
10. Basic and applied research in public health engineering
should be encouraged.

CONCLUSIONS

Water pollution is one of the major environmental pollution,

which destroys the environment, animals and our daily
comfortable life. So we must be aware about water pollution as
we are all the reason behind it.

As a student we should understand this world wide problem of

water pollution and think about its remedy. And we should
convince others about this.

BLIOGRAPHY
To complete this project report I took help from many books,
websites, online documents. They are below:

Books
1. Water Pollution and Abatement Policy in India -
Debesh Chakraborty & Kakali Mukhopadhyay

Websites
1. m-hindi.indiawaterportal.org
2. cpcb.nic.in
3. www.wbpcb.gov.in
4. www.environmentalpollution.in
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5. www.britannica.com

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