An Insight into Water Pollution

Our seas, rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. Here’s why?and what you can do to help.

While we all know water is very crucial for living beings,we waste it away. Approximately 80 percent of the world’s wastewater is dumped (mostly untreated) back into the environment, polluting seas, rivers, streams, and lakes.

This problem of water pollution is jeopardizing the health of all of us. Unhygienic water kills more people every year than all other forms of “life-killers” combined. As a matter of fact, our drinkable water sources are finite in quantum, Less than one percent of the earth’s freshwater is accessible to humankind. 

In 2050, when Global demand for freshwater is expected to be 33% more than the demand for freshwater as of now, it will pose a greater challenge if we don’t take appropriate action.

Sipping a glass of cool, clean and clear water doesn’t mean that the water pollution is a problem elsewhere. But while some people have access to safe drinking water, potentially harmful contaminants (arsenic, copper, lead) can be found in the tap water in different parts of the world.

To get ourselves prepared against the threat to clean water, let us try to understand the problem better and what action we can take about the same. Let us look at an overview of what water pollution is, what causes water pollution, and how we can protect ourselves against water pollution.

What Is the Definition of Water Pollution?

Water pollution happens when harmful substances(chemicals/microorganisms) contaminate a sea, river, stream, lake, or other water body, degrading water quality as well as rendering the water toxic to humans or the environment.

What are the different causes of Water Pollution?

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution owing to its chemical structure. Considered to be a “universal solvent,” water is able to dissolve more substances than any other fluid on earth. This is the prime reason why water can be easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, industries as well as factories readily dissolve into water, mix with it, causing water pollution. Read More