I

ntr
oduct
ion:
Pollut
ion ist heintroductionof  
contami nantsi
ntot henat uralenvi
ronmentt hatcause
adversechange. [
1] 
Polluti
oncant aket hef orm of 
chemi calsubstances or 
energy,such
asnoi se,heatorl ight.
 Poll
utants,thecomponent sofpol l
uti
on,canbeei t
herf oreign
substances/ energiesornat ural
lyoccur ri
ngcont aminants.Pol l
uti
oni sof t
encl assed
as pointsour ce 
or nonpointsour cepol l
ut i
on.In2015, poll
utionkil
l
ed9mi ll
i
onpeopl ein
thewor ld.
Maj or f orms of pol l
uti
on i nclude:  
Air polluti
on, 
li
ght pol luti
on, 
l
itt
eri
ng, noise
pollut
ion, 
plastic pol luti
on, 
soil cont ami nat
ion,
 r
adioactive cont aminati
on, t
hermal
pollut
ion, 
visualpolluti
on, 
wat erpoll
ution.

 Pol
l
utant
s
Apoll
utanti
sawast emater
ialthatpoll
utesai
r,water
,orsoil
.Threefactor
sdet
ermi
net
he
sev
eri
tyofapol
l
utant
:it
schemicalnat
ure,t
heconcent
rat
ionandtheper
sist
ence.

Mostpol
l
uti
ngi
ndust
ri
es
The PureEar
th,
ani nt
ernati
onalnon-f
or-
prof
itorganizat
iondedi
cat
edtoeli
minat
ingl
i
fe-
thr
eateningpol
luti
onint hedev el
opingworld,issuesanannuallistofsomeoft he
world'
smostpollut
ingindust
ri
es.
 Lead-AcidBat t
er yRecycli
ng
 Industri
alMi ningandOr eProcessi
ng
 LeadSmel ti
ng
 TanneryOper ations
 Arti
sanal Smal l-Scal
eGol dMining
 Industri
al/Muni cipalDumpsites
 Industri
alEst ates
 Chemi calManuf acturi
ng
 ProductManuf actur
ing

WATERPOLLUTI
ON

Wat
erpol
l
uti
on 
i
sthecont
ami
nat
ionof
 wat
erbodi
es,usual
l
yasar
esul
tofhuman
activities. Wat er bodi es include f
or
exampl e lakes,  
river s,  
oceans,  aquif er
s  and  groundwat er . Wat er pol l
ut ion r esul ts
when  cont ami nant sar ei ntroducedi ntot henat uralenv ironment .Forexampl e,rel easi ng
i
nadequat el y t reat ed wast ewat er  
i
nt o nat ural wat er bodi es can l ead
to degr adat i
on of  
aquat i
cecosy stems.I nt urn,t hiscanl eadt o publ icheal t
h probl ems
forpeopl el i
vingdownst ream.Theymayuset hesamepol lutedr iverwat erf ordr i
nki ng
orbat hi ngor  
ir
rigat i
on.Wat erpol l
utioni st hel eadingwor ldwi decauseofdeat hand
disease, e.g.duet o  wat er-bor nedi seases.
Wat er pol luti
on can be gr ouped i nto sur f
ace wat er pol l
ution. Mar i
ne
pollut ion  and  nut rientpol l
ut i
on  are subset s ofwat erpol lution.Sour ces ofwat er
pollut ion ar eei therpoi ntsour cesand non- pointsour ces.Poi ntsour ceshav eone
i
dent ifiabl ecauseoft hepol lution, suchasa  storm dr ai n, wast ewat ert reat mentpl ant  
or
stream.Non- poi ntsour cesar emor edi ffuse,suchas  agr icultur alr unof f.[3] 
Pol l
ut ioni s
ther esul toft hecumul at i
veef fectov ert i
me.Al lplantsandor gani smsl i
vingi norbei ng
exposed t o pol lut ed wat er bodi es can be i mpact ed. The ef fect s can damage
i
ndi vidual  
speci es  andi mpactt henat ur al biological communi ties  t
heyar epar tof.
Thecausesofwat erpol lutioni ncludeawi der angeof  chemi cal s and  pat hogens  aswel l
asphy sicalpar amet ers.Cont ami nant smayi nclude or gani c and  inor gani c subst ances.
Elevat edt emper at ur escanal sol eadt opol lutedwat er .Acommoncauseof  
ther mal
pollut ion  ist heuseofwat erasa  cool ant by  
powerpl ant s  andi ndust rialmanuf act ur ers.
Elevat edwat ert emper atur esdecr easeoxy genl evels,whi chcanki llf i
shandal ter  
food
chai ncomposi ti
on, r educe speci es biodi versity, and f ost er i nv asion by
new  t her mophi li
cspeci es.
Wat erpol luti
on i s measur ed byanal ysing wat ersampl es.Phy sical ,chemi caland
biologi cal t ests can be done. Cont rol of wat er pol l
ution r equi res
appr opr iat e i
nf r
ast r uct ureand management pl ans. The i nfrast ructur e may
i
ncl ude  wast ewat er t reat ment pl ant s. Sewage t r eat ment pl ants  and  i
ndust r
ial
wast ewat er  
treatmentpl ant s ar e usual lyr equi r
ed t o pr otectwat erbodi es f rom
unt r
eat ed wast ewat er.
 Agr i
cul t
ural wast ewat er t reat ment  for f ar ms, and  er osi on
cont rol  from const r uct i
onsi tescanal sohel ppr ev entwat erpol lut i
on.  Nat ure-based
solut ions  ar eanot herappr oacht opr eventwat erpol lut i
on.Ef fect ivecont rolofur ban
runof fi ncl udes r educi ng speed and quant i
ty off low.I nt he Uni ted St ates,  best
managementpr act icesf orwat erpol lutioni ncludeappr oachest or educet hequant i
tyof
wat erandi mpr ov e wat erqual ity.

Sur
faceWat
erpol
lut
ion
Sur
facewaterpol
lut
ioni
ncludespol
l
uti
onofr
iver
s,l
akesandoceans.Asubsetofsur
facewat
er
pol
l
utioni
s mari
nepoll
uti
on.
  Mar
inepol
l
uti
on

Onecommonpat hofent ryby cont aminant stotheseaar er i

ver s.Anexampl ei sdi r
ect l
y
dischar gingsewageandi ndustri
alwast eint otheocean.Pol l
ut i
onsuchast hisoccur s
particular l
yindev el
opingnat ions.I nfact,t he10l argestemi ttersofoceani cpl ast i
c
polluti
on wor ldwidear e,f rom t hemostt ot hel east ,Chi na,I ndonesi a,Philippines,
Vietnam,Sr iLanka,Thai land,Egy pt ,Malaysia,Niger i
a,andBangl adesh,  
[l
argelyt hrough
ther iv
er sYangt ze, I
ndus, Yell
ow, Hai ,Nil
e, Ganges, Pear l,Amur ,Ni ger,andt heMekong,
andaccount i
ngf or"90per centofal lt
hepl asticthatreachest hewor l
d'
soceans. "
Large gy res (
vortexes)i nt heoceanst rap floati
ng plast i
cdebr is.Pl asticdebr i
scan
absor bt oxi
cchemi calsf r
om oceanpol l
ution,pot enti
al l
ypoi soni nganycr eat uret hat
eatsi t
.[16] 
Manyoft heselong-lastingpi ecesendupi nthest omachsofmar i
nebi r
dsand
animal s.Thi sr esultsinobst ructionofdi gest i
vepat hway s,whi chl eadst or educed
appet i
teorev enst arvat
ion.
Ther ear eav ar i
etyofsecondar yef fectsstemmi ngnotf rom t heor igi
nalpol l
utant ,buta
derivativecondi tion.Anexampl ei s 
silt
-bear i
ng surfacer unof f,whi chcani nhibitt he
penet rationofsunl i
ghtthrought hewat ercol umn,hamper ing phot osynthesis i
naquat i
c
plants.
Gr
oundWat
erpol
lut
ion

Interactions bet ween  groundwat er and surface wat er

 are compl ex. Consequent ly,
groundwat erpol lution,alsor ef
erredt oasgr oundwat ercont ami nat i
on,isnotaseasi ly
classified as sur face wat erpol lution. 
By i t
sv ery nat ure,gr oundwat er
 aquifers 
are
suscept i
bletocont aminationfrom sour cest hatmaynotdi r
ect l
yaf fectsurfacewat er
bodi es.Thedi st i
nct i
onofpoi ntv s.non- pointsour cemaybei r
relev ant.
Anal ysis ofgr oundwat ercont ami nation mayf ocus on  soil
 char acteri
sti
cs and si t
e
geol ogy ,
 hydr
ogeol ogy ,
 
hydrology,and t he nat ur e oft he cont ami nants.Causes of
groundwat er polluti
on include: nat urall
y-occurri
ng (geogenic),
 on-sit
e
sani t
ation systems,  
sewage,  
fert
ili
zers and pesticide, commer ci al and i ndust r
ial
l
eaks,  hydrauli
cf ract uri
ng, 
landfi
llleachate.
Ov er50%oft heUni tedStatespopul ati
ondependsongr oundwat erf ordri
nkingwat er.
Groundwat eri s al so one ofourmosti mpor tantsour ces ofwat erfori rr
igati
on.
Unf ortunately,
gr oundwat erissuscept i
bletopol l
ut ants.

Groundwatercont
aminati
onoccur
swhenman-madeproduct
ssuchasgasoline,oi
l
,
roadsalt
sandchemicalsgeti
ntot
hegr
oundwat
erandcausei
ttobecomeunsafeand
unfi
tforhumanuse.

Materi
alsf rom the l
and's sur
face can mov et hrough the soiland end up i nt he
groundwater.Forexample,pest
ici
desandf ert
il
iz
er scanfindtheirwayi nt ogr
oundwater
suppli
esov erti
me.Roadsal t,t
oxicsubstancesf rom miningsites,andusedmot oroil
al
somayseepi ntogroundwater.Inadditi
on,itispossiblef oruntreat edwastefrom
septi
ctanksandt oxicchemical
sf r
om undergroundst or
aget anksandl eakylandf
il
lsto
contaminategroundwater.

CausesofWat
erPol
lut
ion

1)Sewageandwast
ewat
er
 Domesti
chousehol
ds,i
ndust
ri
alandagri
cul
tur
alpr
act
icespr
oducewast
ewat
ert
hatcan
causepol
lut
ionofmanyl
akesandri
vers.
 
 Sewagei
sthet
erm usedf
orwast
ewat
ert
hatof
tencont
ainsf
aeces,
uri
neandl
aundr
ywast
e.
 Ther
ear
ebi
l
li
onsofpeopl
eonEar
th,
sot
reat
ingsewagei
sabi
gpr
ior
it
y.
 Sewagedi
sposali
samaj
orpr
obl
em i
ndev
elopi
ngcount
ri
esasmanypeopl
eint
hesear
eas
don’
thav
eaccesst
osani
tar
ycondi
ti
onsandcl
eanwat
er.
 Unt
reat
edsewagewat
eri
nsuchar
eascancont
ami
nat
etheenv
ironmentandcausedi
seases
suchasdi
arr
hoea.
 Sewagei
ndev
elopedcount
ri
esi
scar
ri
edawayf
rom t
hehomequi
ckl
yandhy
gieni
cal
l
ythr
ough
sewagepi
pes.
 Sewagei
str
eat
edi
nwat
ert
reat
mentpl
ant
sandt
hewast
eisof
tendi
sposedi
ntot
hesea.
 Sewagei
smai
nlybi
odegr
adabl
eandmostofi
tisbr
okendowni
ntheenv
ironment
.
 I
n dev
eloped count
ri
es,sewage of
ten causes pr
obl
ems when peopl
efl
ush chemi
caland
phar
maceut
icalsubst
ancesdownt
het
oil
et.Whenpeopl
ear
eil
l
,sewageof
tencar
ri
eshar
mful
v
irusesandbact
eri
aint
otheenv
ironmentcausi
ngheal
thpr
obl
ems.

2) OceanDumpi
ng
Thelegaldef
ini
ti
onofoceandumpi ngr
eferst
ot hedumpingofgarbage,sewage,
wast
echemi cal
s,andconst
ructi
ondebri
sintotheocean.Therearemanycases
wher
eoceandumpi ngiscontrol
ledandregul
ated.Howev
er,ther
earehazar dous
 mater
ial
sbeingdumpedint
ot heseabyt
anker
sandshi
ps.Theyar
eal
sobei
ng
i
ll
egal
lydumpedi
ncoast
alwaters.

Ef
fect
sofOceanDumpi
ng

•Oilspil
l
sar edangerousformar inelif
eandcanaf fectcoralr
eefsthatthr
ivei
nt he
ocean.I
nf acttheycangreatl
yaffecttheli
fecycl
e.Thegill
soff i
shcanbecloggedby
spi
ll
edoilwhichcanbl ockoffrespir
ati
on.Ifsunl
i
ghtisblocked,mari
neplantswil
ldie
becauseitaff
ectsphot
osynthesi
sandi tspr
ocess.

•Theset oxi
nsnotonlyaff
ectt
hemari
neli
fe,butt
heyaf
fecthumansaswell
.For
example,
let’
ssaythef
ishar
econt
ami
nat
ed,
ifsomeonewer
etocatchafi
shandeati
t,
theycoul
dgetfoodpoi
soni
ng.

•Ifgarbageisdumpedi
ntotheocean,t
heoxygeni
nthewat
ercoul
dbedeplet
ed.Thi
s
resul
tsinpoorhealthf
ormar i
nelif
eduet ol
ackofoxy
gen.Ani
malssuchasseals,
dolphi
ns,pengui
ns,
shar
ks,whal
es,andher
ri
ngcoul
dal
ldi
e.

•Bot t
lesandotherpl asti
csincl
udi
ngbagscansuf f
ocateorchokeseacr eatures.
Thinki
ngtheyar
ef ood,theymayeatthem.Pl
ast
ici
temsareoneofthemajorcausesof
deathamongturt
les.Theythinkpl
ast
icbagsl
ookli
kej
ell
yfi
shandt
rytoeatthem

3) wat
erpol
lut
ionbyoi
lspi
ll
age
Oceansarepol
l
utedbyoi
lonadai
l
ybasi
sfr
om oi
lspi
l
ls,r
out
ineshi
ppi
ng,r
un-
off
sand
dumping.
 
 Oi
lspi
l
lsmakeupabout12% oft
heoi
lthatent
erst
heocean.Ther
estcomef
rom shi
ppi
ng
t
rav
el,
drai
nsanddumpi
ng.
 Anoi
lspi
l
lfr
om at
ankeri
sasev
erepr
obl
em becauset
her
eissuchahugequant
it
yofoi
lbei
ng
spi
l
tint
oonepl
ace.
 Oi
lspi
l
lscauseav
eryl
ocal
i
sedpr
obl
em butcanbecat
ast
rophi
ctol
ocalmar
inewi
l
dli
fesuchas
f
ish,
bir
dsandseaot
ter
s.
 Oi
lcannotdi
ssol
vei
nwat
erandf
ormsat
hicksl
udgei
nthewat
er.Thi
ssuf
focat
esf
ish,get
s
caughti
nthe f
eat
her
sofmar
ine bi
rdsst
oppi
ng t
hem f
rom f
lyi
ng and bl
ocksl
i
ghtf
rom
phot
osy
nthet
icaquat
icpl
ant
s.

4) Aci
dRai
n
Aci drain i
sa  rain oranyot herf orm of  
preci
pitati
on thatisunusual ly 
aci
di c,meani ng
thati thasel evat edl evel
sofhy drogeni ons(low pH).I tcanhav ehar mfulef fectson
plants,aquat i
cani mal sandi nfrastructure.Acidr ai
ni scausedbyemi ssionsof  sulf
ur
dioxide and ni
trogenoxi de,whi chr eactwi ththe watermol ecul es i
nt he 
atmospher e 
to
produceaci ds.Somegov er
nment shav emadeef fort
ssi ncet he1970st or educet he
releaseofsul f
urdi oxideandni trogenoxi deintot heat mospher ewithposi tiveresults.
Nitrogenoxi descanal sobepr oducednat ural
l
yby  li
ghtning strikes,andsul furdioxidei s
producedby  volcani cerupti
ons.Aci dr ainhasbeenshownt ohav eadv er
sei mpact son
forests,freshwat er sandsoi l
s,ki l
li
ngi nsectandaquat iclife-forms,causi ngpai ntto
peel, 
cor r
osion ofst eelstr
ucturessuchasbr i
dges,and  weat hering ofstonebui l
dings
andst atuesaswel lashav i
ngi mpact sonhumanheal th.
Aci
drai
n i
scausedbyachemi
calr
eact
iont
hatbegi
nswhencompoundsl
i
kesul
fur
dioxi
deandnitr
ogenoxidesarereleasedintot
heai r
.Thesesubstancescanr i
sev
ery
hi
ghi ntotheatmosphere,wheret heymixandr eactwith 
water
,oxy gen,andot
her
chemical
stofor
m more aci
dicpol
lutant
s,knownas aci
drai
n.
Theecologicaleff
ectsofacidr ainaremostclearl
yseeni naquati
cenv i
ronments,such
asstr
eams,l akes,andmar sheswher eitcanbehar mfultofi
shandot herwil
dli
fe.Asit
fl
owsthrought hesoil
,acidi
cr ai
nwat ercanl
eachalumi num f
rom soi
lclaypart
icl
esand
thenf
low intostreamsandl akes.Themor eacidthatisintr
oducedtot heecosystem,
themorealumi num i
sreleased.

5) I
ndust
ri
alWast
e
Wat erpol luti
onhasmanysour ces.Themostpol lutingoft hem ar et hecitysewageand
i
ndust rialwast e di schar ged intot he r i
ver s.I ndust r
ialwast ei s defined as wast e
gener atedbymanuf actur i
ngori ndust ri
alpr ocesses.Thet ypesofi ndustrialwast e
gener ated includecaf et eriagar bage,di rtand gr av el
,masonr yand concr et e,scr ap
met als,trash,oi l,sol vent s,chemi cals,weedgr assandt r
ees,woodandscr apl umber,
andsi mi larwast es.I ndust ri
alsol i
dwast e-whi chmaybesol i
d,l iquidorgaseshel di n
container s-isdi v idedi ntohazar dousandnon- hazar douswast e.Hazar douswast emay
resultfrom manuf acturingorot heri ndustrialpr ocesses.Cer taincommer cialpr oducts
suchascl eani
ngf luids, paintsorpest i
cidesdi scar dedbycommer cialestabl
ishment sor
i
ndi vi
dual scanal sobedef i
nedashazar douswast e.Non- hazar dousi ndustrialwast es
aret hoset hatdonotmeett heEPA' sdef i
nitionofhazar douswast e-andar enot
muni cipalwast e.I ndust rialwast ehasbeenapr obl em si ncet hei ndustri
alr ev oluti
on.
Indust r
ialwast emaybet oxi
c,ignitable,cor rosi veorr eact i
ve.I fi mproperl
ymanaged,
thiswast ecanposedanger ousheal t
handenv ironment alconsequences.I nt heUni ted
States,t heamountofhazar douswast egener at edbymanuf actur i
ngi ndustriesi nt he
count ryhasi ncr easedf rom anest i
mat ed4. 5mi lliont onsannual lyaf t
erWor ldWarI Ito
some57mi l
li
ont onsby1975.By1990,t hist ot alhadshotupt oappr oximat ely265
mi l
l
iontons.Thiswast eisgenerat edatev er
ystageintheproduct
ionpr ocess,useand
disposalofmanuf acturedproduct s.Thus,theintr
oducti
onofmanynew pr oduct
sf or
thehomeand of fi
ce-comput er s,drugs,text
il
es,paint
sand dy es,pl astics-also
i
nt r
oducedhazar douswast e,includingtoxicchemical
s,intotheenv i
ronment .These,
too,mustbemanagedwi t
hext remecar etoav oi
dadv erseenvi
ronment alorhuman
healthimpacts.TheEPAest i
mat edi n1980t hatmorethan70,000diff
er entchemi cals

wer ebei ngmanuf acturedi ntheU. S.,wi t

hsome1, 000newchemi calsbei ngaddedeach
year .Thehumanheal thandenv ironment alimpact sofmanyoft hesechemi calsar e
l
argel yunknown.Hi ghl evelsoft oxiccont ami nantshav ebeenf oundi nanimalsand
humans,par ti
cularlyt hose,l i
ke farm wor kers and oi land gas wor ker
s,who ar e
cont inual l
yexposed t o such wast e st r
eams.Wast e wat erf rom manuf acturi
ng or
chemi calpr ocessesi ni ndust ri
escont ributest owat erpol luti
on.I ndustrialwastewat er
usual lycont ainsspeci ficandr eadilyident i
fiablechemi calcompounds.Wat erpoll
uti
on
i
sconcent r
atedwi thinaf ewsubsect ors,mai nlyint hef orm oft oxicwast esandor ganic
pollut ants.Outoft hisal argepor tioncanbet r
acedt ot hepr ocessi ngofi ndustri
al
chemi calsandt ot hef oodpr oductsi ndust ry.Mostmaj ori ndustri
eshav et r
eatment
facili
tiesf ori ndustrialeffluent sbutt hisi snott hecasewi thsmal l-scaleindustri
es,
whi chcannotaf f
or denor mousi nvest ment si npol lutioncont rolequi pmentast heir
prof i
tmar ginisv eryslender .Theef fectsofwat erpol l
ut i
onar enotonl ydev astat
ingt o
peopl ebutal sot oani mal s,f i
sh,andbi rds.Pol lutedwat eri sunsui tablef ordri
nking,
recreat ion,agr i
culture,andi ndustry.I tdimi nishest heaest heti
cqual ityoflakesand
ri
ver s.Mor e seri
ousl y,cont aminated wat erdest roys aquat icl i
fe and r educes its
reproduct i
veabi l
ity.Event ually,i
tisahazar dt ohumanheal t
h.Nobodycanescapet he
effect sofwat erpolluti
on.
 Wat
erTr
eat
ment
Wat ertreatment  
i
sanypr ocesst hatimpr ovest he 
quali
ty 
of 
wat er
 t
o makei tmor e
acceptablef ora speci f
ic end-use.The end use maybe  dr
inki
ng,indust ri
alwater
supply, 
ir
rigat
ion,ri
verfl
owmai nt
enance,wat errecr
eationormanyot heruses, i
ncl
uding
beingsaf elyretur
nedt otheenv ir
onment.Wat ertr
eatmentremov es 
cont aminant
s and
undesirablecomponent s,orreducest hei
rconcent rat
ionsothatthewat erbecomesf i
t
foritsdesiredend-use.Thistreatmentiscrucialtohumanheal t
handal lowshumanst o
benef i
tfr
om bot hdrinki
ngandi rr
igat
ionuse.
Pr
ocess
Acombinati
onsel
ectedfrom t
hef
oll
owi
ngpr
ocessesi
susedf
ormuni
cipaldr
inki
ng
wat
ert
reatmentwor
ldwide:

 Pr
e-chlor
inati
on 
foral
gaecontr
olandarr
esti
ngbiol
ogi
calgrowth
 Aer
ation 
alongwi t
hpre-chl
ori
nat
ionforremovalofdissolv
edi r
onwhenpr
esentwi
thsmal
l
amount
srel
ati
vel
yofmanganese

 Coagul
ati
onf
or f
loccul
ati
on 
orslow-sandfi
lt
rat
ion
 Coagul
antai
ds,alsoknownas poly
electr
oly
tes –toi
mpr
ovecoagul
ati
onandf
ormor
erobust
f
locf
ormat
ion
 Sedi
mentati
on 
forsol
i
dssepar
ati
ont
hati
stheremov
alofsuspendedsol
i
dstr
appedi
nthefl
oc
 Fi
l
trat
ion 
toremovepart
icl
esfr
om wat
ereit
herbypassagethroughasandbedthatcanbe
washedandr
eusedorbypassaget
hroughapur
posedesi
gnedf
il
tert
hatmaybewashabl
e.
 Di
sinf
ect
ionf
orki
l
li
ngbact
eri
avi
rusesandot
herpat
hogens.

Wat
erTr
eat
mentpl
ant