Water Pollution

Presented by-
Panchali Das
M.Sc Biotechnology
4th Semester
BBAU CRN 86946 CHEM 092 1
Water- as a scarce natural resource

 > 97% of the world’s water is too salty

to drink.
 Another 2% is locked up in ice-caps and We need water for-
glaciers.  Drinking
 < 1% is left for drinking , agriculture,  Cooking
industry and nature.  Washing
 Food
 Industry
 Energy
 Transport
It is not only we humans who  Rituals
need it; all life is dependent  Fun
upon water for its very survival.  For life.
Clean and plentiful water
provides the foundation for
prosperous communities.

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 Introduction:

We are Over-using water.

 Over tapping rivers
 Over pumping ground water
 Billions of people don’t have access to safe drinking water.
 4800 people die everyday from water-borne disease.

More and more organizations and councils are working hard to educate,
protect, restore waterways and encourage practices that help keep waters
from contamination, and also to preserve water ecosystems from destruction.
Therefore stop using and abusing water resources in an un-sustainable manner.
The first step will be-
PREVENT WATER POLLUTION
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 What is Water Pollution?

 “ Any alteration in the physical or chemical or biological

properties of water and the contamination with any
unwanted foreign substances, which would contribute a
health hazard or otherwise decrease the utility of water”
 The substances that cause water pollution are called
pollutants.

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 Some examples from which Pollutants
arise..
• Factories & Refineries (Oil and industrial waste)
• Agriculture (Pesticides, fertilizers, Eutrophication)
• Human Sewage
• Mining (sediment run off)
• Household chemicals (soap, oven cleaners etc.)
• Dumping (non-biodegradable)

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 Types of water pollution

Point-Source Pollution:
• Point source water pollution
refers to contaminants that
enter a waterway from a single,
identifiable source, such as a
pipe or ditch.
• Examples of sources in this
category include discharges
from a sewage treatment plant,
a factory.

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 Types of water pollution ‘Cont.’
Non-point Source (NPS) Pollution:
• A widely spread source of pollution
that can’t be tied to a specific point of
origin.
• NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or
snowmelt moving over and through the
ground. As the runoff moves, it picks
up and carries away natural and
human-made pollutants, finally
depositing them into lakes, rivers,
wetlands, coastal waters, and even our
underground sources of drinking water.

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 Other forms of water pollution

• Surface Water Pollution: Hazardous substances coming

into contact with surface water, dissolving or mixing physically
with the water can be called surface water pollution.
• For example, a spill from an oil tanker creates an oil slick that
can affect a vast area of the ocean.
• Ground Water Pollution: When humans apply pesticides
and chemicals to soils, they are washed deep into the ground by
rain water. This gets to underground water, causing pollution
underground. Groundwater = Water
stored underground in
aquifers.
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 Other forms of water pollution

• Thermal Pollution: Water is often drawn from rivers, lakes or the

ocean for use as a coolant in factories and power plants.
• The water is usually returned to the source warmer than when it was
taken.
• This small temperature can accelerate biological processes in plants
and animals or deplete oxygen levels in water .

Leads to death of fish or

other wildlife deaths
near the source of discharge.

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 Industrial Waste & Water Pollution

• Industries cause huge water pollution with their activities.

• Industries such as tanneries, textiles ,sugar mills and paper mills,
oil refineries, etc. generate a large quantity of wastewater which is
discharged into natural waterways either without treatment or
after partial treatment.

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 Human Waste & Water Pollution

• Sewage is the term used for

wastewater that often contains
faeces, urine and laundry waste.
• Untreated sewage can often
carry harmful viruses and
bacteria into the environment
causing health problems such as
diarrhea and cholera.
• Littering & Dumping

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 Chemical run off and Water Pollution

Chemical pollution, since the sources are so varied, can be

more difficult to remove (non- biodegradable) and neutralize.
There are numerous types of chemicals that pollute water.

• Pesticides
• Fertilizers Agricultural run-off
• Household cleaners
• Paints
• Industrials
• Metals

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 Atmosphere and Water pollution
• Acid rain is rain or another form
of precipitation that is more
acidic than normal.
• It is pollution of water caused by
air pollution. When the acidic
particles caused by air pollution
in the atmosphere mix with
water vapor, it results in acid
rain.
• Affect’s fish, harm trees, and eat
away the stone of buildings and
statues.

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 Oil Pollution

• Oil spills (from ships and tankers while traveling) cause a very
localized problem but can be catastrophic to local marine wildlife
such as fish, birds and sea otters.
• Oil cannot dissolve in water and forms
a thick sludge in the water. This suffocates
fish, gets caught in the feathers of marine
birds stopping them from flying and blocks
light from photosynthetic aquatic plants.

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 Nuclear Waste
• Nuclear waste is produced from industrial,
medical and scientific processes that use
radioactive material.
• The nuclear crisis that occurred in Japan
after 2011 Tsunami prompted Japanese
government dumped 11 million liters (2
million gallons) of radioactive water into the
Pacific Ocean.
• “We can’t see it. We can’t smell it. We
can’t touch it. The effects may not show up
now, in this decade, this generation even in
this century. Nevertheless, these senseless
nuclear impacts on us are far beyond
imagination…” 15
How do we know when water is polluted?

• There are two main ways of measuring the quality of water.

• One is to take samples of the water and measure the
concentrations of different chemicals that it contains. If the
chemicals are dangerous or the concentrations are too great,
we can regard the water as polluted. Measurements like this are
known as chemical indicators of water quality.
• Another way to measure water quality involves examining the
fish, insects, and other invertebrates that the water will
support. If many different types of creatures can live in a river,
the quality is likely to be very good; if the river supports no fish
life at all, the quality is obviously much poorer. Measurements
like this are called biological indicators of water quality. 16
 Effects of Water Pollution

• DEATH OF AQUATIC (WATER) ANIMALS

• DISRUPTION OF FOOD CHAINS

• DISEASES (hepatitis, cholera, cancers & death)

• DISRUPTION OF ECO-SYSTEM (algae blooms)
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:

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Preventative Measures

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 Preventative Measures

• Dispose of rubbish correctly. “Think before you toss!”

• Use water wisely.

• Do not throw chemicals, oils, paints and medicines

down the sink drain, or the toilet.

• Buy more eco-friendly products.

• Plant a lot of trees and flowers around your home.

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 Did you know
 The Ganges river in India is one
the most polluted in the world.  20% of the groundwater in China is used as
It contain sewage, trash, food, drinking water which is highly contaminated
and animal remains. with carcinogenic chemicals which cause high
levels of water pollution.
 Ground water in Bangladesh is contaminated with
arsenic. Arsenic is very toxic, acute poison and a
carcinogen. Approximately 85% of the total area of
Bangladesh has contaminated groundwater.

 In America, 40% of the rivers and 46% of the

lakes are polluted and are considered unhealthy for
swimming, fishing or aquatic life.

 According to the survey done by Food & Water

Watch cites that approximately 3.5 billion people in
2025 will face water shortage issues. This will be
mainly due to water pollution. 21
 Conclusion:
• Water pollution arises from accidental or deliberate disposal of
harmful substances on land, dumping of petro-chemicals at sea,
over-use of pesticides and fertilizers and poor sewage systems,
all of which results in contamination of both surface and ground
water. Water Pollution is a serious issue and preventive
measures are essential. It is the second most important
environmental issue next to air pollution.
• “ Are You Water Wise?”

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