Chemistry Project

ON
Water Pollution
 What Is Water Pollution?
● Water pollution is the contamination
of water bodies, usually as a result of
human activities, in such a manner that
negatively affects its legitimate uses.
● It is the presence in groundwater of
toxic chemicals and biological agents
that exceed what is naturally found in
the water and may pose a threat to
human health or the environment.
 Introduction
● Water pollution occurs when harmful
substances are released into the water
in large quantities which cause damage
to people, wildlife, or habitat or
indirectly into water bodies without
proper treatment to remove harmful
compounds.
● Water pollution affects plants and
organisms living in the bodies of water;
and, in almost all cases the effect is
damaging either to individual species
and also to the biological communities.
 Causes Of Water Pollution:
● “Every living thing depends on water to survive”.
● Humans depend on clean water to not only survive but also to thrive.
● Sadly, obtaining clean water is becoming harder and harder each year.
● So, what is causing water pollution??-Here are six common causes:

● Industrial waste
● Improper Sewage Disposal.
● Agriculture
● Oil spills
● Global warming
 Industrial Waste
● The term “Industrial waste” means material discarded by
stores, restaurants, warehouses, nonmanufacturing
activities at industrial facilities, and other similar
establishments or facilities.
● Industrial waste includes dirt and gravel, masonry and
concrete, scrap metal, oil, solvents, chemicals.Waste water
from manufacturing or chemical processes in industries
contributes to water pollution.
● Water pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors,
mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants.
● The effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people
but also to animals, fish, and birds.
● Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation,
agriculture, and industry.
 Improper Sewage Disposal
● Improper waste disposal is the disposal of
waste in a way that has negative consequences
for the environment.
● Sewage disposal is a major form of coastal
pollution throughout the world. Sewage outfalls
near coastal communities release human waste
as well as other organic matter, heavy metals,
pesticides, detergents, and petroleum products.
● There is a lot of sewage flowing around due to a
poor drainage system.
● It not only contributes to the creation of a
greenhouse gas effects but also causes
significant harm to marine and wildlife.
 Oil spills
● Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the
ocean. The rest come from shipping travel, drains and
dumping.
● An oil spill from a tanker is a severe problem because
there is such a huge quantity of oil being spilt into one
place.
● Oil spills cause a very localised 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.
 Global warming
● Rising temperatures due to global warming are
a major concern in terms of water pollution.
● Global warming causes water temperatures to
rise, which can kill water-dwelling animals.
● When large die-offs occur, it further pollutes
the water supply, exacerbating the issue.
● There are many everyday ways you can help
reduce global warming, which will in turn help
lower water pollution.
● These methods include recycling, carpooling
and using CFL bulbs in your home.
 Agriculture
● In order to protect their crops from bacteria and
insects, farmers often use chemicals and pesticides.
● When these substances seep into the groundwater,
they can harm animals, plants and humans.
● Additionally, when it rains, the chemicals mix with
rainwater, which then flows into rivers and streams
that filter into the ocean, causing further water
pollution.
● Chemical fertilizers contain phosphates, nitrates that
can actually be the main reason behind water pollution.
 EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION
● Pollution of water affects both humans
and aquatic life
● Most water sources close to cities and
urban centers are polluted by garbage and
dumping of chemicals, legally or illegally.
● Water Pollution contaminates water bodies
such as Streams, Rivers, Lakes, Seas and
Oceans, degrading its water quality and
rendering its toxic to humans and the
environment
 Effect on human beings
● In humans, drinking or consuming polluted water in any
way has many disastrous effects on our health. It causes
typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and various other diseases
● Chemicals in the water also have negative effects on our
health. :
● Pesticides – can damage the nervous system and cause
cancer because of the carbonates and organophosphates
that they contain.
● Chlorides can cause reproductive and endocrinal damage.
● Every year, unsafe water sickens about 1 billion people.
And low-income communities are disproportionately at
risk because their homes are often closest to the most
polluting industries.
 Effect on aquatic life
● Animals and plants that depend on water for life
are the most affected by polluted water.
● In the report, the 2010 spill on the Gulf of Mexico
harmed over 82,000 birds, 25,900 marine animals,
6165 sea turtles, and an unknown number of fish
and invertebrates.
● When there is a build-up of contaminants in the
water, either as toxic chemicals or biological waste,
it affects the amount of oxygen in the water, which
makes it difficult for the inhabitants to breathe.
It can also result in immune suppression and
reproductive problems, which can spell doom for
aquatic life.
● Microbial pollutants from sewage often result in
infectious diseases that infect aquatic life and
terrestrial life through drinking water.
 Effect on Food Chain
● Pollution disrupts the food chain by moving the
toxins from one level in the chain to higher
levels. In some cases, pollution can wipe out an
entire part of the food chain.
● Such affect the other organisms by either
causing excessive growth, in case the predator
dies or death (if it wipes out the prey).
● Disruption in food chains happens when toxins
and pollutants in the water are consumed by
aquatic animals(fish , shellfish.. etc.) , which are
then consumed by humans.
 Effect on Ecosystem
● Water pollution depletes aquatic ecosystems and
triggers unbridled proliferation of phytoplankton
in lakes.
● Ecosystems are extremely dynamic and respond to
even small changes in the environment. Water
pollution can cause an entire ecosystem to collapse
if left unchecked.
● Eutrophication: Chemicals in a water body,
encourage the growth of algae. These algae form
a layer on top of the pond or lake. Bacteria feed
on this algae and this decreases the amount of
oxygen in the water body, severely affecting the
aquatic life there.
 Effect on Portable water
● Lack of potable water. The UN says that
billions of people around the world have
no access to clean water to drink or
sanitation, particularly in rural areas.
● The WHO estimates that about 2 billion
people have no option but to drink water
contaminated by excrement, exposing
them to diseases such as cholera,
hepatitis A and dysentery.
 Conclusion:-
Working on this project, it made us awake of “Water pollution”which is
very harmful in today’s daily life.
We came to know that it has various harmful effects in our daily life
It helped us on understanding the concept of “Water pollution”
So We feel that this project was an interesting one and had many fun
involvements in it.

- Kiranmai
Chandan
Jashwanth
Hansritha