WATER POLLUTION

NAME : MIHIR JAIN

CU ROLL NO. : 201224-21-0146

REGISTRATION NO. : 224-1111-1247-20

COLLEGE ROLL NO. : 4124

SUBJECT : ENVIROMENTAL STUDIES

STREAM : BCOM HONOURS

SHIFT : EVENING

SEMESTER : 2nd

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 PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. TYPES 4

3. SIGNS 5

4. MAJOR SOURCES 5-7

5. COMMON SOURCES 7-8

6. CAUSES 8-10

7. EFFECTS 10-11

8. CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT 11-12

9. CONCLUSION 12

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INTRODUCTION :-

Water pollution can be defined in many ways. Usually, it means one or more substances have built up in
water to such an extent that they cause problems for animals or people. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other
inland waters can naturally clean up a certain amount of pollution by dispersing it harmlessly. If you poured
a cup of black ink into a river, the ink would quickly disappear into the river's much larger volume of clean
water. The ink would still be there in the river, but in such a low concentration that you would not be able to
see it. At such low levels, the chemicals in the ink probably would not present any real problem. However, if
you poured gallons of ink into a river every few seconds through a pipe, the river would quickly turn black.
The chemicals in the ink could very quickly have an effect on the quality of the water. This, in turn, could
affect the health of all the plants, animals, and humans whose lives depend on the river. Thus, water
pollution is all about quantities: how much of a polluting substance is released and how big a volume of
water it is released into. A small quantity of a toxic chemical may have little impact if it is spilled into the
ocean from a ship. But the same amount of the same chemical can have a much bigger impact pumped into a
lake or river, where there is less clean water to disperse it.

Water pollution almost always means that some damage has been done to an ocean, river, lake, or other
water source. Fortunately, Earth is forgiving and damage from water pollution is often reversible.

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TYPES :-

I. Marine pollution :-
One common path of entry by contaminants to the sea are rivers. An example is directly discharging sewage
and industrial waste into the ocean. Pollution such as this occurs particularly in developing nations. In fact,
the 10 largest emitters of oceanic plastic pollution worldwide are, from the most to the least, China,
Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, largely
through the rivers Yangtze, Indus, Yellow, Hai, Nile, Ganges, Pearl, Amur, Niger, and the Mekong, and
accounting for "90 percent of all the plastic that reaches the world's oceans.
Large gyres (vortexes) in the oceans trap floating plastic debris. Plastic debris can absorb toxic chemicals
from ocean pollution, potentially poisoning any creature that eats it. Many of these long-lasting pieces end
up in the stomachs of marine birds and animals. This results in obstruction of digestive pathways, which
leads to reduced appetite or even starvation.
There are a variety of secondary effects stemming not from the original pollutant, but a derivative condition.
An example is silt-bearing surface runoff, which can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water
column, hampering photosynthesis in aquatic plants.

II. Groundwater pollution :-

Interactions between groundwater and surface water are complex. Consequently, groundwater pollution, also
referred to as groundwater contamination, is not as easily classified as surface water pollution. [21] By its very
nature, groundwater aquifers are susceptible to contamination from sources that may not directly affect
surface water bodies. The distinction of point vs. non-point source may be irrelevant in some situations.
Analysis of groundwater contamination may focus on soil characteristics and site
geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, and the nature of the contaminants. Causes of groundwater pollution
include: naturally-occurring (geogenic), on-site sanitation systems, sewage, fertilizers and pesticide,
commercial and industrial leaks, hydraulic fracturing, landfill leachate.

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SIGNS:-
(i) Bad taste of drinking water;

(ii) Offensive odors from lakes, rivers and ocean beaches;

(iii) Unchecked growth of aquatic weeds in water bodies;

(iv) Decrease in number of fish in fresh water, river water, sea water;

(v) Oil and grease floating on water surfaces.

(vi) These disturb the normal uses of water for public water supply:

Recreation and aesthetics;

Fish, other aquatic life and wild life;

Agriculture;

Industry;

Major Sources:-

There are two major sources of water pollution, namely:

(i) Point sources and

(ii) Non-point sources.

I. Point Sources:
Those sources which can be identified at a single location are known as point sources. For instance, the flow
of water pollutants through regular channels like sewage systems, industrial effluents etc. infiltration of
industrial effluents, municipal sewage etc. contaminate the ground water and cause water pollution.

The water pollution caused by point sources can be minimized if all domestic sewage, industrial effluents,
cattle field and livestock wastewater etc. are all centrally collected, treated up to requisite acceptable level
and reused for different beneficial purposes.

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II. Non-point sources :
Nonpoint source pollution refers to diffuse contamination that does not originate from a single discrete
source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from
a large area. A common example is the leaching out of nitrogen compounds from fertilized agricultural
lands. Nutrient run off in storm water from "sheet flow" over an agricultural field or a forest are also cited as
examples of non-point source pollution. Contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and
highways, called urban runoff, is sometimes included under the category of non-point sources. This runoff
becomes a point source because it is typically channeled into storm drain systems and discharged through
pipes to local surface waters.

Common Sources:-
Common sources of water pollution are as follows:
I. Sewage:
A main source of pollution is raw or partially treated sewage discharged into rivers, lakes and streams. The
discharge of huge quantities of municipal and domestic wastes and sewage pollute many water bodies.
Sewage consists of the excreta (faeces and nitrogenous wastes) of animals. It is rich in organic matter and
nitrogen compounds.

If used as a fertilizer in moderate concentrations, animal excreta (manure) can enrich the soil. But is sewage
is allowed to accumulate in lakes and rivers, it can have serious effects on an ecosystem. Sewage increases

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the biological productivity and interferes with many uses of the water body. Waste containing toxic
substances damage biological activity and kill useful organisms.

II. Industrial Wastes:

Various types of industrial wastes are continuously poured in streams, rivers and lakes. The industries that
cause pollution are printing, electroplating, soap manufacture, food products, rubber and plastics, chemicals,
textiles, steel, sugar factories, glass manufacture etc. If industrial wastes are not released directly into water
bodies, they can also percolate through the soil and pollute the ground water.

The paper mill wastes are concentrated with a number of inorganic substances. The coak works and plastic
wastes have much phenolic compounds. Metal finishing plants release heavy metals and cynides. Caustic
soda and chlorine factories release heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc and
mercury.

All these metals are capable of binding with enzymes and interfering with normal cell metabolism. In some
cases these metals concentrate through the food chain to levels that result in heavy metal poisoning.
Cadmium poisoning is, called itai-itai (“ouch-ouch”) in Japan because it is a painful disease that can be fatal.

Mercury poisoning produce a crippling and often fatal disease called Minamata disease (mercury poisoning
occurred in Minamata City, Japan in 1953, when more than 100 persons died or suffered serious nervous
system damage from, eating fish taken from Minamata Bay). The levels of mercury in freshwater lakes and
rivers have been rising in recent years. It can become highly concentrated in the bodies of fishes.

As already mentioned mercury enter human body through contaminated fishes. Many mollusks in streams
are found to accumulate considerable amounts of copper and zinc. Cadmium and chromium present in sea
are toxic for marine animals.

III. Fertilizer Pollution:

Adding large amount of inorganic fertilizers to crop fields result in the nutrient enrichment of streams, rivers
and lakes. A major part of fertilizer become available for excessive algal growth. This is more true for
nitrogenous fertilizers (which are readily soluble) than phosphatic ones.

Nitrate in agricultural drainage contaminate drinking water. Nitrite poisoning or methemoglobinemia occurs
in infants and farm animals by ingesting water or food containing high level of nitrite.

Bacteria normally found in the water are able to convert nitrate ions fertilizers and organic wastes to nitrite.
The concentration of nitrates and nitrites are reduced naturally by the action of the denitrifying bacteria in
water and soil.

IV. Insecticides:
The excessive use of pesticides cause water pollution, by penetrating through soil and getting dissolved in
soil water. Some of them like DDT, DDE, DDD, Dielrin and polychlorinated biphenyls are washed down

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with rain water and find their way to the sea through rivers and streams. These toxic substances accumulate
in the bodies of aquatic organisms and cause a great harm to them.

CAUSES :-

Most water pollution doesn't begin in the water itself. Take the oceans: around 80 percent of ocean pollution
enters our seas from the land. Virtually any human activity can have an effect on the quality of our water
environment. When farmers fertilize the fields, the chemicals they use are gradually washed by rain into the
groundwater or surface waters nearby. Sometimes the causes of water pollution are quite surprising.
Chemicals released by smokestacks (chimneys) can enter the atmosphere and then fall back to earth as rain,
entering seas, rivers, and lakes and causing water pollution. That's called atmospheric deposition. Water
pollution has many different causes and this is one of the reasons why it is such a difficult problem to solve.

I. Nutrients:-

Suitably treated and used in moderate quantities, sewage can be a fertilizer: it returns important nutrients to
the environment, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which plants and animals need for growth. The trouble
is, sewage is often released in much greater quantities than the natural environment can cope with. Chemical
fertilizers used by farmers also add nutrients to the soil, which drain into rivers and seas and add to the
fertilizing effect of the sewage. Together, sewage and fertilizers can cause a massive increase in the growth
of algae or plankton that overwhelms huge areas of oceans, lakes, or rivers. This is known as a harmful
algal bloom (also known as an HAB or red tide, because it can turn the water red). It is harmful because it
removes oxygen from the water that kills other forms of life, leading to what is known as a dead zone. The
Gulf of Mexico has one of the world's most spectacular dead zones. Each summer, according to studies by
the NOAA, it typically grows to an area of around 5500–6000 square miles (14,000–15,500 square
kilometers), which is about the same size as the state of Connecticut.

II. Radioactive waste:-

People view radioactive waste with great alarm—and for good reason. At high enough concentrations it can
kill; in lower concentrations it can cause cancers and other illnesses. The biggest sources of radioactive
pollution in Europe are two factories that reprocess waste fuel from nuclear power plants: Sell afield on the
north-west coast of Britain and Cap La Hague on the north coast of France. Both discharge radioactive waste
water into the sea, which ocean currents then carry around the world. Countries such as Norway, which lie
downstream from Britain, receive significant doses of radioactive pollution from Sell afield. The Norwegian

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government has repeatedly complained that Sell afield has increased radiation levels along its coast by 6–10
times. Both the Irish and Norwegian governments continue to press for the plant's closure .

III. Oil pollution:-

When we think of ocean pollution, huge black oil slicks often spring to mind, yet these spectacular accidents
represent only a tiny fraction of all the pollution entering our oceans. Even considering oil by itself, tanker
spills are not as significant as they might seem: only 12 percent of the oil that enters the oceans comes from
tanker accidents; over 70 percent of oil pollution at sea comes from routine shipping and from the oil people
pour down drains on land. However, what makes tanker spills so destructive is the sheer quantity of oil they
release at once — in other words, the concentration of oil they produce in one much localized part of the
marine environment. The biggest oil spill in recent years (and the biggest ever spill in US waters) occurred
when the tanker Exxon Valdez broke up in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989. Around 12 million
gallons (44 million liters) of oil were released into the pristine wilderness—enough to fill your living room
800 times over! Estimates of the marine animals killed in the spill vary from approximately 1000 sea otters
and 34,000 birds to as many as 2800 sea otters and 250,000 sea birds. Several billion salmon and herring
eggs are also believed to have been destroyed.

IV. Other forms of pollution:-

These are the most common forms of pollution—but by no means the only ones. Heat or thermal
pollution from factories and power plants also causes problems in rivers. By raising the temperature, it
reduces the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water, thus also reducing the level of aquatic life that the
river can support.

Another type of pollution involves the disruption of sediments (fine-grained powders) that flow from rivers
into the sea. Dams built for hydroelectric power or water reservoirs can reduce the sediment flow. This
reduces the formation of beaches, increases coastal erosion (the natural destruction of cliffs by the sea), and
reduces the flow of nutrients from rivers into seas (potentially reducing coastal fish stocks). Increased
sediments can also present a problem. During construction work, soil, rock, and other fine powders
sometimes enter nearby rivers in large quantities, causing it to become turbid (muddy or silted). The extra
sediment can block the gills of fish, effectively suffocating them. Construction firms often now take
precautions to prevent this kind of pollution from happening.

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EFFECTS :-
All organisms need water for their metabolic activities. It is even used as a habitat by many organisms.
Besides direct consumption (washing, bathing, drinking) man uses water for a multitude of purposes like
irrigation, industry, navigation, recreation, construction work, power generation and waste disposal.

Different type of water uses require different levels of water purity with the highest level of purity being
required for drinking water. Pollutants bring about many physical and chemical changes in water, for
instance, suspended particles make water turbid; dyes, chromium and iron compounds change the colour of
water; phenols, oils, detergents, hydrocarbons, chlorine etc. impart an unpleasant taste to water.

As it is a vital resource essential for sustaining life, contamination of water has immediate as well as far
reaching effects on the health and environment of living organisms.

Health Hazards of Water pollution :-

(a) Phosphorus and Nitrates from fertilizers and detergents contaminate surface waters where they act as
nutrients and promote the growth of oxygen consuming algae which reduce the D.O. level of water, killing
fish and other aquatic organisms.

(b) Industrial effluents result in the addition of poisonous chemicals such as Arsenic, Mercury, Cadmium,
Lead etc. which kill aquatic organisms and may reach human body through contaminated food (i.e. fishes
etc.)

(c) Domestic, commercial and industrial effluents (petroleum refineries, paper mills, distilleries, tanneries,
slaughter houses) contaminate the water with organic pollutants.

These provide nutrition for micro-organisms which decompose the organic matter and consume oxygen and
reduce the D.O. level of the aquatic system there by killing the aquatic organisms.

(d) Non-biodegradable pesticides (especially organochlorines) travel through food chains and ultimately
reach human body where they accumulate in the fatty tissues and affect the nervous system.

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(e) Water borne infectious enteric diseases like typhoid, bacillary dysentery, cholera and amoebic dysentery
are the predominant health hazards arising from drinking contaminated water.

(f) Fluoride containing pollutants cause fluorosis i.e. neuromuscular, respiratory gastro intestinal and dental
problems.

(g) Thermal pollution of water reduces the D.O. level of the aquatic system making it incapable of
supporting life.

(h) Oil pollutants have been known to be responsible for the death of many water birds and fishes.

CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT :-

The following measures can be taken to control water pollution:

I. Thermal Pollution:
For minimizing thermal pollution, hot water should be cooled before release from factories, and removal of
forest canopies and irrigation return flows should be prohibited.

II. Prohibition:
Besides reserving separate water supplies for livestock, the following prohibition should be enforced to
avoid contamination of the main sources of drinking water.

(a) Bathing and washing of clothes in rivers and streams.

(b) Discharging untreated or treated domestic, commercial and industrial sewage in water bodies.

III. Judicious Use:

Pesticides (preferably less stable) and fertilizers should be very judiciously used to avoid chemical pollution
of water through agricultural farm run-offs.

IV. Reuse of Water:

The treated waste water can be reused for several purposes, for instance:
(a) Treated water can be reused for recreation purposes like fishing and boating.

(b) Treated water can be reused as industrial water supply.

(c) Reclaimed waste water can be used for irrigation or municipal purposes.

(d) Treated water can be reused for cooling processes in thermal plants.

(e) In area of acute water scarcity, waste water treated to the highest standards can be reused as potable
water (provided there is public acceptance for waste water use).

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V. Legislation:
For effective control of water pollution, legal provisions regarding water pollution should be enforced by
special administrative machinery comprising of highly qualified and experienced personnel.

Clean water is essential for healthy environment to support life systems on this planet. The task of delicately
balancing the ratio of available and exploitable water resources and sustaining their quality is most relevant
in India where rainfall distribution is uneven and confined to 3-4 months in a year.

Moreover, anthropogenic global and local climatic distortions resulting from global warming due to
greenhouse gases, denudation of forest canopy, loss of top soil and severe environmental degradation have
adverse impact on the monsoon pattern in India.

Hence in-spite of vast water resources in lakes and rivers and good monsoon, India faces perennial problems
of floods and droughts and highly polluted water resources.

CONCLUSION :-

Water pollution have the capabilities to disrupt life on our planet to a great extent. Congress has passed laws
to try to combat water pollution thus, acknowledging the fact that water pollution is, indeed, a serious issue.
But the government alone cannot solve the entire problem. It is ultimately up to us, to be informed,
responsible and involved when it comes to the problems we face with our water. We must become familiar
with our local water resources and learn about ways for disposing harmful household wastes so they don’t
end up in sewage treatment plants that can’t handle them or landfills not designed to receive hazardous
materials. In our yards, we must determine whether additional nutrients are needed before fertilizers are
applied, and look for alternatives where fertilizers might run off into surface waters. We have to preserve
existing trees and plant new trees and shrubs to help prevent soil erosion and promote infiltration of water
into the soil. Around our houses, we must keep litter, pet waste, leaves, and grass clippings out of gutters
and storm drains.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my class “SUPRIYO ACHARYA” for guiding me
throughout this project. I also feel thankful and express my kind gratitude towards our H.O.D “PIJUSH
KUMAR BASU” for allowing me to conduct “WATER POLLUTION” project. I thank all participants for
their positive support and guidance.

I feel thankful to my college “SETH ANADRAM JAIPURIA COLLEGE” and our principle “DR.
ASOK MUKHOPADAHYAY” for giving me such a big opportunity. I believe I will enroll in more such
events in the coming future. I ensure that this project was done by me and is not copied.

I am also thankful to my classmates and my parents for their support to finalize this project work within the
limited time frame.

DATE – 15.05.2021 MIHIR JAIN

SIGNATURE

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