The basics of river and water pollution

Water is fundamental for life, without it no living being would be able to subsist. Every industrial society uses large amounts of water for daily life, which demonstrates the importance water has for life itself. Many countries are heading towards a water crisis, so we need to look at the state of our water and ask ourselves what went wrong, and what actions and initiatives we, our industry and our governments need to put in place to repair the devastating consequences.
To combat pollution, we need to investigate and identify all the causes of water pollution at a global scale, and become knowledgeable about its effects.

Why is this issue important?

Because ecosystems around the World are being destroyed due to water pollution, and species are going extinct. The effects of water pollution are being seen all over the World, with lakes and rivers becoming landfills and toxic dumps. 

In the USA, water pollution is a direct threat to the public health of its inhabitants. The melting snow and rain water that runs off roofs and roads, then picks up toxic chemicals along the way, rubbish and disease carrying organisms, which all end up as part of the rivers, lakes and oceans. Most of the water lacks basic protection against pollution from industrial plants, factory farms and activities like fracking. All these can lead to drinking water contamination, habitat degradation and even beach closures, when the water becomes too contaminated by bacteria, pathogens and viruses in waste.

Untreated sewage spills and overflows are frequently to blame for the closure of
beaches. In the USA, 1 in 10 beaches failed a federal benchmark for what constitutes
 safe swimming in 2014. 

What is river pollution?

In one simple explanation, river pollution consists of material foreign to the river being incorporated into its waters. Some examples of these materials are:

• Chemicals
• Micro-organisms
• Residual waters
• Industrial residual waste and others

These affect the quality of the water, causing it to degenerate. Water containing these foreign materials is often dangerous for human consumption and profitless for industry and all the daily activities for which we require water. 

Epidemic: water pollution can travel thousands of miles

A single source of pollution, from which pollutants are discharged, such as a factory, ship ditch or pipe is called point source pollution. If the pollution comes from many sources, it is called non-point-source pollution. This type of pollution comes from snow melting or rainfall flowing across contaminated surfaces, picking up pollutants and depositing them into rivers, lakes and oceans.

Water pollution can originate in one country, and travel hundreds of thousands of miles or kilometres, transgressing boundaries through water pathways, causing pollution in another country's environment. This is called Transboundary pollution. One of the problems of transboundary pollution is that it can originate in a country with heavy emissions of pollution and be transported to a country who has relatively low emissions. Oceans and rivers tend to carry contaminants to even the most remote areas of the Earth.

The Citarum River in West Java, Indonesia, where more than 500 factories line the river and
spread waste into the water, and a total of 2,000 factories line its basin.

Developed countries VS developing countries

Across the World there are many examples of rivers suffering drought or contamination. Many of these (including famous rivers) have reached alarming levels of pollution, to the point where they would be impossible to decontaminate.

When pollutants are released into the water, this results in an accumulation of the pollutants 
in aquatic organisms, or immediate mortalities in aquatic organisms (e.g. fish).

The photo(above) of the Citarum River, is famous for its degree of contamination. The river consists of 350 kilometres of industrial residue, rubbish and toxic chemicals. Lead, mercury, arsenic and other toxins are released on a daily basis into its waters. 

In the developed world regulation has, to an extend, restricted industry and agriculture from pouring pollutants into rivers, lakes and streams. In the developing world, there is little to no regulation, leaving the environment exposed to pollution from industry and agricultural operations. In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial waste is dumped untreated, immediately polluting the water supply.

What are the consequences of water pollution on our ecosystem?

Damage to a river basin is determined by the loss of biodiversity in the aquatic ecosystem. This affects the quality of life of the individuals living there. Some of the principal pollutants of rivers, such as infectious agents cause gastrointestinal tumours in humans. These infectious agents do not only enter our organism through direct consumption of contaminated water, but also through the consumption of fish which have been exposed to these chemicals in intoxicated waters.

For these reasons, we need to fight to protect our rivers and water and against all types of pollution. There are certain steps we can take at home to protect our water. In the USA in 2010, the most polluted river was the Ohio River.


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