Question

(a) What is meant by water pollution? What are the different ways in which water gets polluted?

(b) State the harmful effects of water pollution.

Answer 1

(a).

Water pollution: It is the contamination of lakes, oceans, rivers, aquifers, and groundwater usually as a result of human activities.. The harmful substances in water that get into our food 'food contaminants.'

Some of the common water pollutants are Industrial Effluents and Domestic Sewage, Pesticides, Fertilizers, Plankton blooms, Silt, Oils, etc. These cause immense harm to the water.

Living Wastes, Toxic Wastes, Plant Wastes, Industrial wastes, Kitchen wastes, Oil Spills, Global warming, and Modernization. these are the different ways in which water gets polluted.

(b).

• Groundwater contamination from pesticides causes reproductive damage within wildlife in ecosystems.
• Sewage, fertilizer, and agricultural run-off contain organic materials that when discharged into waters, increase the growth of algae, which causes the depletion of oxygen.
• Swimming in and drinking contaminated water causes skin rashes and health problems like cancer, reproductive problems, typhoid fever and stomach sickness in humans.
• Industrial chemicals and agricultural pesticides that end up in aquatic environments can accumulate in fish that are later eaten by humans.
• Ecosystems are destroyed by the rising temperature in the water, as coral reefs are affected by the bleaching effect due to warmer temperatures.
• Human-produced litter of items such as plastic bags and 6-pack rings can get aquatic animals caught and killed from suffocation.
• Water pollution causes flooding due to the accumulation of solid waste and soil erosion in streams and rivers.
• Oil spills in the water cause animal to die when they ingest it or encounter it. Oil does not dissolve in water so it causes suffocation in fish and birds.