How does the use of excessive fertilisers and pesticides affect water bodies?

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Solution

Excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides in fields can lead to their seepage into the ground and mixing with ground water. They can also be washed away with rain and carried to water bodies, where they can contaminate the water and the aquatic animals, especially fish. Human beings consuming such contaminated fish might be fatally poisoned.
Also, rivers polluted by fertilisers allow the growth of algae that use dissolved oxygen in the water for their sustenance. This leads to oxygen deficiency in water, which can cause the death of other aquatic animals. This enrichment of nutrients and depletion of oxygen is called eutrophication.

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