Question

How is water pollution caused by man?

Answer 1

Water pollution: The contamination of water due to the presence of toxic materials present in it is called water pollution.

The causes of water pollution by man are as follows:

1. Surface runoff: The surface water runoff from agricultural land that has pesticides and fertilizers flows into water bodies and pollutes them.
2. Heavy metals: Effluents containing Mercury, Lead, Antimony, and Arsenic are released by several industries that contaminate the water bodies in which they are discharged.
3. Rapid Urban Development: The increased rate at which urbanization is taking place, implies a directly proportional increase in the generation of construction and technological wastes. The sewage, the construction wastes such as cement, dust, etc are all toxic to living organisms.
4. Improper Sewage Disposal: Improper or no treatment of sewage prior to disposing of it results in the release of the toxic components into the water bodies leading to water pollution, damage to aquatic ecosystems, and disruption in the physiological activities of the aquatic organisms.
5. Chemical Waste Dumping: The effluents and waste products released from paper mills, textile industries, food processing units, etc. are very toxic to all the aquatic and land organisms. For example, in paper industries, the waste releases contain mercury that is toxic to aquatic and land animals who consume it.
6. Radioactive Waste Dumping: The wastes from radioactive power plants are wastes that contain very small amounts of radioactive elements that can cause serious diseases.