Question

What are the effects of water pollution?

Answer 1

Water Pollution: The undesirable change in the physical, chemical and biological properties of water is due to the addition of pollutants that cause harm to the environment and the living organisms.

Effects of water pollution:

1. Addition of undesirable substances to water bodies: The addition of undesirable substances like pesticides and fertilizers which are used in farming or the addition of poisonous substances, such as mercury and lead leads to the growth of disease-causing microorganisms, such as Vibrio cholera which causes cholera disease in humans.
2. Biomagnification: The process through which the concentration of harmful non-biodegradable substances increases in the body of living organisms such as biomagnification of mercury in fish has become a cause of Minamata disease in people eating fish
3. Change in temperature: The effect of water pollution leads to a change in the temperature of water bodies, which affects the life of aquatic animals as they survive at a certain temperature. A sudden temperature change may have a dangerous effect on them.
4. Eutrophication: The addition of domestic sewage waste into the water bodies makes the water nutrient-rich which supports the growth of plants and Algae but they also utilize dissolved oxygen from the water. The excessive growth of aquatic algae and plants leads to a reduction in the amount of dissolved oxygen which affects the other aquatic animals.