What is Water Pollution?
924574
Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies (lakes, rivers, oceans, groundwater) caused by human activities. Although natural phenomena such as volcanoes, storms, earthquakes etc. also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water, these are not deemed to be pollution. Water pollution has many causes and characteristics. Increases in nutrient loading may lead to eutrophication. Organic wastes such as sewage and farm waste impose high oxygen demands on the receiving water leading to oxygen depletion with potentially severe impacts on the whole eco-system. Industries discharge a variety of pollutants in their wastewater including heavy metals, organic toxins, oils, nutrients, and solids. Discharges can also have thermal effects, especially those from power stations, and these too reduce the available oxygen. Silt-bearing runoff from many activities including construction sites, forestry and farms can inhibit the penetration of sunlight through the water column restricting photosynthesis and causing blanketing of the lake or river bed which in turns damages the ecology.\n\nPollutants in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical chemistry or sensory changes. Many of the chemical substances are toxic or even carcinogenic. Pathogens can obviously produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry include acidity, conductivity, temperature, and excessive nutrient loading (eutrophication). Even many of the municipal water supplies in developed countries can present health risks. In the U.S.in 1972 stringent federal laws were enacted setting specific discharge limitations.\n\nPrincipal sources of water pollution are:\n\n \nLitter in the Water in the U.K.industrial discharge of chemical wastes and byproducts \ndischarge of poorly-treated or untreated sewage \nsurface runoff containing pesticides \nslash and burn farming practice, which is often an element within shifting cultivation agricultural systems \nsurface runoff containing spilled petroleum products \nsurface runoff from construction sites, farms, or paved and other impervious surfaces e.g. silt \ndischarge of contaminated and/or heated water used for industrial processes \nacid rain caused by industrial discharge of sulfur dioxide (by burning high-sulfur fossil fuels) \nexcess nutrients added by runoff containing detergents or fertilizers \nunderground storage tank leakage, leading to soil contamination, thence aquifer contamination
563391
Sewage (or domestic wastewater) treatment incorporates \n\nphysical, chemical and biological processes which treat and remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants from water following human use. The objective of the treatment is to produce both a clean wastestream (or treated effluent) suitable for discharge or reuse back into the environment, and a solid waste or sludge also suitable for proper disposal or reuse.\n\nSewage is generated by residences, institutions, and commercial and industrial establishments. It can be treated onsite at the point of which it is generated (e.g., septic tanks or onsite package plants), or collected and conveyed via a network of pipes and pump stations to a municipal treatment plant (see Sewerage and pipes and infrastructure). Efforts to collect, treat and discharge domestic wastewater are typically subject to local, state and federal regulations and standards (regulation and controls). Industrial sources of wastewater often require specialized treatment processes (- see Industrial wastewater treatment.\n\nTypically, sewage treatment is achieved by the initial physical separation of solids from the raw wastewater stream followed by the progressive conversion of dissolved biological matter into a solid biological mass using indigenous, water-borne bacteria. Once the biological mass is separated or removed, the treated water may undergo additional disinfection via chemical or physical processes. This 'final effluent' can then be discharged or re-introduced back into a natural surface water body (stream, river or bay) or other environment (wetlands, golf courses, greenways, etc.). The segregated biological solids undergo additional treatment and neutralization prior to proper disposal or re-use.\n\nWaste management:\n\nWaste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal of waste materials, usually ones produced by human activity, in an effort to reduce their effect on human health or local aesthetics or amenity. A subfocus in recent decades has been to reduce waste materials' effect on the natural world and the environment and to recover resources from them.\n\nWaste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or plasmic, with different methods and fields of expertise for each.
1046638
i don't really know about this but i'm fairly sure i can give a better answer than lrisjqoijgjr  \n\nyou could probably use a surfactant to break down the molecular attraction between the water molecules but this would leave pollution through the path of whatever you were using to travel through the water\n\nbut yeah not really practical but better than uingnpds
255856
Primarily toxic waste, including environmental pollution. industrial accidents, accidents in transportation, and waste hear pollution.
1170225
There's lots of different effects of pollution. Very few pollutants directly kill creatures in the water, unless they're released in huge amounts because they're simply not strong enough. What they usually do is disrupt the ecosystem that then kills most of the creatures.\nExamples:\nOil - creates a film on the water which blocks the passage of gasses in and out of the water. CO2 builds up in the water and kills most of the marine fauna. (this can also kill the terra life, birds and animals which also add to the pollution of the water) These rotting creatures increase the amount of nitrogen and nutrient in the water which encourage bacterial and algae blooms in the water. These particles in the water then block the light which kills the water flora. If the pollutants stay in the water and can not be flushed out then they encourage the build up even more organic matter around the waterway, and this restricts the flow of the water even more. The natural disruption of this cycle is flooding, which breaks up and washes away the toxins and debris to the ocean, which is much better able to recover from these processes. This process is less common now due to wide spread control of waterways with damming and irrigation. Many first world countries artifically recreate this process artifically by periodically flushing the river.\n\n(although our oceans are now getting in trouble too because many of the toxins we use don't break down, so over time they gradually build up and litterally have nowhere to go)\n\nAnother example is nitrogen pollution (cleaning products) which do a similar process, but they directly encourage bacterial and algae blooms... then you can take it from there.\n\nHeavy metals pollution is a little different. It builds up in a system and as it's heavier, it mostly sinks to the bottom of the river and is difficult to flush out, remaining for many generations. Smaller particles are consumed by the ocean life (eg, fish eating worms that each have a small amount in their system, then birds/humans/other animals eat the fish and the toxins are transported to the land.) This usually makes everything very sick, putting strains on any already stressed populations. This has a less dramatic effect, but much longer lasting results.\n\nI hope this helped.
1006154
A paper writen by Karen Manci, Ohio State Univ, College of Food and Evironmental Sciences is helpful:\n\nWastewater Treatment Principles and Regulations\nAEX-768-96\n\nSewage is the wastewater released by residences, businesses and industries in a community. It is 99.94 percent water, with only 0.06 percent of the wastewater dissolved and suspended solid material. The cloudiness of sewage is caused by suspended particles which in untreated sewage ranges from 100 to 350 mg/l. A measure of the strength of the wastewater is biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD5. The BOD5 measures the amount of oxygen microorganisms require in five days to break down sewage. Untreated sewage has a BOD5 ranging from 100 mg/l to 300 mg/l. Pathogens or disease-causing organisms are present in sewage. Coliform bacteria are used as an indicator of disease-causing organisms. Sewage also contains nutrients (such as ammonia and phosphorus), minerals, and metals. Ammonia can range from 12 to 50 mg/l and phosphorus can range from 6 to 20 mg/l in untreated sewage. \n\nSewage treatment is a multi-stage process to renovate wastewater before it reenters a body of water, is applied to the land or is reused. The goal is to reduce or remove organic matter, solids, nutrients, disease-causing organisms and other pollutants from wastewater. Each receiving body of water has limits to the amount of pollutants it can receive without degradation. Therefore, each sewage treatment plant must hold a permit listing the allowable levels of BOD5, suspended solids, coliform bacteria and other pollutants. The discharge permits are called NPDES permits which stands for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. \n\nPreliminary Treatment\nPreliminary treatment to screen out, grind up, or separate debris is the first step in wastewater treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys, etc., are removed at this stage to protect the pumping and other equipment in the treatment plant. Treatment equipment such as bar screens, comminutors (a large version of a garbage disposal), and grit chambers are used as the wastewater first enters a treatment plant. The collected debris is usually disposed of in a landfill. \n\nPrimary Treatment\nPrimary treatment is the second step in treatment and separates suspended solids and greases from wastewater. Waste-water is held in a quiet tank for several hours allowing the particles to settle to the bottom and the greases to float to the top. The solids drawn off the bottom and skimmed off the top receive further treatment as sludge. The clarified wastewater flows on to the next stage of wastewater treatment. Clarifiers and septic tanks are usually used to provide primary treatment. \n\nSecondary Treatment\nSecondary treatment is a biological treatment process to remove dissolved organic matter from wastewater. Sewage microorganisms are cultivated and added to the wastewater. The microorganisms absorb organic matter from sewage as their food supply. Three approaches are used to accomplish secondary treatment; fixed film, suspended film and lagoon systems. \nFixed Film Systems\nFixed film systems grow microorganisms on substrates such as rocks, sand or plastic. The wastewater is spread over the substrate, allowing the wastewater to flow past the film of microorganisms fixed to the substrate. As organic matter and nutrients are absorbed from the wastewater, the film of microorganisms grows and thickens. Trickling filters, rotating biological contactors, and sand filters are examples of fixed film systems. \n\nSuspended Film Systems\nSuspended film systems stir and suspend microorganisms in wastewater. As the microorganisms absorb organic matter and nutrients from the wastewater they grow in size and number. After the microorganisms have been suspended in the wastewater for several hours, they are settled out as a sludge. Some of the sludge is pumped back into the incoming wastewater to provide "seed" microorganisms. The
628587
Pollution is:\n\n1. Undesirable state of the natural environment being contaminated with harmful substances as a consequence of human activities.\n2. Undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the air, water, or land that can harmfully affect the health, survival, or activities of human or other living organisms.\n3. Unwanted chemicals or other materials found in the air. Pollutants can harm health, the environment and property. Many air pollutants occur as gases or vapors, but some are very tiny solid particles: dust, smoke or soot.\n4. Any substances in water, soil, or air that degrade the natural quality of the environment, offend the senses of sight, taste, or smell, or cause a health hazard. The usefulness of the natural resource is usually impaired by the presence of pollutants and contaminants.\n5. Harm to a natural environment, such as air, water, or soil through contamination with either natural or human-made materials. Such contamination may be deliberate, accidental, direct, or indirect. Throwing garbage into the lake, for example, makes the water unhealthy for fish and unfit for humans to swim. Indirect pollutants can enter our water supply from groundwater and runoff that contain agricultural fertilizers and pesticides or improperly disposed of industrial waste.\n6. Pollution which is (1) induced by natural processes, including precipitation, seepage, percolation, and runoff; (2) not traceable to any discrete or identifiable facility; and (3) controllable through the utilization of wise management practices.\n7. The undesirable presence of matter or energy that can cause harmful environmental effects.
28521
By simple polluting the air ,water etc
19705
One common name for this is "nutrient overload" and it is responsible for things like algal blooms and eutrophication of the water. \nI think  it's the term "eutrophication" you are after:\nhttp://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/eutrophication.html\n\n"Eutrophication is a process whereby water bodies, such as lakes, estuaries, or slow-moving streams receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth (algae, periphyton attached algae, and nuisance plants weeds)."
405069
Honestly, the effects are endless. I'm currently working on this topic for my Master's (that what I should be doing right now) and when you really start to delve into the study of it, it's really quite disgusting because it affects everything we rely on to live.  But to sum it up, when the land is polluted, it really leads to pollution, destruction, and loss of everything else. The pollution makes it way into our water sources, kills plants, and  consequently, that is one cause that leads to the loss of animal species.  Polluted land is often treated with chemicals to "clean it up" that ends up in the soil and poisons our food sources.  The issue really is complex, but I encourage you to study it further.  You won't look at this world the same.
993835
How about something dealing with providing potable water or water purification... that's a heck of a subject and there should be tons of information about it on the Internet.  Besides... with the fact that drinkable water is becoming harder to obtain and the costs are going up to provide that commodity, water science will be a real 'Biggie' in the near future.
1055387
deforestation removes the protective layers of the earth ,and the soil dries out by the sun ,if the land has been used for agriculture ,the now dry and dusty soil impregnated with agro chemicals (.including pesticides) ,are easily washed into the rivers by the rains.\nhere the mud effects aquatic life because the waters PH levels are  raised in acidity.\nwhich can affect sexuality as well as kill marine life.\nso most of the Damage is in the rivers and coastal areas and lagoons.\nby the time it all reaches the seas things are too diluted to have a marked difference.\n\nbut there are always limits to tolerance .\nif things go on long anough and in increasing quantities ,the life in the sea will also be affected .it already has with the red killer algae(Red tide),a result of chemical contamination
72550
Human Activity\nMunicipal Wastewater and Solid waste\nLand Development\nMaterial Consumption
128944
Environmental pollution is the release of environmental contaminants, generally resulting from human activity. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles are common air pollutants. Sunlight converts nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons to ozone or smog. Water pollutants may consist of a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals, petrochemicals, chloroform, and bacteria. Water pollution may also occur in the form of thermal pollution and oxygen depletion. Soil contamination is an important aspect of environmental pollution; this phenomenon occurs when chemicals are released by spill or underground storage tank leakage. Among the most significant soil contaminants are hydrocarbons, heavy metals, MTBE, herbicides, pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons.
569397
Environment pollution is pollution of water, air, soil, noise, light , visual and radio active .\n\n Pollution is the release of chemical, physical, biological or radioactive contaminants to the environment. Principal forms of pollution include: air , water....\nAir pollution is a broad term applied to any chemical, physical (e.g. particulate matter), or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic natural system that is essential to support life on planet earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has long been recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the earth's ecosystems.\n\nWorldwide air pollution is responsible for large numbers of deaths and cases of respiratory disease. Setting of air quality standards, such as the U.S. Clean Air Act, has begun to improve air quality for some pollutants. While major stationary sources are often identified with air pollution, the greatest source of emissions are actually mobile sources, principally the automobile. There are many available air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing this issue are high. The most immediately available method of improving air quality is adoption of greater use of ethanol fuel (and other bio fuels) and increased reliance upon hybrid vehicle technology.\n\nYou can check out more your self.\nAir pollution :
886735
what is the water cycle??
1073076
Environmental science is the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical and biological components of the environment; with a focus on pollution and degradation of the environment related due to human activities; and the impact on biodiversity and sustainability from local and global development. It is inherently an interdisciplinary field that draws upon not only its core scientific areas, but also applies knowledge from other non-scientific studies such as economics, law and social sciences. Physics is used to understand the flux of material and energy interaction and construct mathematical models of environmental phenomena. Chemistry is applied to understand the molecular interactions in natural systems. Biology is fundamental to describing the effects within the plant and animal kingdoms.