water pollution water pollution water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses.: 6 water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. contaminants can come from one of four main sources: sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. water pollution is either surface water pollution or groundwater pollution. this form of pollution can lead to many problems, such as the degradation of aquatic ecosystems or spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. another problem is that water pollution reduces the ecosystem services (such as providing drinking water) that the water resource would otherwise provide. part of a series onpollutionraw sewage and industrial waste in the new 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wastewater marine debris monitoring nonpoint source see misc section nutrient ocean acidification oil spill pharmaceuticals freshwater salinization septic tanks sewage septic tanks pit latrine shipping stagnation sulfur water surface runoff turbidity urban runoff water quality misc point source area source legacy pollution lists diseases law by country most polluted cities least polluted cities by pm2.5 treaties categories by country environment portal ecology portal sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant or an oil spill. non-point sources are more diffuse, such as agricultural runoff. pollution is the result of the cumulative effect over time. pollution may take the form of toxic substances (e.g., oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, industrial waste products), stressful conditions (e.g., changes of ph, hypoxia or anoxia, increased temperatures, excessive turbidity, changes of salinity), or the introduction of pathogenic organisms. contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. a common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans as well as legislation. technology solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). definition a practical definition of water pollution is: "water pollution is the addition of substances or energy forms that directly or indirectly alter the nature of the water body in such a manner that negatively affects its legitimate uses".: 6 water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants. due to these contaminants, it either no longer supports a certain human use, such as drinking water, or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its biotic communities, such as fish. contaminants contaminants with an origin in sewage further information: waterborne diseases § diseases by type of pathogen, and sewage § pathogens the following compounds can all reach water bodies via raw sewage or even treated sewage discharges: various chemical compounds found in personal hygiene and cosmetic products. disinfection by-products found in chemically disinfected drinking water (whilst these chemicals can be a pollutant in the water distribution network, they are fairly volatile and therefore not usually found in environmental waters). hormones (from animal husbandry and residue from human hormonal contraception methods) and synthetic materials such as phthalates that mimic hormones in their action. these can have adverse impacts even at very low concentrations on the natural biota and potentially on humans if the water is treated and utilized for drinking water. insecticides and herbicides, often from agricultural runoff. if the water pollution stems from sewage (municipal wastewater), the main pollutants are: suspended solids, biodegradable organic matter, nutrients and pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms.: 6 poster to teach people in south asia about human activities leading to the pollution of water sources pollutants and their effects* pollutant main representative parameter possible effect of the pollutant suspended solids total suspended solids aesthetic problems sludge deposits pollutants adsorption protection of pathogens biodegradable organic matter biological oxygen demand (bod) oxygen consumption death of fish septic conditions nutrients nitrogen phosphorus excessive algae growth toxicity to fish (ammonia) illnesses in new-born infants (blue baby syndrome from nitrate) pollution of groundwater pathogens coliforms, such as e. coli helminth eggs waterborne diseases non-biodegradable organic matter pesticides some detergents others toxicity (various) foam (detergents) reduction of oxygen transfer (detergents) non-biodegradability bad odors (e.g.: phenols) inorganic dissolved solids total dissolved solids conductivity excessive salinity – harm to plantations (irrigation) toxicity to plants (some ions) problems with soil permeability (sodium) * sources of these pollutants are municipal and industrial wastewater, urban runoff, agricultural and pasture activities: 7 pathogens the major groups of pathogenic organisms are: (a) bacteria, (b) viruses, (c) protozoans and (d) helminths.: 47 in practice, indicator organisms are used to investigate pathogenic pollution of water because the detection of pathogenic organisms in water sample is difficult and costly, because of their low concentrations. the indicators (bacterial indicator) of fecal contamination of water samples most commonly used are: total coliforms (tc), fecal coliforms (fc) or thermotolerant coliforms, e. coli.: 47 pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. some microorganisms sometimes found in contaminated surface waters that have caused human health problems include: burkholderia pseudomallei, cryptosporidium parvum, giardia lamblia, salmonella, norovirus and other viruses, parasitic worms including the schistosoma type. the source of high levels of pathogens in water bodies can be from human feces (due to open defecation), sewage, blackwater, or manure that has found its way into the water body. the cause for this can be lack of sanitation procedures or poorly functioning on-site sanitation systems (septic tanks, pit latrines), sewage treatment plants without disinfection steps, sanitary sewer overflows and combined sewer overflows (csos) during storm events and intensive agriculture (poorly managed livestock operations). organic compounds organic substances that enter water bodies are often toxic.: 229 petroleum hydrocarbons, including fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil) and lubricants (motor oil), and fuel combustion byproducts, from oil spills or storm water runoff volatile organic compounds, such as improperly stored industrial solvents. problematic species are organochlorides such as polychlorinated biphenyl (pcbs) and trichloroethylene, a common solvent. per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (pfas) are persistent organic pollutants. inorganic contaminants bauxite residue is an industrial waste that is dangerously alkaline and can lead to water pollution if not managed appropriately (photo from stade, germany). muddy river polluted by sediment inorganic water pollutants include for example: ammonia from food processing waste heavy metals from motor vehicles (via urban storm water runoff) and acid mine drainage nitrates and phosphates, from sewage and agriculture (see nutrient pollution) silt (sediment) in runoff from construction sites or sewage, logging, slash and burn practices or land clearing sites. salt: freshwater salinization is the process of salty runoff contaminating freshwater ecosystems. human-induced salinization is termed as secondary salinization, with the use of de-icing road salts as the most common form of runoff. pharmaceutical pollutants this section is an excerpt from environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. the environmental effect of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (ppcps) is being investigated since at least the 1990s. ppcps include substances used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons and the products used by agribusiness to boost growth or health of livestock. more than twenty million tons of ppcps are produced every year. the european union has declared pharmaceutical residues with the potential of contamination of water and soil to be "priority substances". ppcps have been detected in water bodies throughout the world more research is needed to evaluate the risks of toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation, but the current state of research shows that personal care products impact over the environment and other species, such as coral reefs and fish. ppcps encompass environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (eppps) and are one type of persistent organic pollutants. they are not removed in conventional sewage treatment plants but require a fourth treatment stage which not many plants have. in 2022, the most comprehensive study of pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers found that it threatens "environmental and/or human health in more than a quarter of the studied locations". it investigated 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries, representing the river pollution of 470 million people. it found that "the most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing" and lists the most frequently detected and concentrated pharmaceuticals. environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants, which can include various pharmaceutical drugs and their metabolites (see also drug pollution), such as antidepressant drugs, antibiotics or the contraceptive pill. metabolites of illicit drugs (see also wastewater epidemiology), for example methamphetamine and ecstasy. solid waste and plastics solid waste and plastics in the lachine canal, canada further information: sewage § solid waste, plastic pollution, and marine plastic pollution solid waste can enter water bodies through untreated sewage, combined sewer overflows, urban runoff, people discarding garbage into the environment, wind carrying municipal solid waste from landfills and so forth. this results in macroscopic pollution– large visible items polluting the water– but also microplastics pollution that is not directly visible. the terms marine debris and marine plastic pollution are used in the context of pollution of oceans. microplastics persist in the environment at high levels, particularly in aquatic and marine ecosystems, where they cause water pollution. 35% of all ocean microplastics come from textiles/clothing, primarily due to the erosion of polyester, acrylic, or nylon-based clothing, often during the washing process. stormwater, untreated sewage and wind are the primary conduits for microplastics from land to sea. synthetic fabrics, tyres, and city dust are the most common sources of microplastics. these three sources account for more than 80% of all microplastic contamination. types of surface water pollution surface water pollution includes pollution of rivers, lakes and oceans. a subset of surface water pollution is marine pollution which affects the oceans. nutrient pollution refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrients. globally, about 4.5 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation as of 2017, according to an estimate by the joint monitoring programme for water supply and sanitation. lack of access to sanitation is concerning and often leads to water pollution, e.g. via the practice of open defecation: during rain events or floods, the human feces are moved from the ground where they were deposited into surface waters. simple pit latrines may also get flooded during rain events. as of 2022, europe and central asia account for around 16% of global microplastics discharge into the seas. marine pollution this section is an excerpt from marine pollution. marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial, agricultural and residential waste, particles, noise, excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter the ocean and cause harmful effects there. the majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity, although marine