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Water pollution From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Changes must be reviewed before being displayed on this page.Accepted (latest)show/hide details Page protected with pending changes level 1

Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali to Calexico, California. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). Water pollution occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

Water pollution affects all the biosphere - plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.

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Pollution in the Lachine Canal, Canada Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells). It has been suggested that it is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases,[1][2] and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.[2] An estimated 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness every day.[3] Around 90% the water in the cities of China is polluted,[4] and as of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water.[5] In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, developed countries continue to struggle with pollution problems as well. In the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47% of assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.[6] The head of Chinas national development agency in 2007 said 1/4th the length of China's seven main rivers were so poisoned the water harmed the skin.[7]

Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, or undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities, such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of water.