Water pollution

INTRODUCTION
Water is an essential resource for life on the Earth. Many ancient
civilizations have developed in river valleys of the Nile, Indus, Tigris and
Euphrates etc. Even now water resource provides a base for social, cultural
and economic development.
WHAT IS WATER POLLUTION?
Water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality
of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or
lives in it.
WHO has defined water pollution as- “any foreign material either from
natural or other sources that may contaminate the water supply and make it
harmful to life, cause of their toxicity and leads to reduction of normal
oxygen level of water, causes aesthetically unpalatable effects and spread of
epidemic diseases.”
Water pollution simply means contamination of water due to any external
material. The problem of water pollution was first recognized by Hippocrates
(450B.C).
River is one and only water supply that linked with ocean and river play a
major role in water pollution.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR WATER POLLUTANTS?
Many different chemicals are regarded as pollutants, ranging from simple
inorganic ions to complex organic molecules.
The water pollutants are all divided up into various classes. Every class of
pollutants has its own specific ways of entering the environment and its own
specific dangers. All classes have major pollutants in it that are known to many
people, because of the various health effects.
BIOLOGICAL IMPURITIES:
i)Bacteria, virus and parasites.
INORGANIC IMPURITIES:
i) Sediment or turbidity
ii) Total dissolved solids
iii) Toxic metals or heavy metals
iv) Asbestos
v) Radioactivity

C) ORGANIC IMPURITIES:
i) Tastes and odors
ii) Pesticides and herbicides
iii) Toxic organic chemicals
iv) Chlorine

SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION:
SOURCES OF
WATER
POLLUTION
NATURAL
SOURCES
VOLCANIC
ERUPTION
ALGAE BLOOMS
ANIMAL
WASTES
SEDIMENTS
HUMAN SOURCES
DOMESTICS
EFFLUENTS
SEWAGE
INDUSTRIAL
EFFLUENTS
AGRICULTURAL
EFFULUENTS
RADIOACTIVE
WASTES
THERMAL
POLLUTION
OIL POLLUTION
ACID RAIN

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION
(RIVER POLLUTION)?
With the fast increase in our industrial civilization, the demand for water is
also increasing day by day. At the same time pollution increases, urbanization
improper sewage disposal, unsafe industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, oil etc.
have polluted our water resources so much. 70% rivers and streams, not only of
India, but of all the countries contain polluted water. The causes of the water
pollution are as follows-
Fig- causes of water pollution

1) NATURAL CAUSES:
i) VOLCANIC ERUPTION:
Sometime volcanic eruption becomes harmful for water. Newly fallen
volcanic ash results in short-term physical and chemical changes in water quality.
Upwelling magma that is of high temperature, when mixed up with river water,
may harmful for aquatic life.
Fig- water pollution by volcanic eruption

ii) ALGAE BLOOMS:
Harmful algae blooms are overgrowths of algae in water. Some produce
dangerous toxins in fresh water but even nontoxic blooms hurt the
environment. Harmful algae bloom hazardous for aquatic life and human
being.
Fig- water pollution by algae blooms

iii) ANIMAL WASTES:
The wastes produced by animals are washed away into the river when
rainfall occurs. It gets mixed up with harmful chemicals, causes various water
related diseases like- cholera, diarrhea, jaundice, dysentery and typhoid.
Fig- water pollution by animal wastes

iv) SEDIMENTS:
Sediment is the loose sand, clay, silt and other soil particles that settle at the
bottom of a body of water. During flood and turbulence in water body, sediment
mixed up with water and become harmful for fishes and other aquatic life. It also
degrades the water quality.
Fig- water pollution by sediments

v) NATURAL EUTROPHICATION:
Although eutrophication is commonly caused by human activities, it can also
be a natural process particularly in lakes. Eutrophy occurs in many lakes in
temperate grasslands, for instance paleolimonologists now recognize that climate
change, geology and other influences are critical in regulating the natural
productivity of lakes. The main difference between natural or anthropogenic
eutrophication is that the natural process is very slow, occurring on geological
time scale.
2) ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSES:
i) DOMESTIC WASTES:
Domestic sewage is the wastes water from households. It contains a variety of
dissolved and suspended particles. Domestic sewage contains disease causing
microbes and chemical contained in washing powders affect the health of all life
forms in water.
Fig- water pollution by domestic wastes

ii) INDUSTRIAL WASTES:
Factories use water from rivers to power machinery or to cool down. Dirty
water containing chemicals is put back in the river water use for cooling is
warmer then the river itself and this is a form of pollution.
Damodor river is a highly polluted river due to industrial wastes discharged
from Bokaro, Rourkela, IISCO, Bengal paper mills etc.
Fig- water pollution by industrial wastes

iii) AGRICULTURAL WASTES:
Farmers put fertilizers and pesticides on their crops, so that, their crops grow
better, but these fertilizers and pesticides can be washed through the soil by rain to
end up in river. Fertilizers and pesticides care harmful because, they cause algae
growth. The algae then destroy water plants.
In recent years, use of chemical fertilizers has increased manifold. The green
revolution of India is a reflection of the increased use of fertilizers.
Fig- water pollution by agricultural wastes

iv) MAN MADE EUTROPHICATION:
Fertilizers are often used in farming. Sometime, this fertilizers run-off into
nearby water, causing an increase of nutrient levels. This cause phytoplankton to
grow and reproduce more rapidly, resulting algae blooms. These algae blooms
caused several problems for aquatic lives.
Fig- water pollution by eutrophication

v) OIL SPILL:
Oil spill pose a huge concern as large amount of oil enters into the sea and does
not dissolve with water, there by opens problem for local marine wildlife such as-
fish, birds, and sea otters.
For example a ship carrying large quantity of oil, may spill oil, if face with an
accident and can cause varying damage. A dramatic incident was that of tanker
‘Torrey Canyon’, when it struck off the southern tip of the British Island in March
1967.
Fig- water pollution by oil spill

vi) RADIOACTIVE WASTES:
Nuclear energy is produced using nuclear fission or fusion. The element
that is used in production of nuclear energy is uranium which is highly toxic
chemical. Such as, Strontium 90 (can cause bone cancer) percolates down through
the soil into ground water reservoirs or is carried out into rivers or pond. Nuclear
wastes can have serious environmental hazards if not disposed of properly. Few
major accidents have already taken place in Russia and Japan (2011).
Fig- water pollution by radioactive wastes

vii) THERMAL WASTES:
Thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that
changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is use
of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufactures. It cause
dangerous for the lives of aquatic animals and plants.
Fig- water pollution by thermal wastes

viii) ACID RAIN:
Air pollution can cause also have a direct effect on water pollution. When
particles like- sulfur dioxides get high into the air they can combine with rain to
produce acid rain. Acid rain can turn lakes acidic, killing fishes and other aquatic
animals. pH level of water increases by acid rain and degrade the water quality.
Fig- water pollution by acid rain

IMPACTS OF WATER POLLUTION:
Impacts of water pollution can be categorized into three basic categories. Such as-
1)Impacts on ecosystem
2)Impacts on animal health
3)Impacts on human health
1) IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEM:
i) Ecosystems can be severely affected or damaged by water pollution.
ii) Contamination of groundwater from pesticides causes damage to the
reproductive system in the wildlife ecosystem.
iii) Destruction in ecosystem is caused due to the rise in temperature in water like
the coral reefs are affected by the bleaching effect due to warmer temperatures.
iv) Water pollution may also cause flooding due to accumulation of solid waste
and soil erosion in streams and rivers.
v) Water pollution kills life that inhabits the water-based ecosystem,
disrupting the natural food chain.
vi) The non-biodegradable pesticides and chemicals cause mass
destruction of aquatic life.
vii) Steep increase in the BOD [Biological Oxygen Demand] levels of
water.

2) IMPACTS ON ANIMAL HEALTH:
i) Water pollution kills life that depends on these water bodies.
ii) Fishes and the aquatic organisms are poisoned due to industrial chemicals and
agricultural pesticides.
iv) Oil spills in water causes animals to die as they ingest it or come across it. Oil
cannot be dissolved in water so it causes suffocation in fish and birds.
v) Oil-contaminated water causes water birds to die from exposure to cold water
and air due to feather damage.
vi) Animals that eat dead fish from contaminated streams are affected.
vii) Fish, birds, dolphins and many other animals are killed by pollutants in their
habitat.
viii) Reproduction rate in reduced in aquatic organisms.
ix) Incidences of diseases increase.

3) IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH:
i) Humans are affected by water pollution. Diseases like hepatitis are caused by
eating seafood that is poisoned or contaminated.
ii) In developing nations, there are frequent outbreaks of cholera and diseases due
to poor drinking water quality from contaminated waters.
iii) Swimming and drinking in contaminated water can causes skin diseases and
also can lead to cancer, reproductive problems, typhoid fever and stomach
ailments in humans.
iv) Highly polluted water can harm internal organs like heart and kidneys.
vii) Pesticide contamination of ground water can cause endocrine and reproductive
problems to animals and humans.
ix) Synthetic organics cause serious damage to human health.
x) Chemicals like fluoride, arsenic, lead, chlorine and petrochemicals in water can
causes adverse effect on human health.

POLLUTED RIVERS OF THE WORLD:
There are some listed polluted rivers-
SL NO. NAME OF THE
RIVER
COUNTRY LENGTH
(in K.M)
SOURCE DESTINATION
1 MISSISSIPPI USA 3770 LAKE ITASCA GULF OF
MEXICO
2 SARNO ITALY 24 MT. SARNO BAY OF
NAPLES(NEAR
POMPEII)
3 MARILAO PHILIPPINES - UPLANDS OF
RAZAL
-
4 YELLOW CHINA 5464 BAYAN HAR
MOUNTAIN
BOHAI SEA
5 JORDON ISRAEL 251 - DEAD SEA
6 YAMUNA INDIA 1376 YAMUNETRI
GLACIER
GANGA RIVER
7 BURIGANGA BANGLADESH 18 DHALESWARI
RIVER
DHALESWARI
RIVER
8 MANTAZA-
RIACHUELO
ARGENTINA 64 BUENOS AIRES -
9 GANGA INDIA 2525 GANGOTRI
GLACIER
BAY OF
BENGAL
10 CITARUM INDONESIA - - -
11 CUYAHOGA USA 136.6 - LAKE ERIE

1) MISSISSIPPI RIVER:
The term Mississippi refers to ‘big river’. Mississippi is the largest drainage
basin of the entire North America it is the greatest natural and economic resource
for the U.S.
Mississippi river valley is very fertile agricultural region. Now, this river
started getting polluted with all agricultural sewage making surrounding areas of
the river mouth as a ‘dead zone’.
A recent report by a campaign group in 2012 claimed that in the year 2010,
about 12.7 million pounds in the river including poisonous chemicals such as
nitrates, benzene and arsenic.
Fig- Polluted Mississippi River

2) SARNO RIVER:
Sarno River is considered as the most polluted river of the entire Europe,
because of the dumping of all the agricultural and industrial wastes. Though it is
useful till now, for fishing, transportation and irrigation but large portion of it is
covered by waste products.
Fig- Polluted Sarno River

3) MARILAO RIVER:
This polluted river has a great concern not only to the Philippines Government
but also to the whole world. The level of contamination of this river is very high.
Various non-cyclic objects like- plastics, bottles, polythene bags and all other
objects come from leather tanneries, gold refineries and other industries. Toxic
substances like- manganese, zinc, nickel and cadmium are found mixed with
river’s underground water making it undrinkable. Such toxicity made the river
polluted and dangerous.
Fig- Polluted Marilao River

4) YELLOW RIVER:
It is the sixth longest river of the world and second longest river of Asia. It is
called ‘Yellow River’, because of its muddy water arising from loess in the lower
course of the river. It is considered as “The cradle of Chinese civilization”. This
river was the main source of drinking water and irrigation. But now, it is
impossible to drink its water. According to the report by UN Environmental
Program, 4.29 billion tons of industrial wastes and sewages were dumped in 1996,
making one third of it unusable.
Fig- Yellow River Map Fig- Polluted Yellow river

5) JORDAN RIVER:
In 1964, the Israelis had built a dam on this river to divert its water to National
Water Carriers. But the environmentalists say that these dam constructions have
largely disturbed the ecosystem. Human consumption of the water is now
contaminated by huge amount of sewage and wastes. This caused a great concern
for the environmentalists as they claimed that the level of pollution is increasing,
releasing a foul smell due to agricultural wastes.
Fig – Jordan River Map Fig- polluted Jordan River

6) YAMUNA RIVER:
Yamuna is the largest tributary river of Ganges. This river is now affected
deeply by pollution as millions of household garbage, municipal disposal and soil
erosion due to deforestation find their way into the river each day. Even the toxic
chemical substances including insecticides, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. are also
found, making it the second most polluted river in India after Ganges.
Fig- Yamuna River Map Fig- Polluted Yamuna River

7) BURIGANGA RIVER:
This river is one of the most important river of Bangladesh and was main
source of drinking water and transportation since 17th century. During 20th
century, the river turned polluted. Pollutants like- polythene, industrial and
household sewage, plastics and even dead men and animals spoiled the river
water in a grand scale. According to recent reports, 4500 tons of solid waste is
dumped into the river everyday from Dhaka.
Fig- Buriganga River Map Fig- Polluted Buriganga River

8) MANTANZA- RIACHUELO RIVER:
This is a foul smelling river of 64 km long filled with toxic substances
released from the household and industrial wastes. Millions of chemical wastes are
being discharged in the water by petroleum companies resulting into water
pollution. The Government of Argentina including some pressure groups has tried
controlling pollution but in vain.
Fig- Mantanza-Riachuelo River map Fig- Polluted Mantanza-Riachuelo River

9) GANGES RIVER:
It is the holiest river in Hinduism. Due to religious practices, this river has
numerous pollutants ranging from household garbage in abundance to industrial
wastes and toxic. Amplifying this, the religious offerings made to the river each
day along with people bathing and disposal of dead bodies made the Ganges so
polluted that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR ) said that people
living in vicinity of the river are vulnerable to cancer.
Fig- Ganges River Map Fig- Polluted Ganges River

10) CITARUM RIVER:
It plays an important role in serving people great way by supplying water for
irrigation and agriculture, industry, fishery and also in the electricity production.
There are three hydroelectric power plant dams installed in the river. Despite of
being generous, it is filled with tons of harmful substances from the industrial and
domestic wastes. One can find bottles, plastic, rubber, gloves etc. , floating on the
surface so densely covered by the solid wastes that the water can hardly be seen. It
has disturbed the ecosystem severely. According to recent reports, the level of
mercury is 100 times more than the legal amount. This has resulted in the dying of
the river in certain parts.
Fig- Polluted Chitarum River

POLLUTED RIVERS OF INDIA:
SOME IMPORTANT RIVERS OF INDIA:
Brahmaputra Cauvery (Kaveri) Chambal
Ganga (Ganges)
Godavari Gomati Hindon
Indus Jhelum Kali
Krishna Narmada
Periyar Ravi Sutlej
Yamuna

River pollution in Western Uttar Pradesh:
Western UP has many big and small rivers. Ganga, Yamuna, Hindon, Kali (East
& West) and Krishni are the important rivers that sustain the region’s lives. But
over the past few decades, these rivers are continuously being polluted. They are
so polluted that many think the rivers now take lives Instead of giving it.
Major rivers flowing through Western U.P.
NAME OF THE RIVER TOTAL LENGTH STARTS FROM ENDS AT
Ganga 2525 Sq. km Gomukh
(Gangotri)
Pathar
Yamuna 1376 km. Yamunotri
(Uttarakhand)
Allahabad
(Uttar Pradesh)
Hindon 200 km. Saharanpur Momnathal
Village (Noida)
Krishni 78 km. Krishni Village
(Saharanpur)
Barnawa
(Baghpat)
Kali River
(East)
300 km. Antwada Village
(Muzaffarnagar)
Kannauj
(Uttar Pradesh)
Kali River
(West)
75 km. Gagnoli Village
(Saharanpur)
Pithlokar Village
(Meerut)

1) HINDON RIVER:
The River Hindon formerly known as Harnandi originates from Saharanpur
district and after covering six districts finally meets the Yamuna River near Noida.
It is a dead river today. Many of the villagers use the river water for drinking
purposes. Owing to high concentration of contaminants like heavy metals and
pesticides, the rural community residing on its banks is facing serious health
problems. There are thousands of people suffering from serious ailments like
cancer, stomach diseases, neurological disorders and skin diseases. A study of the
water quality of Hindon river by Janhit Foundation shows that the water in the
river has heavy presence of lead, cadmium, chromium and a number of pesticides
in hundreds of times more than the permissible limits.

PLACE METAL PERMISSIBLE LIMIT
(Mg/l)
CONTENT EXCEEDING
THE PERMISSIBLE LIMIT
Sharakthal (Saharanpur) Lead 0.01 179 times
Budhana (Muzaffarnagar) Chromium 0.10 122 times
Mohannagar (Ghaziabad) Lead 0.01 14 times
Momnathal
(Gautambudh Nagar)
Chromium 0.10 36 times
Heavy Metals in Hindon River
Source: The study report of Janhit Foundation

2) KALI RIVER (EAST):
Kali originates from a village called Antwada in Khatauli Block of
Muzaffarnagar district in Western UP. It flows through a distance of 300
kilometers covering Meerut, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Etaha, Farukhabad
and Kannauj districts before meeting the Ganga river near Kannauj. There are
hundreds of villages situated on the banks of the Kali (East). The people from these
villages utilize the water of this river for irrigation and livestock rearing. The
untreated effluents of chemical plants, sugar mills, distilleries and slaughterhouses
have made Kali River (East) almost dead. The water has turned black with hardly
any oxygen left in it. Like other rivers, this river is also considered as holy and
pure. The river has got the name since it is believed that its water used to cure
black cough (Kali Khansi). Till 1980s, the water in the river was clean. However,
now the river has changed literally black in colour very similar to its name.
Fig- Kali River

Heavy Metals in Kali River (East)
Source: The study report of Central Ground Water Board (Govt. of India)
(Mg/l)
CONTENT EXCEEDING
THE PERMISSIBLE LIMIT
Ajhota Manganese 0.01 18,250 times
Kudla Chromium 0.05 140 times
Jalalpur Cadmium 0.003 333.3 times
Behchola Nickel 0.02 600 times
Ulhaspur Jasta 5.0 248.6 times
Kudla Iron 0.3 33,340 times
Dedwa Copper 0.05 2,040 times

Heavy Metals in Kali River (West)
Source: The study report of Central Ground Water Board (Govt. of India)
THE CASE OF JAIBHEEM NAGAR:
Jaibheem Nagar, a slum locality in Meerut city is located on the bank of Kali
River (East) near the medical college. The water quality of the river is so bad that it
has even let to the contamination of underlying ground water. As a result of
which, women and children especially young girls have to cover a tiresome
journey of 2-2.5 kms everyday to fetch clean drinking water for their families.
Preliminary analysis of drinking water samples by Janhit Foundation revealed
excessive contamination of the river water. The test found heavy metals like
mercury, chromium, cadmium and lead in water samples. These metals can cause
many serious health problems.
(Mg/l)
CONTENT EXCEEDING
THE PERMISSIBLE
LIMIT
Malira
(Muzaffarnagar)
Chromium 0.10 30 times
Pithlokar
(Meerut)
Lead 0.01 112 times

Results of Heavy Metals Study in Jaibheem Nagar
Source Metal Permissible Limit
(mg/l)
Content limit more than
the permissible limit
Pond water Lead 0-05 5 times
Pond water Mercury 0-001 12 times
Pond water Cadmium 0-01 6 times
Pond water Chromium 0-05 3 times
Kalu’s private hand pump Iron 0-3 75 times
Kalu’s private hand pump Cadmium 0-01 3 times
Ramdhari’s private hand
pump
Iron 0-3 13 times
India Mark II hand pump Iron 0-3 5 times
Goraknath’s private hand
pump
Lead 0-05 3 times
Goraknath’s private hand
pump
Mercury 0-001 3 times
Rambhul’s Private hand
pump
Iron 0.3 66 times

HOW TO CONTROL RIVER POLLUTION?
Controlling river pollution is in our own interest. As citizens of India we
have constitutional duty to protect our environment. Similarly, the government
also has a duty to protect the environment for the welfare of its citizens. There are
many ways we can protect the river from pollution. Some immediate ways to
control pollution are:
• Industries should install good machineries to remove contaminants from their
effluents and wastewater. One way to do so is installation of Effluent Treatment
Plant (ETP). This way we can control pollution at the source itself.
• The towns and cities should also have facilities to clean the sewage effluent.
All towns and cities must have Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) that clean up the
sewage.
• We should stop our religious practices that pollute river Water.
• Proper drainage and sewage systems should be adopted that will not allow the
polluted water to mix with river water.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES:
To control water pollution Government of different countries has taken several
steps. If we take glance on the laws and rules of India then we can see-
ACTS:
i) No. 36 of 1977, [7/12/1977]- The water (Prevention and control of pollution)
Cess act, 1977, amended 1992.
ii) No. 19 of 2003, [17/3/2003] – The water (prevention and control of pollution )
cess (amendment) act, 2003
iii) No. 6 of 1974, [23/3/1974] – The water (prevention and control of pollution )
act, 1974, amended 1988.
RULES:
G.S.R. 860(E), [30/11/2012] – The central pollution control board(amended) rules,
2012.
G.S.R 840(E), [ 22/11/2012]- The central pollution control board, rules, 2012.
Government has made this laws and rules. Besides all this Govt. has
taken various action plans to control pollution , such as Ganga action plan in India.

HOW SHOULD I CONTRIBUTE TO MAKE THE
RIVERS CLEAN?
As pointed out above, it is our duty to protect our environment. An
individual effort may not be sufficient to clean our rivers, but when all
of us contribute towards this goal it becomes a big effort. Thus it can
help in cleaning up our rivers. There are many ways you can
contribute towards a clean river in your locality:
• Promoting communities participation in local river cleaning up
• Organizing awareness programs and meetings on the river
pollution and its threats
• Distribution of literature on the causes and ill effects of river
pollution
• Talking to our family and friends for spreading awareness on the
importance of good water quality and clean rivers.

CONCLUSION:
We all know the significance of water and river. It
is very essential element for human beings as well as
all kind of flora and fauna. But now this water is in
danger. This polluted water is hampering our
present life. It may be harmful for the next
generation also. So, we should take prompt action
against this problem as we all know the role of water
is not less than our Mother!

Water pollution

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