our endangered waters reported by my student: andee

1. OUR
ENDANGERED
WATERS

2. Any physical, biological, or chemical
change in water quality that makes it
unfit for its desired purpose can be
considered water pollution. The
amount of oxygen in the water is a
good indicator of water quality as it
determines if water can support
various life forms.

3. There are two ways to monitor
water quality:
• Biological oxygen demand
(BOD)
• Dissolved oxygen content
(DOC)

4. Presence of
Infectious Agents

5. A serious water pollutant is disease-causing organisms. These
pathogens may bring cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis, bacterial
and amoebic dysentery, polio, and schistosomiasis.

6. Vectors are organisms that carry
or transmit disease-causing
Malaria, yellow fever, and filariasis
examples of illnesses carried by
vectors.

7. Eutrophication

8. The transparency of water is affected by the presence of
sediments, nutrients, chemicals, and population of
planktons. Freshwater environments, that are clear but
with low biological productivity are said to be
oligotrophic.

10. Waters that are “nutrient-rich” are called eutrophic waters.
Eutrophication may occur in freshwater or even in marine
ecosystems especially near the shore, enclosed bays, and
estuaries.

11. Toxic Inorganic Chemicals

12. The weathering of rocks may release small amounts of toxic
inorganic materials, which are then carried by runoff to other
bodies of water. Heavy metals, which rank as the highest among
the persistent toxic inorganic substances, tend to accumulate in
food chains where humans are at the top. This process of
bioaccumulation is known as biological magnification.

14. Organic Chemicals

15. There are thousands of different synthetic and
natural chemicals that are used to manufacture
pesticides, plastics, drugs, and a wide array of other
everyday materials. Many of these chemicals re
highly toxic and exposure to these substances may
cause birth defects, cancer, and other genetic
disorders.

16. Sedimentation and Siltation
Rivers have always carried loads of sediment
into bodies of water. Sometimes, sediments clog
the tiny holes of corals through a process called
siltation.

17. Thermal Pollution
The increase or drop in “normal” water temperature can affect
water quality and aquatic life. Aquatic organisms need a fairly
constant temperature to survive. They poorly adapt to rapid
temperature changes and may perish when sudden temperature
changes happen. A one-degree decrease in temperature in
tropical oceans may even be fatal to some corals and other reef
organisms.