REPORT OF RESEARCH (AUSTRALIA N ENVIRONME NT ISSUE

REPORT OF RESEARCH (AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT ISSUE)



WATER POLLUTION

Over two thirds of Earth's surface is covered by water; less than a third is taken up by land. As Earth's population continues to grow, people are putting ever-increasing pressure on the planet's water resources. In a sense, our oceans, rivers, and other inland waters are being "squeezed" by human activities—not so they take up less room, but so their quality is reduced. Poorer water quality means water pollution.
We know that pollution is a human problem because it is a relatively recent development in the planet's history: before the 19th century Industrial Revolution, people lived more in harmony with their immediate environment. As industrialization has spread around the globe, so the problem of pollution has spread with it. When Earth's population was much smaller, no one believed pollution would ever present a serious problem. It was once popularly believed that the oceans were far too big to pollute. Today, with around 7 billion people on the planet, it has become apparent that there are limits. Pollution is one of the signs that humans have exceeded those limits.
How serious is the problem? According to the environmental campaign organization WWF: "Pollution from toxic chemicals threatens life on this planet. Every ocean and every continent, from the tropics to the once-pristine polar regions, is contaminated."




Our water is in a bit of strife.
Things that we do on land can affect the quality of our water. Our waste often gets washed into our rivers and coasts without any treatment. This waste might be the big bits that you can see like plastic bags, dead animals, dog poo and ciggie butts.
It's also the tiny, microscopic toxins that we can't see. They build up and pollute our water to such an extent that waterways become unlivable for native plants, fish and animals.
The sea has long been a dumping ground for all sorts of things: rubbish, sewage, industrial waste, storm water and dredging. Ever seen those pipes along the coast that run out from the land way out to sea? Well, they're not there to pump seawater into the land but rather to pump pollution out. You can even see the pollution making great big mucky clouds under the water.
The King River in Tassie is thought to be the most polluted river in Australia. For close to 70 years it was used as a dumping ground for the mining waste from a nearby copper mine. It's now so acidic that nothing can live in it, and it's going to take quite a while before anything can.
It seems to be taking us a long while to understand that polluted waterways impact on our natural world and our health




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 water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.An estimated 580 people in India die of water pollution related illness every day. About 90 percent of the water in the cities of China is polluted. As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing countries, developed countries also continue to struggle with pollution problems. For example, in the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 44 percent of assessed stream miles, 64 percent of assessed lake acres, and 30 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted. The head of China's national development agency said in 2007 that one quarter the length of China's seven main rivers were so poisoned the water harmed the skin.
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.




What is water pollution?

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater), very often by human activities. Water pollution occur when pollutants (particles, chemicals or substances that make water contaminated) are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without enough treatment to get rid of harmful compounds. Pollutants get into water mainly by human causes or human factors. Water pollution can be a Point-source, Non Point-source, or Transboundary in nature
Water pollution is the second most imperative environmental concern along with Any change or modification in the physical, chemical and biological properties of water that will have a detrimental consequence on living things, is water pollution.

The water pollution problem. Water covers over 70% of the Earth's surface. It is a very important resource for people and the environment. 

Water pollution affects drinking water, rivers, lakes and oceans all over the world. In many developing countries, it is usually a leading cause of death, by people drinking from polluted water sources. 
More to this, water pollution affects not only individual living species but also populations and entire functioning ecosystems that exist in the waters. 

Humans have now realised the importance of clean water as a foundation for life. In recent time, more and more organisations and councils are working hard to educate, protect, restore waterways and encourage practices that help keep waters from contamination, and also to preserve water ecosystems from destruction
Water pollution can be defined in many ways. Usually, it means one or more substances have built up in water to such an extent that they cause problems for animals or people. Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other inland waters can naturally clean up a certain amount of pollution by dispersing it harmlessly. If you poured a cup of black ink into a river, the ink would quickly disappear into the river's much larger volume of clean water. The ink would still be there in the river, but in such a low concentration that you would not be able to see it. At such low levels, the chemicals in the ink probably would not present any real problem. However, if you poured gallons of ink into a river every few seconds through a pipe, the river would quickly turn black. The chemicals in the ink could very quickly have an effect on the quality of the water. This, in turn, could affect the health of all the plants, animals, and humans whose lives depend on the river.

Thus, water pollution is all about quantities: how much of a polluting substance is released and how big a volume of water it is released into. A small quantity of a toxic chemical may have little impact if it is spilled into the ocean from a ship. But the same amount of the same chemical can have a much bigger impact pumped into a lake or river, where there is less clean water to disperse it.
Water pollution almost always means that some damage has been done to an ocean, river, lake, or other water source. A 1969 United Nations report defined ocean pollution as:
"The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the marine environment (including estuaries) resulting in such deleterious effects as harm to living resources, hazards to human health, hindrance to marine activities, including fishing, impairment of quality for use of sea water and reduction of amenities."
Up to 90 % of wastewater in developing countries flows untreated into rivers, lakes and highly productive 
coastal zones, threatening health, food security and access to safe drinking and bathing water.
Many industries, some of them known to be heavily polluting (such as leather and chemicals) - are moving 
from high-income countries to emerging market economies. Despite improvements in some regions, water 
pollution is on the rise globally
Projected increases in fertilizer use for food production and in wastewater effluents over the next three 
decades suggest there will be a 10-20 percent global increase in river nitrogen flows to coastal ecosystems. 
In developing countries, 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters where they pollute the 
usable water supply. 

Only 1% of the earth´s surface is covered with freshwaters but they are habitat for over 10% of all animals 
and over 35% of all vertebrates. In the 30 years between 1970 and 2000, populations of more than 300 selected 
freshwater species declined by 55% while those of terrestrial and marine systems each declined by 32%.
The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemicals, pathogens, and physical changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration. While many of the chemicals and substances that are regulated may be naturally occurring (calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, etc.) the concentration is often the key in determining what is a natural component of water and what is a contaminant. High concentrations of naturally occurring substances can have negative impacts on aquatic flora and fauna.
Oxygen-depleting substances may be natural materials such as plant matter (e.g. leaves and grass) as well as man-made chemicals. Other natural and anthropogenic substances may cause turbidity (cloudiness) which blocks light and disrupts plant growth, and clogs the gills of some fish species.
Many of the chemical substances are toxic. Pathogens can produce waterborne diseases in either human or animal hosts. Alteration of water's physical chemistry includes acidity (change in pH), electrical conductivity, temperature, and eutrophication. Eutrophication is an increase in the concentration of chemical nutrients in an ecosystem to an extent that increases in the primary productivity of the ecosystem. There are several classes of water pollutants. The first are disease-causing agents. These are bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter sewage systems and untreated waste.
A second category of water pollutants is oxygen-demanding wastes; wastes that can be decomposed by oxygen-requiring bacteria. When large populations of decomposing bacteria are converting these wastes it can deplete oxygen levels in the water. This causes other organisms in the water, such as fish, to die.
A third class of water pollutants is water-soluble inorganic pollutants, such as acids, salts and toxic metals. Large quantities of these compounds will make water unfit to drink and will cause the death of aquatic life.
Another class of water pollutants are nutrients; they are water-soluble nitrates and phosphates that cause excessive growth of algae and other water plants, which deplete the water's oxygen supply. This kills fish and, when found in drinking water, can kill young children.
Water can also be polluted by a number of organic compounds such as oil, plastics and pesticides, which are harmful to humans and all plants and animals in the water.
A very dangerous category is suspended sediment, because it causes depletion in the water's light absorption and the particles spread dangerous compounds such as pesticides through the water.
Finally, water-soluble radioactive compounds can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic damage and are thus very dangerous water pollutants.









Types of water pollution

There are many types of water pollution because water comes from many sources. Here are a few types of water pollution:

1. Nutrients Pollution
Some wastewater, fertilizers and sewage contain high levels of nutrients. If they end up in water bodies, they encourage algae and weed growth in the water. This will make the water undrinkable, and even clog filters. Too much algae will also use up all the oxygen in the water, and other water organisms in the water will die out of oxygen starvation.
2. Surface water pollution
Surface water includes natural water found on the earth's surface, like rivers, lakes, lagoons and oceans. Hazardous substances coming into contact with this surface water, dissolving or mixing physically with the water can be called surface water pollution.
3. Oxygen Depleting
Water bodies have micro-organisms. These include aerobic and anaerobic organisms. When too much biodegradable matter (things that easily decay) end up in water, it encourages more microorganism growth, and they use up more oxygen in the water. If oxygen is depleted, aerobic organisms die, and anaerobic organisms grow more to produce harmful toxins such as ammonia and sulfides.


4. Ground water pollution
When humans apply pesticides and chemicals to soils, they are washed deep into the ground by rainwater. This gets to underground water, causing pollution underground. 

This means when we dig wells and bore holes to get water from underground, it needs to be checked for ground water pollution.
5. Microbiological
In many communities in the world, people drink untreated water (straight from a river or stream). Sometimes there is natural pollution caused by microorganisms like viruses, bacteria and protozoa. This natural pollution can cause fishes and other water life to die. They can also cause serious illness to humans who drink from such waters.
6. Suspended Matter
Some pollutants (substances, particles and chemicals) do not easily dissolve in water. This kind of material is called particulate matter. Some suspended pollutants later settle under the water body. This can harm and even kill aquatic organisms that live at the bottom of water bodies.
7. Chemical Water Pollution
Many industries and farmers work with chemicals that end up in water. This is common with Point-source Pollution. These include chemicals that are used to control weeds, insects and pests. Metals and solvents from industries can pollute water bodies. These are poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their development, make them infertile and kill them.
8. Oil Spillage
Oil spills usually have only a localized effect on wildlife but can spread for miles. The oil can cause the death to many fish and get stuck to the feathers of seabirds causing them to lose their ability to fly. 

Do you remember the BP Oil spill in 2010? Over 1,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were reported dead, including many already on the endangered species list. Of the animals affected by the spill, only about 6% have been reported cleaned, but many biologists and other scientists predict they will die too from the stress caused by the pollution.
9. Plastic
Each square kilometre of Australian sea surface water is contaminated by around 4,000 pieces of tiny plastics, according to our study published today in journal PLOS ONE and data repository Figshare.
These small plastic fragments, mostly less than 5mm across, are loaded with pollutants that can negatively affect several marine species, from tiny fish and zooplankton to large turtles and whales.
Plastic pollution hazards to Australian species and ecological communities are therefore likely broader than those officially recognised. Unfortunately, part of our plastic waste winds up in the oceans. Plastics can be transported from populated areas to the marine environment by rivers, wind, tides, rainwater, storm drains, sewage disposal, and flooding, or can directly reach the sea from boats and offshore installations.
Plastics collected in one 15-minute net tow in coastal waters of south-west Tasmania. Julia Reisser
Throughout their marine journey, plastics break down into increasingly smaller pieces mostly due to the effect of sunlight and heat.
These plastic fragments, commonly called microplastics when smaller than 5mm, represent the vast majority of human-made debris present at beaches, seafloor, and in the water column.
The effects of plastics on food webs and ecosystems have become focus of concern over the last decade. It is now known that over half of our plastic objects contain at least one ingredient classified as hazardous.
To make matters worse, plastics that enter the oceans become increasingly toxic by adsorbing oily pollutants on their surface. When plastic is ingested, these concentrated toxins can be delivered to animals and transferred up their food chains.
This biomagnification of toxins is more likely to occur when plastics are small enough to be ingested by low trophic fauna, such as small fish and zooplankton.
These tiny ocean plastics may affect the health of entire food webs, which include humans. For instance, little plastic pieces were found in the stomach of some Southern Bluefin tuna captured off Tasmania and destined for human consumption.







Other causes of water pollution.


Industrial causes of water pollution.
Industrial waste
Industries cause huge water pollution with their activities. These come mainly from: 

Sulphur – This is a non-metallic substance that is harmful to marine life.



Asbestos – This pollutant has cancer-causing properties. When inhaled, it can cause illnesses such as asbestosis and some types of cancer.
Lead and Mercury – These are metallic elements and can cause environmental and health problems for humans and animals. It is also poisonous. It is usually very hard to clean it up from the environment once it gets into it because it is non-biodegradable.
Nitrates & Phosphates– These are found in fertilizers, and are often washed from the soils to nearby water bodies. They can cause eutrophication, which can be very problematic to marine environments.
Oils – Oils form a thick layer on the water surface because they do not dissolve in water. This can stop marine plants receiving enough light for photosynthesis. It is also harmful to fish and marine birds. A classic example is the BP oil spill in 2012 with killed thousands of animal species. 
Oil Pollution by Oil Industries
Routine shipping, run-offs and dumping of oils on the ocean surfaces happen every day. Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. Oil spills cause major problems, and can be extremely harmful to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters and other aquatic life. Because oil does not dissolve, it stays on the water surface and suffocates fish. Oil also gets caught in the feathers of seabirds, making it difficult for them to fly. Some animals die as a result. 

Sewage and waste water
Every day, we cook, do laundry, flush the toilet, wash our cars, shower and do many things that use water. Think about how we use water in schools, hospitals and public places. 

Where do you think all the water, liquid waste, poop and urine end up? In many developed communities, wastewater and soluble waste (called sewage) is treated, cleaned and dumped into the sea or river. Even though they are treated, they are never the same as fresh water. 

In some not-so-developed countries, the sewage is not treated but quickly dumped into the sea or water bodies. This is VERY dangerous because they contaminate the environment and water bodies and bring many deadly diseases to us
Septic Tanks
Every domestic (home) toilet is connected to septic tank usually located outside the house. Each time poop is flushed down the toilet, it goes into this tank, where the solid part is separated from the liquid part. Biological processes are used to break down the solids and the liquid is usually drained out into a land drainage system. From this stage, it can escape into the soil and nearby water bodies.


Ocean and marine dumping
Again, think of the rubbish we all make each day. Paper waste, food waste, plastic, rubber, metallic and aluminum waste. In some countries, they are deposited into the sea. These waste types take some time to decompose. For example, it is known that paper takes about 6 weeks, aluminum takes about 200 years and glass takes even more years. When these end up in the sea, they harm sea animals and cause a lot of water animal deaths.
Underground storage and tube leakages
Many liquid products (petroleum products) are stored in metal and steel tubes underground. Other sewage systems run in underground tubes. Over time, they rust and begin to leak. If that happens, they contaminate the soils, and the liquids in them end up in many nearby water bodies.
Atmospheric
Atmospheric deposition is the pollution of water bodies caused by air pollution. Each time the air is polluted with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, they mix with water particles in the air and form a toxic substance. This falls as acid rain to the ground and gets washed into water bodies. The result is that water bodies also get contaminated and this affects animals and water organisms.





Effects of water pollution.

The effects can be catastrophic, depending on the kind of chemicals, concentrations of the pollutants and where there are polluted. Below, we shall see a summary of the effects of water pollution.
40% of America's rivers and 46% of America's lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life.
Polluted drinking waters are a problem for about half of the world's population. Each year there are about 250 million cases of water-based diseases, resulting in roughly 5 to 10 million deaths.
In 2010, there was a huge oil spill in America by BP. Of the 400 miles of Louisiana coast, approximately 125 miles have been polluted by the oil spill. Over 1,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) have been reported dead, including many already on the endangered species list. Of the animals affected by the spill that are still alive only about 6% have been reported cleaned, but many biologists and other scientists predict they will die too. In November 2012, BP agreed on a settlement with the US government worth $4.5bn, including a $1.26bn criminal fine.
In April 2010, The Transocean Oil Rig exploded, killing 11 workers. The disaster also damaged the Gulf of Mexico coast causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in US history. In January 2013, the company paid $400m (£248m) in criminal penalties and a $1bn civil fine after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act.
In developing countries, 70% of industrial wastes are dumped untreated into waters where they pollute the usable water supply