Causes of Water

Pollution
Dr. Myra A. Manalo, PECE, ACPE, AE
SO2,1PHN, CLSSYB, PHILGBC
 Causes of Water Pollution
1. Sewage and waste water
Sewage is the term used for wastewater that often contains faeces,
urine and laundry waste. Domestic households, industrial and
agricultural practices produce wastewater that can cause pollution
of many lakes and rivers.
 Causes of Water Pollution
2. 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.
 Causes of Water Pollution
3. Ocean and marine dumping
Paper waste, food waste, plastic, rubber,
metallic and aluminum waste. In some
countries, they are deposited into the sea.
All these waste types take time to
decompose. For example, it is know 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.
 Causes of Water Pollution
4. 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.
Overtime, 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.
 Causes of Water Pollution
5. 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.
Major Types of Water Pollutants
The major water pollutants are chemical, biological, or
physical materials that degrade water quality. Some of these
pollutants include:
 Petroleum Products. Oil and chemicals derived from oil are
used for fuel, lubrication, plastics manufacturing, and many other
purposes. These petroleum products get into water mainly by
means of accidental spills from ships, tanker trucks, pipelines,
and leaky underground storage tanks. Many petroleum products
are poisonous if ingested by animals, and spilled oil damages
the feathers of birds or the fur of animals, often causing death. In
addition, spilled oil may be contaminated with other harmful
substances, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
The air in Barangay Botongon, where the force of Half a million liters of diesel leaked into Manila Bay,
Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) led to an oil spill accident in raising environmental and health concerns
Estancia town, has reached critical levels.
Major Types of Water Pollutants
 Pesticides and Herbicides. Chemicals used to kill
unwanted animals and plants, for instance on farms or
in suburban yards, may be collected by rainwater
runoff and carried into streams, especially if these
substances are applied too lavishly. Some of these
chemicals are biodegradable and quickly decay into
harmless or less harmful forms, while others are non-
biodegradable and remain dangerous for a long time
such as chlordane and
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT).
Major Types of Water Pollutants

 Heavy Metals. Heavy metals, such as copper, lead,

mercury, and selenium, get into water from many
sources, including industries, automobile exhaust,
mines, and even natural soil.
Major Types of Water Pollutants
 Hazardous Wastes. Are chemical wastes that are either
toxic (poisonous), reactive (capable of producing
explosive or toxic gases), corrosive (capable of
corroding steel), or ignitable (flammable). If improperly
treated or stored, hazardous wastes can pollute water
supplies. PCBs, a class of chemicals once widely used
in electrical equipment such as transformers, can get
into the environment through oil spills and can reach
toxic levels as organisms eat one another.
Major Types of Water Pollutants
 Sediment. Soil particles carried to a streambed, lake, or
ocean, can also be a pollutant if it is present in large
enough amounts. Soil erosion produced carried by
rainwater and floodwater from croplands, strip mines,
and roads, can damage a stream or lake by introducing
too much nutrient matter. Sedimentation can also cover
streambed gravel in which many fish, such as salmon
and trout, lay their eggs.
Major Types of Water Pollutants

 Infectious Organisms. Many disease-causing organisms

that are present in small numbers in most natural waters are
considered pollutants when found in drinking water. Such
parasites as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum
occasionally turn up in urban water supplies. These parasites
can cause illness, especially in people who are very old or
very young, and in people who are already suffering from
other diseases.
Major Types of Water Pollutants

 Thermal Pollution. Water is often drawn from rivers, lakes,

or the ocean for use as a coolant in factories and power
plants. The water is usually returned to the source warmer
than when it was taken. Thermal pollution can accelerate
biological processes in plants and animals or deplete oxygen
levels in water. Thermal pollution can also be caused by the
removal of trees and vegetation that shade and cool streams.
Infectious Organism.

The parasite Giardia lamblia

is shown in its active, free-
swimming trophozoite stage.
Giardia lamblia enters the
body of a human or other
host as a cyst. The hard,
outer coating of the cyst is
dissolved by the action of
digestive juices to produce a
trophozoite, which attaches
itself to the wall of the small
intestines, where it
reproduces.
Sources of Water Pollutants
Water pollutants result from many human activities. These
includes:
 Factories and Refineries. Pollutants from industrial
sources may pour out from the outfall pipes of factories or
may leak from pipelines and underground storage tanks.

 Mining. Polluted water may flow from mines where the

water has leached through mineral-rich rocks or has been
contaminated by the chemicals used in processing the ores.
Sources of Water Pollutants
 Human Sewage and Household Chemicals. Cities and
other residential communities contribute mostly sewage,
with traces of household chemicals mixed in.

 Agriculture. Pollutants from such agricultural sources as

farms, pastures, feedlots, and ranches contribute animal
wastes, agricultural chemicals, and sediment from erosion.

 Others include marine dumping and dumping of non-

biodegradable materials
 Pollution: From Air to Water
Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, especially oxides of sulfur,
nitrogen, or carbon, combine with water vapor in the air to form acids. These
acids fall to earth as acid rain, acid snow, and acid deposition. Flowing water
carries these acids into streams and lakes, where they can damage delicate
lake ecosystems.
Control and Prevention
 The cheapest and most effective way to reduce pollution is to
avoid producing it or releasing it in the first place.
 Careful handling of oil and petroleum products can greatly
reduce the amount of water pollution caused by these
pollution.
 The banning of DDT and PCBs in the 1970s has resulted in
significant reduction in levels of wildlife.
 Careful disposal of industrial, domestic and agricultural
wastes are essential for control of water pollution.
 Effects of Water Pollution
1. Death of aquatic (water) animals
The main problem caused by water
pollution is that it kills life that depends
on these water bodies. Dead fish, crabs,
birds and sea gulls, dolphins, and many
other animals often wind up on beaches,
killed by pollutants in their habitat (living
environment).
 Effects of Water Pollution
2. Disruption of food-chains
Pollution disrupts the natural food chain
as well. Pollutants such as lead and
cadmium are eaten by tiny animals.
Later, these animals are consumed by
fish and shellfish, and the food chain
continues to be disrupted at all higher
levels.
 Effects of Water Pollution
3. Destruction of ecosystems

Ecosystems (the interaction of living things in a place, depending on each

other for life) can be severely changed or destroyed by water pollution.
Many areas are now being affected by careless human pollution, and this
pollution is coming back to hurt humans in many ways.
 Effects of Water Pollution
4. Diseases
Eventually, humans are affected by this process as well. People
can get diseases such as hepatitis by eating seafood that has
been poisoned. In many poor nations, there is always outbreak
of cholera and diseases as a result of poor drinking water
treatment from contaminated waters.
Control and Prevention
 Treatment of wastes before discharge
 Strict adherence to water laws
 Keep the pond water clean and safe
 Routine cleaning
 Don’t pour insecticides in sinks and toilets
 Self hygiene
 Public Awareness
Thank you..