Water is one of the most important commodities which man can be exploited than any other resource for the substance of his life. Water is continuously purified by evaporation and precipitation yet pollution of water has emerged as one of the significant environmental problem in the in the recent time. Pollution can not be eliminated from the earth as long as even a single person survives on the earth, since the very existence of a man is the cause of pollution.
Water pollution has been a problem ever since the oldest civilizations. It also relates in growing demands lead to rise of industries, which in turn leads to improper disposal of wastes into the water bodies. Water pollutant can be define as a physical, chemical, and biological factor causing aesthetic or detrimental effects on aquatic life and those who consumed the water.
There are several causes of water pollution - organic, inorganic as well as municipal, industrial and agricultural. Organic pollution comes from natural phenomenon. i.e. iron poisoning from runoff from an iron deposit. Arsenic is a naturally occurring poison. Salt can poison a stream. Inorganic pollution comes from man-made toxins. Pesticides, chemical compounds not found in nature, manufactured poisons.
These are the common organic and inorganic pollutants:
Organic water pollutants:
· Food processing waste, including pathogens
· Insecticides and herbicides, a huge range of organohalide and other chemicals
· Tree and brush debris from logging operations
· Bacteria from sewage or livestock operations
· Petroleum hydrocarbons like diesel, gasoline, jet fuels, fuel oils, motor oils
· Volatile organic compounds like industrial solvents
Inorganic water pollutants:
· Pre-production industrial raw resin pellets
· Heavy metals including acid mine drainage
· Chemical waste as industrial by-products
· Acidity due to industrial discharges like sulfur dioxide
· Silt in surface runoff due to logging, slash and burn practices, construction sites or land clearing sites
· Fertilizers in runoff from agriculture including nitrates and phosphates
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