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Water pollution

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Raw sewage and industrial waste in the New River as it passes from Mexicali to Calexico,
California
Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and
groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or
indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful
compounds.
Water pollution affects the entire biosphere plants and organisms living in these bodies of
water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and population,
but also to the natural biological communities.

Contents

1 Introduction

2 Categories
o 2.1 Point sources
o 2.2 Non-point sources
o 2.3 Groundwater pollution

3 Causes
o 3.1 Pathogens

o 3.2 Organic, inorganic and macroscopic contaminants


o 3.3 Thermal pollution

4 Transport and chemical reactions of water pollutants

5 Measurement
o 5.1 Sampling
o 5.2 Physical testing
o 5.3 Chemical testing
o 5.4 Biological testing

6 Control of pollution
o 6.1 Sewage treatment
o 6.2 Industrial wastewater treatment
o 6.3 Agricultural wastewater treatment
o 6.4 Erosion and sediment control from construction sites
o 6.5 Control of urban runoff (storm water)

7 Water pollution by country

8 See also

9 References

10 External links

Introduction

Pollution in the Lachine Canal, Canada


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,[1][2]
and that it accounts for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily.[2] An estimated 580 people
in India die of water pollution related illness every day.[3] About 90 percent of the water in the
cities of China is polluted.[4] As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe drinking
water.[5] 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, 45 percent of assessed stream miles, 47% of
assessed lake acres, and 32 percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as
polluted.[6] 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.[7]
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.

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