WATER POLLUTION CAUSES, EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Water pollution may be caused by any hazardous substance or material that makes contact with the earths water supply.

This may include oil from oil tankers and oil refineries, garbage from construction sites, city streets and residential lawns, improper disposal of hazardous materials from garbage disposal companies, chemical spills and improper chemical disposal, sewage leaks and agricultural runoffs just to name a few.

Water pollution is generally caused by human actives but may also be caused by natural resources.

When water is polluted it is usually defined as either being polluted from point sources or non point sources.

Point source pollution occurs from a specific location by a single source such as a large factory, oil refinery or hauling ship that contributed a massive amount of pollution within a single area.

This large scale pollution can then be spread across large bodies of water affecting many miles of water, agricultural land, animal habitats and oceanic ecosystems.

Non point source pollution can occur from many different areas that all contribute to a body of water.

This can occur from large neighborhoods with poor residential lawn quality from sewage leaks and other types of contaminants, city streets where garbage and chemicals are not disposed of properly and large agricultural areas that use harmful chemicals which runoff into a body of water and contribute to other sources of water pollution.

When people rely on a specific body of water for drinking, cleaning and other purposes and that water becomes polluted it can become a  major issue.

Once water becomes polluted it becomes unsafe for consumption due to the dangerous or toxic materials that are contained within the water.

If contaminated water is consumed it could lead to sickness, infections, exposure to diseases and even death.

While pollution is a growing concern determining what water is polluted isn’t always easy when observed by the naked eye or our taste buds.

Water may appear to be clean for consumption however it may have hidden pollutants that can affect our bodies as well as animals, plants and various other organisms.

In order to determine the health of water (especially clear, clean looking water) researchers and scientists often need to perform special tests.

If the water is considered contaminated it will need to go through a filtration and removal process before it can become drinkable or even sustainable for numerous animal species that inhibit that body of water.

Sadly the issue of water pollution is even more severe in third world countries where there is no way to properly dispose of poisonous chemicals/materials and polluted water cannot easily be cleaned or treated.

In these countries people often end up reusing polluted water which can lead to many of the issues described previously such as birth deformities, sickness, disease and death.

In addition to being affected by water pollution these countries do not have the medical staff or antibiotics necessary to deal with those who become sick and ill from water pollution.

Finding a way to develop cheap filtration systems and better waste disposal management systems is going to be a vital step towards improving the health of our drinking water and the bodies of water that surround us.