Any undesirable change in the water affects living organisms. The contamination of water sources by substances that make the water unusable for any purpose like drinking, cooking, or swimming. Water pollutants that cause pollution are bacteria, pesticides, nitrates, fertilizers, pharmaceutical products, fossil fuels, and many others.
Effects of Water Pollution:
Water plays a very important role in the survival of every living life. It is 70% of the earth’s surface. Various major effects of water pollution are below:
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Eutrophication:
It is the natural process that occurs from the accumulation of nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, nitrates, and others in water bodies. Because of human activities like the use of fertilizers, untreated sewage, use of detergents, and industrial waste.
When algae feed these nutrients it forms a scum on the water surface that is a blockage for living bodies in the water. Harmful algal blooms and dead zones are also results of eutrophication.
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Plastic Ingestion:
Plastic ingestion is also called microplastic ingestion. The existence is in the main digestive tract of the animal through tissue digestion. It is a widespread contaminant of marine ecosystems of the globe. These plastics are less than five millimeters.
Microplastics are harmful to the survival of wildlife and also dangerous for human cells and can cause the death of cells.
The chemicals which are present in plastics can reach into the food and beverage we eat. These chemicals can cause metabolic disorders and reduce fertility.
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Bioaccumulation
The process of accumulation of chemicals in living organisms due to the high rate of intake of chemicals and the loss of rate of excretion. It is the gradual change in harmful substances.
Chemicals can move in the body through an abiotic environment. Bioaccpmulation cancause pesticides, when organisms take it at a higher level, then the organism is at risk of chorionic poisoning. It may destroy species if it can’t be controlled.
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Acidification:
Acidification is one of the major effects of water pollution. Acidification of water means that the rapid reduction of pH levels in the earth’s ocean has some serious consequences. Acidic ocean refers to the reduction of pH of the ocean over an extended period.
It is due to the extensive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, that it mixes with the ocean water and the pH level of water is reduced.
When the level of carbon dioxide increased in the ocean water, the amount of carbonate ions is reduced which is necessary to make water bodies shells and skeletons, So the chance of survival of their offspring. Mostly ocean acidification occurs in the polar oceans in the Arctic and Antarctic.
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Loss of Entire Species:
The sharply increased level of plastic entering our water harms not only marine life but also affects humanity. Plastic kills marine mammals, Birds, and fishes and also destroys their habitat, and affects the animal mating rituals which results can be dangerous and can wipe out entire species. So it affects environmental property loss, biological diversity, and other indirect losses.
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Depletion of Drinking Water Supply:
There is only 3% water of the world’s water is freshwater, glaciers are also present in this that are not able to use. Globally, 1.1 billion people lack access to water, and 2.7 billion experience water scarcity at least once a year.
Its main causes are human consumption, rise in freshwater demand, overuse, and wastage of water, and natural calamities such as droughts and floods.
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Health Effect
Water pollution also has an effective impact on the health of living organisms. We know that water is an essential resource for survival. When this source becomes contaminated it may cause harmful health issues in humans such as cancer or cardiological conditions. Contaminated water can cause various diseases in humans such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, and polio.
