Hundreds of chemicals are used during Marcellus Shale drilling; therefore, the process can cause contamination and pollution. According to Marc Levy and Mary Esch, because the Marcellus Shale drills go so far under the ground, the water there has a higher chance of being polluted. According to the article “Methane Gas and Its Removal from Wells in Pennsylvania” methane is a chemical that can contaminate drinking water because of drilling. Too much methane can be harmful to humans (Swistock and Rizzo). According to the article “Hydrofracking,” water sources also have an increased risk of being polluted when a drill is installed near them.
At high levels, nutrients can over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae. Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters. [David Krantz] This could be very harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the respiration ability of fish and other creatures of the sea. Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, washoff plowed fields, construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains. [David Krantz] Pollution in the form of organic material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures.
“Water pollution affects plants and organisms living in these bodies of water. In almost all cases the effect is damaging not only to individual species and populations, but also to the natural biological communities.” (Conserve-Energy-Future) Rivers, streams, canals, lakes, and oceans are receptacles for every imaginable kind of pollution. Even though water has the capacity to break down or dissolve many materials, especially organic compounds, pollution in our bodies of water are becoming a large problem. Pollutants such as metals, plastics, and some chlorinated hydrocarbons remain in the water and can make it poisonous for most forms of life. Even biodegradable pollutants can damage a water supply for long periods and the life forms within the water start to suffer damage due to pollution.
Also, rather than throwing away things that can be reused, we can reduce the waste products in great amount which decrease the pollution. When people throw away things that are non-degradable, they are hard to be disposed and therefore causes pollution like air and land contamination. For instance, when garbage is collected, they are disposed in one area, and the rotting materials and toxic things that are thrown there emits methane gases which are very harmful. Even a small amount of toxic waste can pollute the whole ecosystem and cause harm to many life forms. People discard loads of waste products that are very harmful to the earth and if they are not discarded legitimately can cause soil and water pollution.
Solid waste management is an important facet of environmental hygiene and it needs to be integrated with total environmental planning (WHO Expert Committee, 1971). Its storage, collection, transport, treatment and disposal can lead to short term risks. In the long run there may be dangers arising particularly from the chemical pollution of water supplies. Javeen Rao (1994) said that the problems connected with refuse storage in buildings were, insects, rats, fire, and odor. These problems are also associated with other problems of human health and aquatic systems.
Nutrient pollution also can cause algae blooms which cause serious environmental problems affecting aquatic ecosystems, and which can cause dangerous health issues for animals and humans. Water pollution caused by sewage is an environmental problem. When sewage pollutes water it can be dangerous especially if it enters people 's source of drinking water as author Woodford states, "It is possible to catch illnesses such as hepatitis, typhoid, and cholera from river and sea water" (4). Chemical and radioactive runoff can be dangerous to humans as well. When water that is contaminated by chemicals is consumed by humans it can lead to sickness, paralysis or even death depending on the kind of chemical polluting the water and the concentration of the pollutant in the water.
The purpose of wastewater treatment is to remove pollutants that can harm the aquatic environment if they are discharged into it. Because of the harmful effects of low DO concentrations in waters, wastewater treatment engineers focused historical on the removal of pollutants which would cause a depletion of the DO concentration in the aquatic system. These oxygen demanding pollutants exert their effects by serving as food source for the micro-organisms, which consumes oxygen for the biological oxidation. Most oxygen demanding pollutants are organic compounds, and ammonia and nitrate are significant inorganic onces. Hence, WWTP are designed to remove these organic and inorganic pollutants.
According to Sharma (2005), water pollution is alteration in physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water which may cause harmful effects on human and aquatic biota. Industrial waste, oil leakage and chemical and pesticides are some of the sources of water pollution. Industries produce a large amount of waste that contains toxic chemicals. Most of the industries do not have proper waste management system and the waste goes into drain and later into sea. It leads to the increasing of temperature and mineral amounts in water.
To help prevent serious damages to the aquatic ecosystem and to inform others of the severity of water pollution, possible solutions and explanations of how water pollution occurs will be provided. When water is polluted, the pollutant affects one of two water resources, which consists of the surface waters and the groundwater. Surface water pollution, such as oil spills, are much more noticeable on bodies of water. Groundwater pollution, such as weed killers that drain into the ground and into the sewers, affect the supply of most of our drinking water. There are many types of water pollution; point-source pollution, nonpoint-source pollution, and transboundary pollution.
Though pollutants themselves are harmful to the environment, they usually contain nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates. The addition of these nutrients into water systems disrupts the natural balance, and ultimately leads to overgrowth. This overgrowth can clog waterways, and prevents light from reaching deep into the water, killing off life which was sustained at a deeper level. Much of this type of pollution comes from fertilizers, sewage, and organic livestock wast... ... middle of paper ... ...uman necessity. The idea of water privatization has been tossed around for years, but recently had become a reality for some in 3rd world countries.