What Is Water Contamination And Water Pollution?

Introduction Water contamination and water pollution, can be easily mistaken as the same thing. When speaking in general terms, they are. Searching more deeply in this subject matter, they discover that the two are completely different. Water pollution is caused by humans while contamination is caused by nature. “Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.” (“Categories of Pollution: Point source,” 2008) Globally, water pollution is one of the main reason why lots of people died. It can be contaminated from the smallest activities. Throwing trash into a river, dumping oil into streams, throwing plastic into body of water, improper

In some places, people suffer from diseases related to water contamination because the water that is available to them is the water that is available to them is the water that is being contaminated. “Waterborne diseases are diseases contracted from consuming water contaminated with human or animal feces, which takes place often in areas where sewage systems and other filtering technology are limited. Waterborne diseases include diarrhea, cholera, malaria, and dengue.” (Waterborne Diseases, 2011). Even though people may have been treated for these waterborne diseases, they often get the same disease again because they are forced to drink from the same water. In many developing countries, the main cause of death is diarrhea contracted by drinking water. Human and animal wastes are not the only water pollutants. Sometimes pollutants can come from an oil spill or another single source. When this occurs, it is called point source pollution. (“ Categories of Pollution: Point Source”, 2008) The global picture of water and health has a strong local dimension with some 1.1 billion people still lacking access to improved drinking water sources and some 2.4 billion to adequate sanitation. Today we have strong evidence that water-sanitation-and hygiene-related diseases account for some 2,213,000 deaths annually and an annual loss of 82,296,000 Disability Adjusted Life Years. (“Waterborne Diseases,”