By Arshia Tadipatri
In today’s many forms of pollution seem to be on the path of taking control of the world. One of the forms I will be touching on is water pollution. Although water pollution is a global issue it is something that can be slowly fixed if people start to realize their impact on their communities. All it takes is one person, one community, then it will start to create a domino effect where eventually ways to slow down or hopefully stop the spread of water pollution will be instilled. But first in order to stop water pollution we need to learn how it is caused.
The most common types of water contamination is: littering, agricultural, sewage and wastewater, radioactive substances, and oil pollution. The most known contamination is littering, and many of the people who still litter today end up dumping lots of their trash and plastic in various water sources. This plastic is then consumed by living organisms in the water which results in masses of water species dying. Although the agricultural sector contains the most amount of global freshwater, it is still one of the leading causes of water pollution. According to nrdc.org, “In the United States, agricultural pollution is the top source of contamination in rivers and streams, the second-biggest source in wetlands, and the third main source in lakes.” Sewage and wastewater is more commonly known to cause water pollution. Sewage and wastewater eventually gets dumped back into water sources without being filtered properly because most sewages don’t have a proper filtration system. Oil spills, although they rarely occur, leave a long lasting effect on the environment. Many people might know of Deepwater Horizon, an oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico back in April 20, 2010 and spread to about 68,000 sq mi, requiring almost 5 months of cleanup because the damage was immense. To put it in more simpler terms, the size of New Jersey is 8,729 sq mi which means the amount of oil that occupied the ocean was a little less than 8 New Jerseys combined!
The effects of water pollution are even more catastrophic, killing over 1.8 million and sickening about 1 billion people every year. Contaminated water contains disease-causing bacteria and viruses from human and animal waste. Diseases spread by unsafe water include cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Even in wealthy nations, accidental or illegal releases from sewage treatment facilities, as well as runoff from farms and urban areas, contribute harmful pathogens to waterways. So how are we going to solve this problem? One of the main ways we can solve this problem is by: 1) reducing your plastic consumption, this way less of your plastic will end up in the ocean either through littering or the trash. 2) properly dispose of all trash, make sure things are properly sorted between trash/ recycling/ other specific disposal locations. 3) Maintain any kind of oil consumption (if you have a car). Other than cleaning up after yourself/ your pets and being mindful of what you use, another way you can really make a change is to speak up about the Clean Water Rule which protects the drinking water for one in three Americans. By participating in policy making processes for ensuring clean water for all Americans, we can slowly but steadily make a positive impact on the environment.
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