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Causes and Effects

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Direct and Indirect Human causes

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Did you know that water pollution is one of the biggest problems faced worldwide today?

Were you aware of just how widespread this issue really is?

Did you realize that polluted water might even be a problem in your own home, even if you live in a city with treated water supplies?

Unfortunately, water pollution may be closer to you than you might think. There are a lot of human activities that cause water pollution, and many of these happen close to or even in your own home. Even if you don't purposefully intend to dump waste or otherwise cause damage to your local water, you may be doing so without even realizing it.

With so many different human causes of water pollution, it might be overwhelming to imagine where to begin educating yourself on the problem. It's true that the problem is a very big one, and that it can seem like too daunting of a task to even think about. This is why it's more important than ever to really get a good understanding of water pollution caused by human activities and what you can do to stop it.

In this article, you'll be introduced to 15 types of water pollution caused by humans, as well as a few tips to help you cut back on this pollution in your home, community, and surrounding area.

How Water Pollution Happens

Water pollution is a major contributor to declining health and well-being of animals, plants, ecosystems, and even human beings in the United States and in the rest of the world. To some extent, a small amount of water pollution is natural and can't be helped. In these instances, wild animal waste is usually the main contributor to potential water pollution. Sometimes, water sources can also be contaminated by running through rocks and soil that contain too much arsenic or lead, which can in turn poison the water. However, these types of water pollution are very small in comparison to the huge amount of contamination caused by human interference every day.

Runoff

One of the most important terms for you to keep in mind when exploring the causes of water pollution is "runoff." This word might not make a lot of sense if you've never looked much into pollution before, but it's a huge factor in many of the contaminated water situations in the United States as well as around the world.

When factories, agricultural centers, construction sites and more produce toxic materials or use them in manufacturing, those materials are often exposed to rain water. As it rains in these areas, the chemicals are then washed from these sites and into the soil or, in some instances, into nearby streams, lakes, or ponds. Because of this, stormwater runoff is one of the leading causes of water pollution, and it's something that needs to be fixed.

Groundwater

Another word you're likely to come across often in researching water pollution is "groundwater." There are actually two different types of freshwater: groundwater and surface water. Surface water is any water you can see just by looking around. This includes creeks and streams, lakes, ponds, and rivers. Groundwater is the opposite. This term refers to water that exists underground and can't be seen without digging for it.

When chemical pollutants and waste are washed into the soil, they can easily reach the groundwater underneath. Over time, this groundwater seeps into nearby sources of surface water, which in turn contaminates the water we use for drinking and daily life. Groundwater contamination is a very real problem that affects the whole world.

Direct Human Causes of Water Pollution

Direct causes of water pollution are those causes that change the quality of water almost immediately. There's no "middle man" in these situations; the water doesn't have to go through any changes before it becomes contaminated. These are some of the most common types of water pollution caused by humans, but because they're so direct, they're also some of the easiest to work on and correct. Keep all of these in mind when you examine the community around you as well as your household, and you'll be better able to make more environmentally sound decisions in the future.

1. Dumping

This is probably the most common cause of direct water pollution from humans. Whether you dump your waste in the wrong places on purpose or accidentally, if you're not following directions on how to dispose of your trash, then you may be contributing to this problem. Dumping garbage in the woods, near streams, or in ditches can quickly cause pollution in both groundwater and surface water. Always be sure to properly dispose of waste from your household, and to recycle whenever possible.

2. Industrial Runoff

In areas where factories are present, these factories are often located near sources of water. Many are built near large bodies of water, but even if not, they're usually not far away from creeks or streams. When it rains, chemical waste is washed away from these factories as storm water runoff. That runoff soon reaches the groundwater or sources of surface water, and pollution continues. This is doubly true of areas where power plants, especially nuclear power plants, are present. In these areas, acid rain may also occur.

3. Agricultural Runoff

Agricultural runoff encompasses both natural and unnatural sources of contamination. For example, farms that don't dispose properly of animal waste often contribute to the buildup of ammonia and nitrates in local water sources, as well as the potential for illness to spread through animal feces. Bacteria in these water supplies is very common. On the other hand, even if the waste is disposed of properly, many times chemicals are used without regulations in agricultural situations. When this happens, the potential for runoff pollution is very similar to the situation with factories and power plants.

4. Chemical Runoff

This is more of a general version of runoff pollution, but it might be happening in your own home or yard. Frequent use of chemicals to treat your lawn for pests or to encourage grass to grow may seep into the soil in your yard and spread to groundwater sources. Even if you avoid these types of chemicals, you still might be contributing to this problem with the chemicals you use to wash your home or car. Disposing incorrectly of detergents, soaps, and cleaners by dumping them out in your yard can also cause a similar runoff issue. Educate yourself and your neighbors about the proper ways to use and dispose of these products.

5. Landfills

While proper disposal of garbage in landfills is an important part of taking responsibility for the environment, the sad truth is that even these landfills are causing pollution. Landfills that are hastily constructed or aren't up to modern-day standards let garbage sit for a long time and allow it to seep into the ground around it. This can lead to runoff, groundwater pollution, and even surface water pollution if the dump is located too close to sources of surface water. In some instances, wind and heavy rain may even wash pieces of garbage into water supplies from large landfills.

6. Plastics

In landfills as well as around the home, plastics continue to be a huge problem in terms of water pollution. Allowing plastic to sit for a long time and be exposed to rain and soil causes chemicals from the plastic to leach into the groundwater nearby. These types of chemicals can be very harsh, and they may lead to severely contaminated water over time. Be sure to never throw plastic bottles or other containers into surface water sources, and always recycle these types of materials when possible.

7. Construction Runoff

Like factories and agricultural facilities, construction sites are often some of the leading causes of chemical runoff contamination. Many times, these sites are started without much thought to the surrounding environment, and it might seem like building gets underway very fast in these situations. Unfortunately, this also usually means that there haven't been very many protections set in place to keep runoff from occurring and groundwater from becoming contaminated around the site. Construction sites make use of harsh chemicals as well as metals that can cause too much of certain minerals to build up in the water supply, and they must be regulated for water safety.

8. Batteries

You may have seen locations offering to recycle batteries for free, but did you ever stop to think about why? When batteries aren't recycled properly, they end up in landfills, where the chemicals and acid inside are allowed to leach into the soil. This can actually poison the nearby water supply and can cause people in the area to become very sick. It's also incredibly damaging to the fish and wildlife in the area, and in some cases, it can contribute to the possibility of wildfires. Properly disposing of batteries can make a world of difference in terms of cutting back on pollution.

Indirect Human Causes of Water Pollution

Indirect causes of water pollution have to go through a few changes before they start to affect the quality of a water supply. They are less noticeable in the world around you, and because of this, many individuals-especially in residential communities-might not recognize them as problems until they get to be very troubling. However, it's always a good idea to keep these in mind as well, especially when you're looking for ways to make a difference in the world around you. Be mindful of potential indirect causes of water pollution as you read through this list.

9. Domestic City Sewage

Generally speaking, city sewage systems are usually designed to properly and carefully dispose of human waste, and they're often maintained well enough to keep leaks from forming. Even so, sometimes accidents happen, and sometimes oversights are made. In these situations, human waste can quickly contaminate the soil and water in the area and can lead to serious illness and disease. It is very important for cities and counties to keep up with regular checks on their sewage systems, and to respond quickly to any natural disasters that might cause damage to the pipes.

10. Septic Systems

Unfortunately, septic systems are much more prone to accidents and leakage than city sewer systems are. Many times, septic systems are not installed correctly for their location, and they're not kept up with regularly either. In these situations, human waste can quickly contaminate water and may lead to severe bacterial infections, dysentery, intestinal parasites, and hepatitis in people who drink the water. This can also cause death in animals and plants in the area, which means that entire ecosystems will suffer along with any humans who are exposed to this contaminated water. Septic systems can be very dangerous and should always be handled properly to reduce the risk of pollution.

11. Too Many Nutrients

You might not realize it, but sometimes you can have too many nutrients in your water supply. Especially in the case of city water systems, the water is often treated with a variety of different minerals and nutrients to make it safer to drink and, sometimes, healthier than natural water as well. However, it is very easy to go overboard with these nutrients. Fluoride is one such nutrient that is necessary for human health and wellness but may be very troublesome in larger quantities. If your city water is treated with too much fluoride, you may notice yourself or your children having dental trouble from early on.

12. Hormones and Antibiotics

Once again, agricultural facilities are usually responsible for this problem, but not always. In places where agriculture is more prevalent, especially larger factory farms, animals are often treated with hormones and antibiotics to keep them healthy or encourage growth. Unfortunately, this is very unhealthy for the humans who consume these products. Even if you don't eat meat treated with hormones or antibiotics, these substances may be present in your drinking water if you live in an area where farm waste may be present in your water supply. Animal urine that may otherwise be filtered from water sources can still contain these substances in amounts large enough to cause illness in humans who drink this water.

13. Leaks and Spills

While leaks and spills never happen on purpose, they do still happen, and it's often because of human negligence or error. Oil spills are some of the most well-known of these situations, but there are other types of leaks and spills that happen almost every day and never make it to the big news headlines. This is especially true of the oil and gasoline industries, which sometimes even experience leaks of products that are kept in storage. These leaks and spills can cause widespread damage to the environment, as well as make fresh water unpalatable for humans.

14. Fossil Fuels

When fossil fuels are burned, they cause particles to enter the atmosphere which can then travel to water supplies. Over time, this can lead to surface water pollution and may even contribute to acid rain, depending on how polluted your area is. Fossil fuel runoff is also possible, especially from places where these types of fuels are stored. Groundwater contamination is also a potential problem from fossil fuels.

15. Mining

Last but not least, mining often leads to contamination of water sources near the places where the mining is taking place. Although there are many other potential problems associated with mining, water pollution is one of the big ones. Mining may lead to poisonous minerals in rocks being exposed to water supplies or seeping into groundwater, which in turn can cause severe illness in any humans or animals who drink this water. Arsenic, lead, sodium and many other minerals can build up significantly in water sources near mining sites, especially when fracking takes place. Similarly, runoff from mining sites can wash chemicals used in the mining process into nearby water sources.

How Pollution Can Be Stopped

Now that you've learned about all the different types of pollution you might encounter-and even some you might be causing without even realizing it-you're probably wondering more about what you can do. It's important to remember that, while many companies and industries are starting to be more environmentally friendly and make sound decisions regarding the world around them, most are a long way from making a difference that counts. And this is where you can come in. Below are just a few ways you can work to stop pollution, as well as ways industries and communities can step up and work on this problem.

Conclusion

Now that you understand more about what human activities cause water pollution, you can start doing more to recognize these activities in and around your own home. Within your home, you can start cutting back on the amount of waste you dispose of regularly by enrolling in a recycling program or even reusing plastic containers for more than one purpose. You can also be more careful about how you get rid of unused chemical cleaners and detergents.

Of course, outside the home, there are many types of water pollution due to human activities as well. If you feel like getting more involved in your community, you can start educating your neighbors and friends about better ways to treat their yards for pests than using harsh chemicals that can affect groundwater. More outspoken individuals might even want to call or write to government offices to encourage cities and counties to practice more environmentally-friendly ways of disposing of waste and preventing runoff from construction, industrial, and agricultural sites.

Remember that no matter where you're located and no matter how small or large your local community might be, there's always something you can do to make a difference. While there are a few natural causes of water pollution, humans have the largest effect on this widespread problem. Because of this, it's always important to be aware of the environment around you and practice making some changes so you can improve the quality of the water where you live.

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15 Ways Humans Cause Water Pollution (WHY WE BLAME YOU)

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0 shares Share0 Share +10 Tweet0 Pin0 Did you know that water pollution is one of the biggest problems faced worldwide today?Were you aware of just how widespread this issue really is?Did you realize that polluted water might even be a problem in your own home, even if you live in a city with treated ...

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11 Terrible Disasters

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Cleaning water in poor countries

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With 3.575 million people dying each year from water-related disease, our current water crisis is one of epic proportions. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by those suffering from illness brought on by limited access to safe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation. Granted these harrowing realities plaguing our society, it's imperative that designers, inventors, engineers and visionaries do what they can to find a solution. Fortunately, there's no shortage of innovation on tap - read on for six water purifying designs for the developing world!

The Lifestraw is a small cigar-shaped tube packed with some truly innovative engineering. This clever design purifies water from potential pathogens like typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea - all before they reach your lips. The Lifestraw is an inexpensive way to deliver potable water to those in need, and it is considered an icon of humanitarian product design - it was included in Cooper Hewitt's Design for the Other 90% exhibition, which featured products, architecture, and technology that's have a positive impact on under-privileged demographics around the world.

In 2008 UNICEF and the Water and Sanitation Program were given the Project Innovation Award Grand Prize by the International Water Association for providing Cambodia with ceramic water filters. These water purification devices, made and distributed by Cambodian nationals, resulted in a 50 percent drop in diarrheal illnesses since they were first employed back in 2002. Developed in a joint effort between WSP and UNICEF, the filters are made from fired clay, and the tiny pores of the ceramic material are small enough to remove virtually all bacteria and protozoa. The design utilizes gravity to facilitate the filtration process, resulting in a flow rate of 1-3 liters per hour.
+ Field Report on Ceramic Filters in Cambodia [PDF]
Japan's Nippon Basic Company recently introduced what they are calling, the "Cycloclean," a water-purifying bike initially designed for use in remote villages and disaster zones. The Cycloclean harness kinetic energy to purify water, and users can ride the bike to any nearby body of water for immediate access to a source of potable drinking water.

Jung Uk Park, Myeong Hoon Lee, and Dae Youl Lee are the industrial designers behind the ingenious water purification device know as the Life Sack. Not only does this clever design purify water - it also doubles as a container for shipping grains and other food staples. Once the package of food is received, it can then be used as a solar water purification kit. To filter contaminated water the Life sack uses SODIS ( Solar Water Disinfection Process) technology: UV-A-radiation and the bag's thermal treatment process work together to kill deadly microorganisms and bacteria in water. The sack can also be worn as a backpack for quick and easy movement from the source to the community.

While traveling in Zambia, Timothy Whitehead was exposed to a water purification process that left him both concerned and perplexed. This process required 30 minutes, and used chlorine and iodine tablets to produce water that although safe to drink was terrible in taste. Inspired to develop an alternative solution, he came up with the Pure Water Bottle - a device that is capable of filtering soiled water in two minutes by using a combination of 4 micron-sized water filters and a wind-up ultraviolet light system. This combinations removes up to 99.9% of impurities from any water source, and it could be a valuable asset for people in developing nations.

Designed by Jonathan Liow, a graduate student at Monash University, the Solar Ball is a spherical shaped device that utilizes the power of the sun to purify water. Inspired by a trip to Cambodia, Liow sought to aid underdeveloped populations that lack access to clean drinking water. When placed in the sun, the Solarball uses evaporation to separate dirt and contaminants. The resulting condensations yields just over three quarts of potable water per day. The ball is inexpensive and relatively small in size, making it easy to transport

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water for the thrid world developing countries water issues

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6 Water-purifying Devices for Clean Drinking Water in the Developing World

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With 3.575 million people dying each year from water-related disease, our current water crisis is one of epic proportions. At any given time, half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by those suffering from illness brought on by limited access to safe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation.

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Engineering.com

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contributor: Rob Goodier

Having money helps, but clean water doesn't have to be expensive. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Matt Damon and, a celebrity to us, Ned Breslin, to name a few, have helped clean rivers, dig wells and install pumps, pipes and other hardware to deliver clean water. Their time and money are well spent because the problem is huge. As we've reported before, as many as 1.8 million people die each year from diarrhea linked to bad water and sanitation, most of them under age 5.

Community-wide water infrastructure is as good as it gets. But until everyone has it, there are other, cheaper clean water solutions. Boiling water over a wood fire is one of the most widely used methods, but it is also a health hazard for those working in poorly ventilated kitchens, and it exacerbates deforestation. Instead, we've rounded up ten low-cost ways to treat water, and not one requires boiling. Do you know of other methods? Please let us know in a comment below.

Ceramic filters

Clay, sawdust and a plastic bucket can make a water filter that catches dirt and disease-causing microbes. In the classic design, mix clay with a combustible material like sawdust or rice husks, give it a flower pot shape and fire it in a kiln. The sawdust or rice husks burn away, leaving tiny pores in the ceramic through which water filters. Organizations around the world have been using this kind of ceramic filter to reduce disease in impoverished communities for years.
This prototype is the predecessor of bone-char filters that will strip heavy metals from drinking water on a South Dakota reservation. Photo courtesy of Jacob Becraft

Bone char filtration

Not all filters remove heavy metals or other toxins from the water, but crushed and charred animal bone can. And in areas where they occur in the water, removing them is a good idea. Chronic arsenic exposure, for example, can cause skin cancer, bladder, kidney and lung cancers, gangrene and possibly diabetes, high blood pressure and reproductive disorders. Uranium in the drinking water is linked to nephritis (pdf)-inflammation of the kidneys. As they inflame, the kidneys dump proteins that the body needs into the urine stream, a condition that is lethal at its worst.
When a US Geological Survey study found high levels of arsenic and uranium in wells in the Ogala Lakota tribe's US reservation at Pine Ridge, students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had an idea: Bone char. Crushed and charred cattle bones are cheap and locally available. With the right design, filters can clean drinking water right in the home. It's a solution that can work in Pine Ridge or anywhere arsenic contamination is rampant (bearing in mind potential cultural aversions to ingesting cow products).

Slow sand filtration

Slow sand filtration has the advantage of working on an entire community's water source, not just individual households. Practical Action put together a technical manual for slow sand filtration systems, a complete guide to their construction and maintenance. Follow the link above to see the manual.
A slow sand filtration system is a combination of several parts: water storage tanks, an aerator, pre-filters, slow sand filters, disinfection stages, and filtered water storage tanks. The number of filters and filter types that are used in a given slow sand filtration system will depend on the quality of the source water and will be different for each community.

Everything-but-the-sink portable filter

This portable filter design proposed in response to a call for better water filtration at taps in India uses chlorine, silver beads, activated charcoal and sand. Honeybee Network posed the original problem and an E4C member posted this solution. It includes a detailed guide to the specifications, materials and construction of a portable filter built from everything but the kitchen sink.

Honeybee Network also proposes the development of new mobile applications that employ a phone's camera to sense impurities in water. We Googled up two that are in development: The H2O Mobile Water Testing Lab and Aquatest, though it's not clear if the latter will be phone based or not.

Bamboo charcoal

In this spin on the charcoal filter, a team of E4C members in Bangalore propose a filter made of locally available materials including charred bamboo, gravel and natural adsorbents. "The process we propose is indigenous, eco-friendly, low cost and entails minimum maintenance," the team writes in their workspace. They estimate that their filter can handle 30 liters of water per hour, and it would be affordable for average households in the region.

Solar sterilization

If cost is a bigger concern than time or convenience, the cheapest way to treat water is to leave it in a plastic bottle in the sunlight. Leave clear bottles in the sun for a few hours and the UV radiation and heat kills the microbes that cause diarrhea and other waterborne illness. The Sodis (for solar disinfection) method was deployed in some parts of Haiti after the earthquake in 2010, and it is used in emergencies and impoverished regions worldwide.
If the bottle is too basic or prone to error, Solvatten sells a more highly designed solar disinfection device. It's a jerry-can-like container with a built-in thermal indicator that lets drinkers know when the water is safe to drink. The Solvatten container opens like a book to expose the water inside to sunlight through clear plastic panels. Its black backing helps it absorb more sunlight.

The amount of sun exposure that a bottle needs varies by the amount of sunlight available (it takes longer to sterilize water on a cloudy day). To take the guess work out of the solar method, a disinfection indicator can measure light exposure and signal when the germs are dead. We came across this prototype of a solar indicator at IEEE's Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle, Wash., last year. And there's also Helioz, a similar concept with a top-mounted design.

Solar distillation

Not to be confused with solar sterilization or disinfection, solar distillation purifies even muddy, salty or otherwise undrinkable water through evaporation and condensation. The power of distillation to purify saltwater makes it unique among the treatment methods featured on this page.

A solar still can actually be a cheap and simple piece of shaped plastic or glass, or they can be more highly designed devices. To work, the still allows sunlight to shine through a clear panel onto the impure water. The water heats and evaporates, then condenses on the underside of the panel and runs off into a container of some kind. This simple process takes huge amounts of energy, which is why solar stills can make more sense than stills powered by other fuels. Our Solutions Library links to a technical brief and construction guide to several different still designs from Practical Action.

Bicycle filter

Bicycles in all their glorious versatility and simplicity have got to be one of our favorite devices, and we were pleased to find not just one, but two bicycle-powered water filters. Nippon Basic Co. invented Cyclo Clean, a bicycle rigged with a pump to draw water from a river or well and a robust, three-filter system to purify the water. The filters are designed to last without replacement for two years, and the tires are puncture-proof. It can filter three tons of water in 10 hours.

Then there's the Aqueduct, which is like Cyclo's whimsical little brother. It's a tricycle with bubbly curves and a sky-blue paint job that pumps up to two gallons of water through a filter while the rider pedals. Cyclo handles much greater volumes of water, but Aqueduct's one advantage is that it can do its job on the move.

Both of these designs are in our - ahem - fantastic list of ten things you can do with a bicycle.

Emergency homemade filter

The plastic bottle makes yet another appearance as a water treatment device, this time as a simple filter that can remove sediment and even disease-causing microbes. Simply cut the bottom from the bottle, fill it with layers of gravel, sand cloth and charcoal, filter the water through it and hope for the best.

This design is also featured in our list of the best appropriate technology DIY plans.

Chlorine

We saved the most obvious and probably the most reliable treatment method for last. Chlorine can work in the community water supply to kill microbes before it enters people's jerry cans or home water supplies. And it keeps the water safe from new contaminations long after it is added.

We've seen several interesting chlorination methods at work in resource-poor regions. Compatible Technology International developed this tested and proven device that chlorinates water in gravity-fed systems that fill a community water cistern. And these four experimental designs have worked in field tests to dose water accurately after people fill their buckets at a community well, stream or other source. The chlorinator, shown here fully assembled and broken down, attaches to a loop in the water pipe that feeds into the community tank. Image courtesy of CTI.

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Ten low-cost ways to treat water | Engineering For Change

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contributor: Rob Goodier Having money helps, but clean water doesn't have to be expensive. Celebrities like Bill Gates, Matt Damon and, a celebrity to us, Ned Breslin, to name a few, have helped clean rivers, dig wells and install pumps, pipes and other hardware to deliver clean water.

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