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In this day and age pollution is a heavily talked about topic among youth, but not many adults seem to know much, or care about it yet the consequences of our actions are, and will continue to be drastic if we do not do something about it. There is not one overarching contributor to our polluted waters, but instead many small ones. For example, Marine Dumping is just one of the many ways thousands of pounds of garbage and waste end up in our waters, specifically our oceans each year. Many items of trash such as plastic bags can take years to decompose completely, leaving them for an animal to either get stuck in, or mistake for food. I also know that oil spills cause lasting harm to our waters because they take so long to clean up as oil and water do not mix. This affects our drinking water and the animals many places like seaside towns and countries use as their main source of food. I think that it is important for people to know about water pollution because it is not just the issue of one person dumping trash in the ocean, nor is it the issue of just one country to solve, everyone contributes in one way or another and it is important to work together and solve it together as well.

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I got this first source from the school’s database for reliable sources and I would make the statement that Britannica is a very educational site. Britannica provides an educational and neutral overview of what water pollution is, the solutions to it, as well as causes, effects, and some basic facts. While it is said that water pollution is harmful to us and the environment, the article remains “central” or “unbiased” in its statements as it is stating facts about water pollution rather than making opinion-based commentary.

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water pollution, the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, and oceans to the point where the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems. In addition to the release of substances, such as chemicals, trash, or microorganisms, water pollution may also include the release of energy, in the form of radioactivity or heat, into bodies of water.

Types and sources of water pollutants

Water bodies can be polluted by a wide variety of substances, including pathogenic microorganisms, putrescible organic waste, fertilizers and plant nutrients, toxic chemicals, sediments, heat, petroleum (oil), and radioactive substances. Several types of water pollutants are considered below. (For a discussion of the handling of sewage and other forms of waste produced by human activities, see waste disposal and solid-waste management.)

Water pollutants come from either point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system. A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a very broad unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter the water body, such as the runoff from an agricultural area. Point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources, because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to one single point where it can be treated. Pollution from dispersed sources is difficult to control, and, despite much progress in the building of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a large fraction of water pollution problems.

Effects of water pollution on groundwater and oceans

Groundwater-water contained in underground geologic formations called aquifers-is a source of drinking water for many people. For example, about half the people in the United States depend on groundwater for their domestic water supply. Although groundwater may appear crystal clear (due to the natural filtration that occurs as it flows slowly through layers of soil), it may still be polluted by dissolved chemicals and by bacteria and viruses. Sources of chemical contaminants include poorly designed or poorly maintained subsurface sewage-disposal systems (e.g., septic tanks), industrial wastes disposed of in improperly lined or unlined landfills or lagoons, leachates from unlined municipal refuse landfills, mining and petroleum production, and leaking underground storage tanks below gasoline service stations. In coastal areas, increasing withdrawal of groundwater (due to urbanization and industrialization) can cause saltwater intrusion: as the water table drops, seawater is drawn into wells.

Although estuaries and oceans contain vast volumes of water, their natural capacity to absorb pollutants is limited. Contamination from sewage outfall pipes, from dumping of sludge or other wastes, and from oil spills can harm marine life, especially microscopic phytoplankton that serve as food for larger aquatic organisms. Sometimes, unsightly and dangerous waste materials can be washed back to shore, littering beaches with hazardous debris. By 2010, an estimated 4.8 million and 12.7 million tonnes (between 5.3 million and 14 million tons) of plastic debris had been dumped into the oceans annually, and floating plastic waste had accumulated in Earth's five subtropical gyres that cover 40 percent of the world's oceans ( see also plastic pollution).

Another ocean pollution problem is the seasonal formation of "dead zones" (i.e., hypoxic areas, where dissolved oxygen levels drop so low that most higher forms of aquatic life vanish) in certain coastal areas. The cause is nutrient enrichment from dispersed agricultural runoff and concomitant algal blooms. Dead zones occur worldwide; one of the largest of these (sometimes as large as 22,730 square km [8,776 square miles]) forms annually in the Gulf of Mexico, beginning at the Mississippi River delta.

Water quality standards

Although pure water is rarely found in nature (because of the strong tendency of water to dissolve other substances), the characterization of water quality (i.e., clean or polluted) is a function of the intended use of the water. For example, water that is clean enough for swimming and fishing may not be clean enough for drinking and cooking. Water quality standards (limits on the amount of impurities allowed in water intended for a particular use) provide a legal framework for the prevention of water pollution of all types.

There are several types of water quality standards. Stream standards are those that classify streams, rivers, and lakes on the basis of their maximum beneficial use; they set allowable levels of specific substances or qualities (e.g., dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH) allowed in those bodies of water, based on their given classification. Effluent (water outflow) standards set specific limits on the levels of contaminants (e.g., biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, nitrogen) allowed in the final discharges from wastewater-treatment plants. Drinking-water standards include limits on the levels of specific contaminants allowed in potable water delivered to homes for domestic use. In the United States, the Clean Water Act and its amendments regulate water quality and set minimum standards for waste discharges for each industry as well as regulations for specific problems such as toxic chemicals and oil spills. In the European Union, water quality is governed by the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water Directive, and other laws. ( See also wastewater treatment.)
Jerry A. Nathanson

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Water pollution | Definition, Causes, Effects, Solutions, Examples, & Facts

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Water pollution, the release of substances (such as chemicals or microorganisms) or energy (in the form of radioactivity or heat) into surface and subsurface waters to the point where they interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems.

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My second source talks less about water pollution as a whole but rather the effects and problems caused by it on wildlife. CNN goes on to give pictures of animals who are hurt or dying from oil spills and uses words like “heartbreaking” “devastate” and more emotionally charged words before stating that this makes these animals extremely harmful and unhealthy for us humans to eat. CNN did give facts about what happens to these animals and how they are affected by it but the words used were emotionally charged and while this piece isn't political, CNN is still a left leaning website, making this source biased.

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How oil spills harm birds, dolphins, sea lions and other wildlife | CNN

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An oil spill like the one off the coast of Southern California is a disaster on many levels – maybe none more tragic than the deadly effects of petroleum on marine life.

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My third source is the EPA, or, the Environmental Protection Agency. This is an agency that works to ensure all aspects of our environment are being taken care of properly, air, water, and more, and they have experts working with them who can describe what happens if we do not care for these things. This article has some interesting information about water pollution because most of what people see about it is how it affects our wildlife even though the problem is much bigger than that. The writer first starts off with the importance of drinking water, and then transitions into just how quickly it can be polluted or contaminated, then they segway into the effects on human health, listing various examples on what could happen if that water is consumed. The EPA is a government agency that’s purpose is to protect the environment and human health in some regard as well meaning they cannot be taking political stances on matters like these given the chance that misinformation could be spread. In this article the EPA listed both facts, examples, and didn’t use emotionally charged vocabulary while giving them, making this an unbiased source.

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What are the trends in the quality of drinking water and their effects on human health?

Importance of Drinking Water

The average American consumes 1 to 2 liters of drinking water per day. Virtually all drinking water in the United States comes from fresh surface waters and ground water aquifers.

Drinking Water Quality

Surface waters and aquifers can be contaminated by various chemicals, microbes, and radionuclides. Disinfection of drinking water has dramatically reduced the prevalence of waterborne diseases (such as typhoid, cholera, and hepatitis) in the United States. Other processes may also be used to treat drinking water depending on the characteristics of and contaminants in the source water.

Common sources of drinking water contaminants include:

Industry and agriculture. Organic solvents, petroleum products, and heavy metals from disposal sites or storage facilities can migrate into aquifers. Pesticides and fertilizers can be carried into lakes and streams by rainfall runoff or snowmelt, or can percolate into aquifers.

Human and animal waste. Human wastes from sewage and septic systems can carry harmful microbes into drinking water sources, as can wastes from animal feedlots and wildlife. Major contaminants include Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and E. coli.

Treatment and distribution. While treatment can remove many contaminants, it can also leave behind byproducts (such as trihalomethanes) that may themselves be harmful. Water can also become contaminated after it enters the distribution system, from a breach in the piping system or from corrosion of plumbing materials made from lead or copper.

Natural sources. Some ground water is unsuitable for drinking because the local underground conditions include high levels of certain contaminants. For example, as ground water travels through rock and soil, it can pick up naturally occurring arsenic, other heavy metals, or radionuclides.

Effects on Human Health

If drinking water contains unsafe levels of contaminants, it can cause health effects, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases such as cancer. Factors that can influence whether a contaminant will lead to health effects include the type of contaminant, its concentration in the water, individual susceptibility, the amount of water consumed, and the duration of exposure.

Health effects of chemical exposure. Chemical exposure through drinking water can lead to a variety of short- and long-term health effects. Exposure to high doses of chemicals can lead to skin discoloration or more severe problems such as nervous system or organ damage and developmental or reproductive effects. Exposure to lower doses over long periods of time can lead to chronic, longer-term conditions such as cancer. The effects of some drinking water contaminants are not yet well understood.

Health effects of consuming water with disease-causing microbes. Most life-threatening waterborne diseases caused by microbes (such as typhoid fever or cholera) are rare in the United States today. The more common illnesses caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites can result in stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever, and kidney failure. Infectious diseases such as hepatitis can also occur. Hepatitis may be severe in people with weakened immune systems (e.g., infants and the elderly) and sometimes fatal in people with severely compromised immune systems (e.g., cancer and AIDS patients).

ROE Indicators

The ROE presents one Drinking Water indicator based on violations of drinking water standards that states report to EPA. This indicator covers community water systems, which served 94 percent of the U.S. population in 2017.

The ROE does not provide information about the quality of drinking water from private wells, which the federal government does not monitor. It also does not discuss the quality of bottled water, which is regulated separately by the Food and Drug Administration.

The ROE does not yet include any indicators related to the connection between drinking water and health. Although contaminated drinking water can lead to waterborne diseases, these illnesses are often under-reported and the route of exposure cannot always be determined.

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The average American consumes 1 to 2 liters of drinking water per day. Virtually all drinking water in the United States comes from fresh surface waters and ground water aquifers. Surface waters and aquifers can be contaminated by various chemicals, microbes, and radionuclides.

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After researching water pollution and its effects, I believe that it is imperative that people pay attention to this increasingly large problem. Our polluted rivers, oceans, lakes and so much more have bigger consequences than one may believe: these things don’t just affect the everyday animals people may not pay attention to, but it affects us as people as well. We should not be indifferent about water pollution because although it may not seem bad now, and people don’t feel the need to make sure their trash and recycling end up where they belong, one day our actions will catch up with us. In fact, they already are; there have been microplastics found in the human bloodstream, humans can get gastroenteritis just from swimming in polluted water, and animals such as loggerhead turtles, seals, and sperm whales are beginning to go extinct because of their poor environmental conditions. While everyday individuals cannot control oil spills, there are many small acts they can do that make a big difference in our waters such as blowing their fresh fertilizer onto the grass rather than leaving it on the sidewalk, take the time to find a trash can for those wrappers, don't pour motor oil down the drain, and place absorbents onto a spill you made rather than just hosing it into a storm drain. For larger companies who are causing major oil spills in the ocean, the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) can use consistently improving technology to clean it up. If a crew can get to the spill in just a few hours, they can stop the spread of oil significantly. These solutions are all easy things people can do and I believe that if everyone wants to live a promising and fulfilling future in a livable world, we all have to do our part, and we can no longer remain indifferent.