What is water pollution?
Water pollution is when waste, chemicals, or other particles cause a body of water (i.e. rivers, oceans, lakes) to become harmful to the fish and animals that need the water to survive.
What causes water pollution?
(2) Human activities causes water pollution:
- Sewage
- Pesticides and Fertilizers
- Waste water
- Chemicals from factories, Silt from construction sites
- Trash from people littering
Effects of water pollution?
- Dirty, polluted water can make people sick, some bacteria and pathogens in water can make people so sick they can die.
- Pollution in the water can reach a point where there isn't enough oxygen in the water for the fish to breathe. The fish can actually suffocate!
- Sometimes pollution affects the entire food chain.
- Small fishes absorb pollutants, such as chemicals, into their bodies. Then bigger fishes eat the smaller fishes and get the pollutants too. Birds or other animals may eat the bigger fishes and be harmed by the pollutants.
- Sewage can also cause major problems in rivers. Bacteria in the water will use oxygen to break down the sewage. If there is too much sewage, the bacteria could use up so much oxygen that there won't be enough left for the fish.
- Water pollution from major events like acid rain or oil spills can completely destroy marine habitats.
How we can minimize the water pollution?
- Save water - Fresh and clean water is a precious resource. Don't waste it!
- Don't use weed killer - Ask your parents if you can pull the weeds in the yard so they don't need to use weed killer (an herbicide).
- Scrape your plates clean into the trash
- Don't put grease into the kitchen drain
- Trash - Always pick up your trash, especially when at the beach, lake, or river.
(With thanks from:
https://www.ducksters.com/science/environment/water_pollution.php)