Types of Water Pollution.
Niagara Falls (Credit: Michelle Rosen)
There are countless types of water pollutants. Here are some of the most common.
AGRICULTURAL
Toxic green algae in Copco Reservoir, Northern California, Aurora Photos/Alamy
In the US, 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. It’s also a major contributor of contamination to estuaries and groundwater. Every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and viruses—into our waterways. Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water or air, is the number-one threat to water quality worldwide and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife.
WASTEWATER
Florida: Delray Beach outfall pipe before ending regular use. (Palm Beach County Reef Rescue)
Wastewater is used water. It includes substances such as human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps, chemicals, fertilizers, heavy metals, road salts, debris, fertilizers, pathogens, and toxic sludge. In homes, this includes water from sinks, showers, bathtubs, toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. Wastewater also includes storm runoff. Although some people assume that the rain that runs down the street during a storm is fairly clean, it isn’t. Harmful substances that wash off roads, parking lots, and rooftops can harm our rivers and lakes.
PLASTIC
8.3 billion tonnes of plastic produced since the 1950s – weight of about a billion elephants.
Plastic is a durable material made to last forever, yet 33 percent of it is used once and then discarded. Plastic cannot biodegrade; it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces (Microplastics). Americans alone discard more than 30 million tons of plastic a year; only 8 percent of it gets recycled. The rest ends up in landfills or becomes ‘litter’, and a small portion is incinerated. There are tens of thousands of landfills across the globe. Buried beneath each one of them, plastic leachate full of toxic chemicals is seeping into groundwater and flowing downstream into lakes, rivers and oceans.
OIL
California oil spill. Volunteers help cleanup oil slick along Refugio State Beach in Goleta. Photo: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters
Oil is a potent environmental contaminant; it coats everything it touches, kills plants and animals and destroys ecosystems. Some environmental damage caused by oil spills can last for decades. The effects of oil spills on wildlife can in turn adversely affect humans. For instance, the contamination of local ecosystems can impact communities who rely on that ecosystems to survive, with crops, water and food sources becoming poisonous or disappearing altogether.
COAL
Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.
Coal is always polluting. In fact, it is the most polluting way to produce electricity. When coal is dug up and later burned in power stations, it releases massive amounts of pollution into our air, water and soil, damaging our health and contributing to intensifying climate change. Coal plants across the country emits toxic, carcinogenic substances and heavy metals like selenium, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, thallium, lead, and uranium into our waterways, severely affecting the health of surrounding communities. Coal is responsible for over 800,000 premature deaths per year globally and many millions more serious and minor illnesses.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Newtok, Alaska – Residents began relocating in 2019 due to erosion, melting permafrost and flooding. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Water is the primary medium through which we will feel the effects of climate change. In fact “most of the climate change impacts come down to water,” says Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center at Columbia University. When people talk about climate change affecting agricultural output, sea level rise, wildfires and extreme weather — “they’re all essentially a water story,” says Lall. Higher temperatures and more extreme, less predictable, weather conditions are projected to affect availability and distribution of rainfall, snowmelt, river flows and groundwater, and further deteriorate water quality and amplify contamination.
FRACKING
Fracking Rig in Denton, TX – Ban Fracking Petition (Credit NRDC / Photo: AP)
“Fracking” is short for “hydraulic fracturing” — it’s a process by which water, sand, and chemicals are injected underground at very high pressures to crack open rock layers and release the oil or gas trapped inside. “The health risks from fracking are not limited to what’s in our drinking water -— oil and gas operations are also poisoning the air we breathe,” said senior scientist Miriam Rotkin-Ellman of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
PIPELINES
Green lines: Oil. Red: Natural gas. Blue: Refined petroleum products. (Map: Theodora)
There are more than 2.5 million miles of pipelines across the U.S. and 18,000 places where they cross under rivers, streams and lakes. America’s pipelines suffer hundreds of leaks and ruptures every year, costing lives and money while contaminating our waterways. One of the biggest problems contributing to leaks and ruptures is pretty simple: pipelines are getting older. More than half of the nation’s pipelines are at least 50 years old. As existing lines grow older, critics warn that the risk of accidents on those lines will only increase.
FOREVER CHEMICALS
North Carolina most PFAS contamination, per EWG (Photo Credit: Maureen Chowdhury)
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because once released into the environment they do not break down, and they build up in our blood and organs. Exposure to PFAS increases the risk of cancer, harms the development of the fetus and reduces the effectiveness of vaccines. There is no simple and inexpensive technology for removing PFAS from drinking water effectively. Selecting drinking water treatment options to remove PFAS typically requires a case-by-case evaluation to identify the best option and to design and install a treatment facility.