`color{green}("(𝐢) 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬 :")` These are the disease causing agents that include bacteria and other organisms that enter water from domestic sewage and animal excreta. Human excreta contain bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis which cause gastrointestinal diseases.
`color{green}("(𝐢𝐢) 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬:")`
★ Organic matter such as leaves, grass, trash etc.also pollute water as a consequence of run off.
★ Excessive phytoplankton growth within water is also a cause of water pollution. These wastes are biodegradable.
★ The large population of bacteria decomposes organic matter present in water. They consume oxygen dissolved in water.
★ The amount of oxygen that water can hold in the solution is limited. In cold water, dissolved oxygen (DO) can reach a concentration up to 10 ppm (parts per million), whereas oxygen in air is about 200,000 ppm. That is why even a moderate amount of organic matter when decomposes in water can deplete the water of its dissolved oxygen.
★ The concentration of dissolved oxygen in water is very important for aquatic life . If the concentration of dissolved oxygen of water is below 6 ppm, the growth of fish gets inhibited.
★ Oxygen reaches water either through atmosphere or from the process of photosynthesis carried out by many aquatic green plants during day light. However, during night, photosynthesis stops but the plants continue to respire, resulting in reduction of dissolved oxygen.
★ The dissolved oxygen is also used by microorganisms to oxidise organic matter. If too much of organic matter is added to water, all the available oxygen is used up. This causes oxygen dependent aquatic life to die. Thus, anaerobic bacteria (which do not require oxygen) begin to break down the organic waste and produce chemicals that have a foul smell and are harmful to human health. Aerobic (oxygen requiring) bacteria degrade these organic wastes and keep the water depleted in dissolved oxygen. Thus, the amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water, is called `color{green}("𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐁𝐎𝐃).")`
★ The amount of BOD in the water is a measure of the amount of organic material in the water, in terms of how much oxygen will be required to break it down biologically. Clean water would have BOD value of less than 5 ppm whereas highly polluted water could have a BOD value of 17 ppm or more.
`color{green}("(𝐢𝐢𝐢) 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬:")`
As we know that water is an excellent solvent, water soluble inorganic chemicals that include heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, nickel etc constitute an important class of pollutants. All these metals are dangerous to humans because our body cannot excrete them.
★ These metals then can damage kidneys, central nervous system, liver etc. Acids (like sulphuric acid) from mine drainage and salts from many different sources including raw salt used to melt snow and ice in the colder climates (sodium and calcium chloride) are water soluble chemical pollutants.
★ The organic chemicals are another group of substances that are found in polluted water. Petroleum products pollute many sources of water e.g., major oil spills in oceans. Other organic substances with serious impacts are the pesticides that drift down from sprays or runoff from lands.
★ Various industrial chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs) which are used as cleansing solvent, detergents and fertilizers add to the list of water pollutants. PCBs are suspected to be carcinogenic. Nowadays most of the detergents available are biodegradable. However, their use can create other problems. The bacteria responsible for degrading biodegradable detergent feed on it and grow rapidly. While growing, they may use up all the oxygen dissolved in water. The lack of oxygen kills all other forms of aquatic life such as fish and plants.
★ Fertilizers contain phosphates as additives. The addition of phosphates in water enhances algae growth. Such profuse growth of algae, covers the water surface and reduces the oxygen concentration in water. This leads to anaerobic conditions, commonly with accumulation of abnoxious decay and animal death. Thus, bloom-infested water inhibits the growth of other living organisms in the water body. This process in which nutrient enriched water bodies support a dense plant population, which kills animal life by depriving it of oxygen and results in subsequent loss of biodiversity is known as `color{green}("𝐄𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.")`
`color{green}("(𝐢) 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐬 :")` These are the disease causing agents that include bacteria and other organisms that enter water from domestic sewage and animal excreta. Human excreta contain bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis which cause gastrointestinal diseases.
`color{green}("(𝐢𝐢) 𝐎𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬:")`
★ Organic matter such as leaves, grass, trash etc.also pollute water as a consequence of run off.
★ Excessive phytoplankton growth within water is also a cause of water pollution. These wastes are biodegradable.
★ The large population of bacteria decomposes organic matter present in water. They consume oxygen dissolved in water.
★ The amount of oxygen that water can hold in the solution is limited. In cold water, dissolved oxygen (DO) can reach a concentration up to 10 ppm (parts per million), whereas oxygen in air is about 200,000 ppm. That is why even a moderate amount of organic matter when decomposes in water can deplete the water of its dissolved oxygen.
★ The concentration of dissolved oxygen in water is very important for aquatic life . If the concentration of dissolved oxygen of water is below 6 ppm, the growth of fish gets inhibited.
★ Oxygen reaches water either through atmosphere or from the process of photosynthesis carried out by many aquatic green plants during day light. However, during night, photosynthesis stops but the plants continue to respire, resulting in reduction of dissolved oxygen.
★ The dissolved oxygen is also used by microorganisms to oxidise organic matter. If too much of organic matter is added to water, all the available oxygen is used up. This causes oxygen dependent aquatic life to die. Thus, anaerobic bacteria (which do not require oxygen) begin to break down the organic waste and produce chemicals that have a foul smell and are harmful to human health. Aerobic (oxygen requiring) bacteria degrade these organic wastes and keep the water depleted in dissolved oxygen. Thus, the amount of oxygen required by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of a sample of water, is called `color{green}("𝐁𝐢𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐱𝐲𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 (𝐁𝐎𝐃).")`
★ The amount of BOD in the water is a measure of the amount of organic material in the water, in terms of how much oxygen will be required to break it down biologically. Clean water would have BOD value of less than 5 ppm whereas highly polluted water could have a BOD value of 17 ppm or more.
`color{green}("(𝐢𝐢𝐢) 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬:")`
As we know that water is an excellent solvent, water soluble inorganic chemicals that include heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, nickel etc constitute an important class of pollutants. All these metals are dangerous to humans because our body cannot excrete them.
★ These metals then can damage kidneys, central nervous system, liver etc. Acids (like sulphuric acid) from mine drainage and salts from many different sources including raw salt used to melt snow and ice in the colder climates (sodium and calcium chloride) are water soluble chemical pollutants.
★ The organic chemicals are another group of substances that are found in polluted water. Petroleum products pollute many sources of water e.g., major oil spills in oceans. Other organic substances with serious impacts are the pesticides that drift down from sprays or runoff from lands.
★ Various industrial chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls, (PCBs) which are used as cleansing solvent, detergents and fertilizers add to the list of water pollutants. PCBs are suspected to be carcinogenic. Nowadays most of the detergents available are biodegradable. However, their use can create other problems. The bacteria responsible for degrading biodegradable detergent feed on it and grow rapidly. While growing, they may use up all the oxygen dissolved in water. The lack of oxygen kills all other forms of aquatic life such as fish and plants.
★ Fertilizers contain phosphates as additives. The addition of phosphates in water enhances algae growth. Such profuse growth of algae, covers the water surface and reduces the oxygen concentration in water. This leads to anaerobic conditions, commonly with accumulation of abnoxious decay and animal death. Thus, bloom-infested water inhibits the growth of other living organisms in the water body. This process in which nutrient enriched water bodies support a dense plant population, which kills animal life by depriving it of oxygen and results in subsequent loss of biodiversity is known as `color{green}("𝐄𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.")`
