Sources Of Water Pollution And Environmental Impacts

Sources of Water Pollution and Environmental Impacts For both countries there are various sources where pollutants found in water are derived. There are two types of water pollution, known as point source and nonpoint source. As defined by Chiras and Reganold, in Natural Resource Conservation: Management for a Sustainable Future, point source has an identifiable source, for example a sewage treatment plant or a factory, which contaminates either surface water or groundwater (283). Nonpoint source water pollution is defined as not from a specific source, for example farmland, streets, and lawns where chemicals are released into surface water and groundwater supplies (283,285). Chiras and Reganold also explain that there are 7 chemical†¦show more content†¦From research presented in 2000, â€Å"It [was] estimated that agricultural sources such as crop and livestock runoff account for 59 percent of the reported water quality problems in the United States† (Moore, Parker and Weaver). There are various ways agriculture runoff pollutes water. As a non-point source, the majority of water pollution caused by agriculture is due to sediment. Farmlands near a surface water-source, such as lakes or rivers, are polluted due to the soil. As explained on the EPA website, soil enters the bodies of water where the particles cloud the water; the soil that enters the sources cause a hazardous chain reaction. Plants in the water dependent on the sun do not receive sufficient sunlight, and are unable to grow properly. Consequently, organisms that feed off the plants do not receive sufficient nutrients; the insufficient amount of nutrients obtained moves up the food ladder; those organisms have to consume more to obtain their required amounts of nutrients. Additionally, because of the cloudy water, caused by the soil, the gills of fish are blocked, and bottom dwellers are covered with sediment; this leads to the death of those and other organisms in the water-source that were dependent on the fish and bottom dwellers; there is also a reduction of oxygen. Through sediment other elements also pollute the water. Both surface and ground water experiences pollution; ground water is polluted because the elements seep into the earth. The EPA