How water pollution grew throughout the years

Who would have known that even before the height of industrialization, water pollution was already prevalent in our planet? The only difference maybe would be that people before were ignorant enough to not be conscious of their detrimental actions.

In the 1800s, for example, when industrialization was still in its infancy, harmful chemicals such as mercury and lead were already being dumped into bodies of water. As a result, of course, several people encountered several health risks as some unknowingly ingested these hazardous wastes. But of course, that did not stop the human race from its amusement when it comes to technology; they cared little about the environment and went on with the on-going economic development.

From there, water pollution has developed significantly. After the second world war, other human wastes such as fertilizers and chemicals from factories were freely dumped into the rivers, which were of course, supposedly the source of water for the surrounding inhabitants. Not only that, but also the aquatic species that live in those rivers also suffered a great deal of damage.

Eventually, water pollution became a global problem that was hard to solve. Cleaning up polluted bodies of water require massive amounts of effort that may even involve a whole community; but of course, that is not usually the case. Although political efforts are being exerted by officials from different countries, water pollution remains to be a major issue as many people have become indifferent about it.

Even children know how to dump garbage into rivers.

Even in our own country, the Philippines, the whole Pasig river, which used to be a haven for fishermen and for those who wanted to experience clean running water, is now so pitch black that nothing could anymore been seen beyond the waters.

As of now, the issue of water pollution is one of the factors that make our future a bleak one. Hopefully, in the near future, people would be united in relieving this particular problem that has already taken several lives.

There is still hope, and you can be part of it.

Water pollution casualties

As the pollution levels in our bodies of water continue to increase overtime due to negligence and indifference, several casualties also continue to occur and harm innocent lives, especially that of wildlife.

For instance, it was reported in 2006 (Water Pollution Facts and Statistics) that about 472,653 cubic meters of untreated sewage was being thrown into the sea on a daily basis along the coast of the Colombian Carribean. This form of water pollution not only makes the seawater dark and dirty, but it also endangers the marine species that inhabit it. This would also mean that those who will be consuming these marine species will face health risks as well.

On a more recent note, there was also a casualty at China's Yellow River. A pipeline incident caused a massive amount of two tributaries to be dumped in the river. The pollutant was estimated to be 40,000 gallons (150,000 L) of diesel from China National Petroleum Corporation.

Lastly, there's the ExxonMobil Fouls Montana oil spill. This caused 1,000 barrels of crude oil to be spilled into Yellowstone River due to a pipeline eruption. Up to now, the pipeline still hasn't been repaired although the company is still trying to clean up the oil in the waters.

Sadly, though, these are only few of the many circumstances of water pollution that have occurred ever since the outbreak of industrialization. Progress is actually a good thing for the global economy and welfare, although unfortunately, some would go as far as considering pollution as a price of progress just for them to reach their own ambitions.

In the end, however, everything that they have done will eventually go back to them in the long-run.

Fun facts on water pollution... or should we say, horrid facts?

Water pollution has already been around since a long time ago. It is one of the major types of pollution in the whole world, and also a common cause of disease especially those who live near bodies of water.

For the uninformed few, you may be bewildered at the point and intention of this blog page, so let's go back to the basics. What is water pollution?

I guess you won't be wanting to drink from that, huh.

Water pollution is, of course, a kind of pollution which occurs whenever large amounts of chemicals or other materials (especially garbage) are dumped in bodies of water. This, of course, poses a big threat when covering a source of drinking water, specifically rivers and lakes. On the other hand, pollution in saltwater such as the oceans and the seas are equally hazardous to human life as most of our seafood are obtained there.

There are two classifications of water pollution sources. The first is the point sources, wherein the polluting substances directly go into the water stream. An example of this would be a sewage pipe.

You may probably have an idea what that would smell like.

The second classification is the non-point sources, wherein run-off pollutants like fertilizers are disposed in the bodies of water.

Now, let's have some statistical data! These were taken from the UN Water Statistics. Did you know...

• ...that the Earth contains about 1.4 billion km³ of water
• ...that out of that 1.4 billion km³, only 35 million km³ consists of freshwater? That's only 2.5% of the total volume.
• ...that around 70% of of that 35 million km³ are situated at the Antarctic and Arctic regions
• ...that around 30%, on the other hand, is stored underground.

 

• ...that two million tons of human waste are disposed in water everyday?
• ...that 70% of industrial waste in developing countries are dumped into waters?
• ...that 54% of the water pollution in the world are produced by low income countries, while 40% are produced by the high income ones?
• ...that over 665,000 people died in 2,557 natural disasters between the years 1991 and 2000? 90% of these disasters were water-related.

Water pollution is one of the global problems that are detrimental to human health if left unattended. It is not too late yet; we should all play our roles in lessening it for us to be able to provide a safe and habitable environment for future generations.