Water PollutionContamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans is called Water Pollution. This occurs when contaminants are introduced into water bodies. Degradation of aquatic ecosystems occurs when untreated wastewater is introduced into water bodies.
This polluted water from waterbodies is used for drinking, bathing and irrigation. This not only affects us but also the organisms living in and drinking from polluted rivers. Water pollution is indicated by the presense of the Coliform bacteria.
Contaminants include organic and non-organic substances. Organic water pollutants include Detergents, Food processing waste, Insecticides and herbicides, gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuels, and fuel oil, Lubricants. Inorganic water pollutants include Acidity, Ammonia , Chemical waste, Heavy metals from motor vehicles.The Ganga, known as the lifeline of North India because it provides water to 40% of the population in India, is the one of the most Polluted rivers. This river is mainly polluted because Human waste, Industrial waste and religious traditions. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi launched the Ganga Action Plan on June 1985.
Its main objective was to intercept, divert and treat domestic sewage to improve the quality of water. It also aimed to prevent toxic and industrial chemical wastes from entering the river. The states covered in Ganga Action Plan 1 includes Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. National River Conservation Plan (NRCPaims at preventing the pollution of rivers. Soon Ganga Action Plan 2 was merged with National River Conservation Plan. NRCP now covers 38 rivers in 178 towns in India. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana are the states covered in Ganga Action Plan 2.
Out of the 215 schemes of pollution abatement sanctioned, 69 has been completed.The banks of Pampa River, the Third longest river in Kerala, situates the Sabarimala Temple. This river is polluted by pilgrims. Studies conducted show that the coliform bacteria count was 3,00,000/ 100 ml whereas the maximum permissible limit of coliform count is 500/ 100ml. To abate the pollution of Pampa river, The Pampa Action PLan was introduced in MAy, 2003. The project includes sewerage system & sewage treatment plants, bathing ghats, community toilets, public participation.There are many sources of water pollution.
Most of the Rivers and lakes in India are polluted. The largest source of water pollution is untreated sewage. India lacks sufficient treatment capacity and the built sewage treatment plants do not operate and are not properly maintained. Many people also defecate in the open due to the lack of toilets. The Swachh Bharat Mission has built lakhs of toilets.
Another source is Chemical Fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers in order to increase their yield spray fertilizers and pesticides. This not only harms nitrogen-fixing bacteria, but also the water bodies to which these chemicals flow into. This make the water body polluted and harms aquatic organisms. This can be reduced by practising organic farming. You can conserve water by using many methods. One such method is rainwater harvesting.
In rainwater harvesting, water is collected from rooftops and then redirected to deep pits. In Tamil Nadu, rainwater harvesting is compulsory for every building. As a result, Chennai has had a 50% rise in the water level. Another method of Water Conservation is Drip Irrigation.
Leaky taps waste thousands of litres of water. If we fix them, we can not only conserve water but also save money. If we conserve water, we can reduce water pollution.
