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Water Pollution and How it Harms the Environment

Global pollution is a problem. Pollution can spread to remote areas where no one lives, despite the fact that urban areas are typically more polluted than the countryside. Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution are the three main categories of pollution. Some contaminated water has a terrible smell, a muddy appearance, and floating trash. Some contaminated water appears clean, but it contains dangerous substances that you can't see or smell.

Together, developed and developing nations must fight to conserve the environment for present and future generations. Today, we dig deep into the subject of Water Pollution. This article can be an introduction to water pollution for kids as we will read many things such as the causes of water pollution further in the article.

What is Water Pollution?

Water contamination occurs when pollutants pollute water sources and make the water unfit for use in drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other activities. Chemicals, garbage, bacteria, and parasites are examples of pollutants. Water is eventually damaged by all types of pollution. Lakes and oceans become contaminated by air pollution. Land contamination may contaminate an underground stream, a river, and ultimately the ocean. As a result, trash thrown on an empty lot can eventually contaminate a water source.

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Water Pollution

The water cycle, called  the hydrological cycle, involves the following steps:

Evaporation- Because of the sun's heat, the water bodies such as oceans, lakes, seas etc., get heated up, and water evaporates in the air, forming water vapours.

Transpiration- Like evaporation, the plants and trees also lose water from them which goes to the atmosphere. This process is called transpiration.

Condensation- As the water evaporates, it starts to become cool because of the cold atmosphere in the air and because of this cooling down of water leads to the formation of clouds.

Precipitation- Because of the high movements of the wings, the clouds start to collide and then fall back to the earth’s surface in the form of rain. Sometimes they also fall back in the form of snow, hail, sleet etc., depending upon the temperature.

Runoff or Infiltration- After precipitation, the water either flows to the water bodies called runoff or is absorbed into the soil, called infiltration.

Causes of Water Pollution

There are many reasons for water pollution. Some of the reasons are directly affected by water pollution and some indirectly. Many factories and industries are dumping contaminated water, chemicals, and heavy metals into major waterways as a result of direct water pollution. 

One more reason for water pollution is the use of modern techniques in farms. Farmers apply nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium in the form of chemical fertilizers, manure, and sludge. It causes farms to discharge large quantities of agrochemicals, organic matter, and saline drainage into water bodies. It indirectly affects water pollution.

Pollutants can be of various types such as organic, inorganic, radioactive etc. Water pollutants are discharged either from one point from pipes, channels etc., which are called point sources or from various other sources. They can be agricultural areas, industries etc., called dispersed sources. 

Some of the major forms of water pollutants are as follows:

Sewage- Domestic sewage from homes contains various forms of pathogens that threaten the human body. Sewage treatment reduces the risk of pathogens, but this risk is not eliminated. 

Domestic sewage majorly contains nitrates and phosphates, and excess of these substances allows the algae to grow on the surface of water bodies. Due to this, the clean water bodies become nutrient-rich water body and then slowly, the oxygen level of water bodies reduces. This is called eutrophication or cultural eutrophication (if this step rapidly takes place by the activities of humans). This leads to the early death of water bodies.

Toxins- The industrial or factory wastes that are not disposed of properly and contain chemicals such as mercury and lead are disposed of in the water bodies making the bodies toxic, radioactive, explosive and cancerous.

Sediments- Sediments are the result of soil erosion that is formed in the water bodies. These sediments imbalances the water bodies ecologically. They also interfere in the reproductive cycle of various aquatic animals living in the water.

Thermal pollution- Water bodies get polluted because of heat, and excess heat reduces the oxygen level of the water bodies. Some of the species of fish cannot live in such water bodies with very low oxygen levels. The disposal of cold waters from the power plants leads to increased thermal pollution in the water bodies.

Petroleum oil pollution- The runoff of oil into the water bodies, either accidentally as happened in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, or intentionally, leads to an increase in water pollution.

As water is an important element of human health, polluted water directly affects the human body. Water pollution causes various diseases like typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, cancer, etc. Water pollution damages the plants and aquatic animals present in the river by reducing the oxygen content from the water. Polluted water washes the essential nutrients which plants need out of the soil and also leaves large amounts of aluminium in the soil, which can be harmful to plants. 

Wastewater and sewage are a by-product of daily life and thus produced by each household through various activities like using soap, toilets, and detergents. Such sewage contains chemicals and bacteria which are harmful to human life and environmental health. Water pollution also leads to an imbalance in our ecosystem. Lastly, it also affects the food chain as the toxins in the water bodies are consumed by aquatic animals like fish, crabs etc., and then humans consume those animals forming turmoil. 

Sometimes our tradition also becomes a cause for water pollution. Some people throw the statues of deities, flowers, pots, and ashes in rivers.

There are various standards to define water quality standards. Water meant for swimming may not be clean enough for drinking, or water meant for bathing may not be good for cooking. Therefore, there are different water standards for defined:

Stream standards- Standards that define streams, lakes, oceans or seas based on their maximum use.

Effluent standards- Define the specific standards for the level of contaminants or effluents allowed during the final discharge of those into the water bodies.

Drinking water standards- Define the level of contamination allowed in water that will be supplied for drinking or cooking in the domestic areas.

Different countries regulate their water quality standards through different acts and amendments.

While many of the solutions for water pollution need to be applied on a broader macro-level for that individual, companies, and communities can have a significant and responsible impact on the water quality. Companies, factories have to dispose of leftover chemicals and containers properly as per the product instructions. Farmers also have to reduce the use of nitrates and phosphates from fertilizers, pesticides, and contamination of groundwater. 

The Swachh Bharat Mission of the government had led to reduced groundwater contamination. Under the Namami Ganga program, the government has initiated several major projects to clean Ganga. Along with all these steps, conservation of water is the very basic and important step towards water conservation and should be followed globally, treatment of sewage before their disposal in the water bodies and using environment-friendly products that do not form toxins when dissolved in water. These are some small steps that have to be taken into consideration by every human being.

As we all know, “Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” We have to save water. We must keep the water clean. If everyone will follow their responsibility against water to protect it from getting polluted then it will be easy to get clean and healthy drinking water. Clean water is a must for us and our kids' present, future, and healthy environment. 

We cannot just live with contaminated waters filled with toxins and no oxygen. We cannot see our wildlife being destroyed and therefore, immediate steps have to be taken by groups of people to first clean the already contaminated water bodies and then keep a check on all the surrounding water bodies. Small steps by every individual can make a huge difference in controlling water pollution.

Water Pollution Prevention

Conserve Water 

Our first priority should be to conserve water. Water wasting could be a big problem for the entire world, but we are just now becoming aware of it.

Sewage Treatment 

Cleaning up waste materials before disposing of them in waterways reduces pollution on a large scale. By lowering its dangerous elements, this wastewater will be used in other sectors or in agriculture.

Usage of Eco-Friendly Materials

We will reduce the amount of pollution produced by choosing soluble products that do not alter to become pollutants.

Water contamination is the discharge of pollutants into the water body, where they dissolve, are suspended, are deposited on the bottom, and collect to the point where they hinder the aquatic ecosystem's ability to function. Water contamination is brought on by toxic compounds that easily dissolve and combine with it and come from factories, municipalities, and farms.

Healthy ecosystems depend on a complex network of organisms, including animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi, all of which interact with one another either directly or indirectly. In this article, we read about water pollution, its causes and prevention. With this, we have come to the end of our article, in case of any other doubts, feel free to ask in the comments.

FAQs on Water Pollution Essay

1. What are the effects of water pollution?

Water pollution has a great impact on human health. Water pollution kills. It's been recorded that in 2015 nearly 1.8 million people died because of water pollution. People with low income are exposed to contaminated water coming out from the industries. Presence of disease causing pathogens in drinking water are the major cause of illness which includes cholera, giardia, and typhoid. Water pollution not only affects human health but also our environment by causing algal bloom in a lake or marine environment. Water pollution also causes eutrophication which suffocates plants and animals and thus causes dead zones. Chemicals and heavy metals from industrial and municipal wastewater contaminate waterways and harm aquatic life.

2. What are the causes of Water pollution?

Water being a universal solvent is vulnerable to pollution as it dissolves more substances than any other liquid on earth. Therefore, water is easily polluted. Toxic substances from farms, towns, and factories readily dissolve into water and mix with it, resulting in water pollution. Agricultural pollution is one of the major causes of contamination in rivers and streams. The use of excessive fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock operations lets the rain wash the nutrients and pathogens—such as bacteria and viruses—into our waterways. The other major cause of water pollution is used water,  termed as wastewater which comes from our sinks, showers, toilets and from commercial, industrial, and agricultural activities. It's been reported that the world's 80% wastewater flows back into the environment without being treated or reused. Oil spills and radioactive waste also cause water pollution to a great extent.

3. How to prevent water pollution?

It is important to keep our water bodies clean so we can take the following preventive measures to prevent from water pollution:

Chemicals like bleach, paint, paint thinner, ammonia, and many chemicals are becoming a serious problem. Dumping toxic chemicals down the drain or flushing them down the toilet can cause water pollution. Thus, proper disposal is important. Also, household chemicals need to be recycled.

Avoid buying products that contain persistent and dangerous chemicals. Buying non-toxic cleaners and biodegradable cleaners and pesticides cut down on water pollution.

Prevent from pouring fats or greasy substances down the drain as it might clog the drain resulting in the dumping of waste into yards or basement which can contaminate the local water bodies.

4. What is the role of medical institutions in polluting the water?

Pharmaceutical pollution affects aquatic life and thus there is a need to take preventive measures. Consumers are responsible for winding up pharmaceutical and personal care products in lakes, rivers, and streams. There's a lot of unused and expired medication that can potentially get into the water if not disposed of properly.

5. What are the major kinds of pollution?

The three main types of pollution are air pollution, water pollution or soil pollution. Some artificial pollution is also there, such as noise pollution. Factors leading to such pollution include:

Air Pollution: Industrial emissions, fires, traffic and transportation, burning of chemical waste, etc.

Water Pollution: No proper sewage disposal, pesticides in farms leaking into water bodies, industrial waste dumped into water bodies, etc.

Soil Pollution:  Oil spills, acid rains, irresponsible disposal of trash, chemical waste, etc.

Noise Pollution: Honking of horns, construction activities, loud parties, etc.

Essay on Water Pollution for Students and Children

500+ words essay on water pollution.

Water is the most important resource for survival on a planet. It is the essence of life on our planet – Earth. Yet if you ever see a river or lake around your city, it would be evident to you that we are facing a very serious problem of Water pollution. Let us educate ourselves about water and water pollution . Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water , seventy-six perfect of your body is made up of water.

Water and Water Cycle

As you already know water is everywhere and all around.  However, we have a fixed amount of water on earth. It just changes its states and goes through a cyclic order, known as the Water Cycle. The water cycle is a natural process that is continuous in nature. It is the pattern in which the water from oceans, seas, lakes, etc gets evaporated and turns to vapor. After which it goes through the process of condensation, and finally precipitation when it falls back to earth as rain or snow.

What is Water Pollution?

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (like oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, aquifers, and groundwater) usually caused due to human activities. Water pollution is any change, minor or major in the physical, chemical or biological properties of water that eventually leads to a detrimental consequence of any living organism . Drinking water, called Potable Water, is considered safe enough for human and animal consumption.

Sources of Water Pollution

• Domestic Waste
• Industrial effluents
• Insecticides and pesticides
• Detergents and Fertilizers

Some of the water pollutions are caused by direct Sources, such as factories, waste management facilities, refineries, etc, that directly releases waste and dangerous by-products into the nearest water source without treating them. Indirect sources include pollutants that infuse in the water bodies via groundwater or soil or via the atmosphere through acidic rain.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Effects of Pollution of Water

The effects of Water Pollution are:

Diseases: In humans, drinking or consuming polluted water in any way has many disastrous effects on our health. It causes typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and various other diseases.

Eradication of Ecosystem: Ecosystem is extremely dynamic and responds to even small changes in the environment. Increasing water pollution can cause an entire ecosystem to collapse if left unchecked.

Eutrophication: Chemicals accumulation and infusion in a water body, encourages the growth of algae. The algae form a layer on top of the pond or lake. Bacteria feed on this algae and this event decreases the amount of oxygen in the water body, severely affecting the aquatic life there

Effects of the food chain: Turmoil in food chain happens when the aquatic animals (fish, prawns, seahorse, etc) consume the toxins and pollutants in the water,  and then the humans consume them.

Prevention of Water Pollution

The best way to prevent large-scale water pollution is to try and reduce its harmful effects. There are numerous small changes we can make to protect ourselves from a future where water is scarce.

Conserve Water: Conserving water should be our first aim. Water wastage is a major problem globally and we are only now waking up to the issue. Simple small changes made domestically will make a huge difference.

Treatment of sewage: Treating waste products before disposing of it in water bodies helps reduce water pollution on a large scale. Agriculture or other industries can reuse this wastewater by reducing its toxic contents.

Use of environment-friendly products: By using soluble products that do not go on to become pollutants, we can reduce the amount of water pollution caused by a household.

Life is ultimately about choices and so is water pollution. We cannot live with sewage-strewn beaches, contaminated rivers , and fish that are poisonous to drink and eat. To avoid these scenarios,  we can work together to keep the environment clean so the water bodies, plants, animals, and people who depend on it remain healthy. We can take individual or teamed action to help reduce water pollution. As an example, by using environmentally friendly detergents, not pouring oil down the drains, reducing the usage of pesticides, and so on. We can take community action too to keep our rivers and seas cleaner. And we can take action as countries and continents to pass laws against water pollution. Working together, we can make water pollution less of a problem—and the world a better place.

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Speech on Water Pollution for Students in English [3 Minutes*]

December 10, 2020 by Sandeep

Speech on Water Pollution: Water is an essential source for all forms of life on earth. The introduction of chemical effluents and pollutants into water bodies, thereby changing their natural properties is known as water pollution. Pollution of the lakes, seas, oceans and groundwater due to human activities have caused disastrous effects on life. Water pollution caused typhoid, cholera, hepatitis and other diseases. We can prevent water pollution by treating sewage and conserving water.

Speech on Water Pollution 500 Words in English

Below we have provided Water Pollution Speech in English, suitable for class 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 students.

A very good morning to everyone present here. A warm welcome to everyone to the forum where I am going to keep my views about a burning topic, i.e. water pollution. Water is one of the natural resources which is essential for living beings on the earth. We, humans, need water not only to be alive on the earth but also for plenty of other purposes.

Human beings use water for cooking, washing, irrigation, fishing, power generation & for many more activities. However, since the last few decades, people are being seen misusing & contaminating the natural resource. We are exploiting the natural resource, water as a result of population growth, urbanization, industrialization & technological advancement. So majorly we can attribute economic growth as one of the factors for water pollution.

The primary sources of water pollution are domestic sewage which has many components which are non-biodegradable like plastics. We flush our untreated & unsegregated domestic waste directly into rivers & oceans, which has resulted in the contamination of water bodies. Industrial waste which contains chemical discharges their waste to nearby water bodies which have resulted in water pollution. The textile, sugar, chemical, plastic, refineries or every other industry releases some of their by-products into the rivers & oceans.

With the use of fertilizers to increase production in agricultural lands, which runs with water to water bodies contaminate them. Excess nitrates present in fertilizers also sips into the groundwater resulting in using them unfit for drinking. Now let me tell you how these affect living beings. Polluted Water can spread epidemic diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid & many more waterborne ailments in humans. Drinking these polluted water has also affected the animals by causing various diseases. Polluted Water also affects vegetation by decreasing the fertility of the soil as they destroy the natural microorganism present in the soil.

It has mostly affected the marine & freshwater organisms, as we are mainly contaminating their living surrounding. Even few species are at the extend of extinction due to pollution. Controlling water pollution has become one of the significant challenges for, as majorly, we have created the issue by human activities. Ensuring proper disposal system & disposing of industrial waste after treatment must be compulsory. Our effort must be not contaminating the water bodies anymore & we must work towards cleaning up of the already contaminated water sources.

Optimised use of fertilizers can be done for the vegetation. The government of India has already taken steps like Cleaning Ganga project. We being the responsible citizen of India also must work towards the cause by doing every possible thing possible. In the end, I would like to suggest one small step which all of us must practise is “Stop using Plastic”. This simple step will make our struggle for the same quite easier.

Short Speech on Water Pollution

“Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.” – Albert

With this beautiful quote, I would like to open the session for a discussion on water pollution. I want to keep a few points regarding the topic. Seventy percent of the body of humans comprises of water. So we cannot deny that it is one of the essential components of life on earth. Now the question arises how we have treasured this natural resource we all got as a gift.

We all have this clarity in our mind, I guess. The industrialization, urbanization & technological advancement which has improved our standard of living but has done nothing good for the environment.The flow of untreated household wastes & chemical waste from industries are the primary cause for the contamination of the water bodies. The use of excess fertilizers has also polluted our water systems.

Plastics are one of the major cause as they are non-biodegradable & stays in the food chain. Nature has already alarmed us several times about the consequences of polluting the environment. This is the time we must find alternative & we must restrict ourselves from polluting the water bodies more & more. Polluted Water has already resulted in the extinction of many species which resides in water.

2 Minute speech on Water Pollution

Good morning everyone.

Today I am here to talk about the alarming issue of water pollution. As we all know, water is one of the most essential resources for life on earth. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most polluted resources. Water pollution occurs when hazardous substances such as chemicals, plastic, and untreated sewage enter a water body, making it toxic and unsafe for use.

Water pollution has a negative effect on our health, ecosystem, and environment. It affects the quality of drinking water, damages aquatic life, and reduces the amount of usable water. It also affects our global climate, as polluted water can lead to the production of greenhouse gases. The causes of water pollution are numerous, ranging from agricultural runoff to industrial waste to sewage.

We are all responsible for preventing water pollution, and there are several steps we can take to do so. These include reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agriculture, properly disposing of hazardous waste, and avoiding activities that can lead to water pollution.

In conclusion, it is important for us to recognize the serious consequences of water pollution, and to take steps to prevent it. By working together, we can reduce the amount of water pollution and create a healthier environment for ourselves and for future

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants.

Biology, Ecology, Health, Earth Science, Geography

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Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment . These harmful materials are called pollutants . Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash . They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land. Many things that are useful to people produce pollution. Cars spew pollutants from their exhaust pipes. Burning coal to create electricity pollutes the air. Industries and homes generate garbage and sewage that can pollute the land and water. Pesticides —chemical poisons used to kill weeds and insects— seep into waterways and harm wildlife . All living things—from one-celled microbes to blue whales—depend on Earth ’s supply of air and water. When these resources are polluted, all forms of life are threatened. Pollution is a global problem. Although urban areas are usually more polluted than the countryside, pollution can spread to remote places where no people live. For example, pesticides and other chemicals have been found in the Antarctic ice sheet . In the middle of the northern Pacific Ocean, a huge collection of microscopic plastic particles forms what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch . Air and water currents carry pollution. Ocean currents and migrating fish carry marine pollutants far and wide. Winds can pick up radioactive material accidentally released from a nuclear reactor and scatter it around the world. Smoke from a factory in one country drifts into another country. In the past, visitors to Big Bend National Park in the U.S. state of Texas could see 290 kilometers (180 miles) across the vast landscape . Now, coal-burning power plants in Texas and the neighboring state of Chihuahua, Mexico have spewed so much pollution into the air that visitors to Big Bend can sometimes see only 50 kilometers (30 miles). The three major types of pollution are air pollution , water pollution , and land pollution . Air Pollution Sometimes, air pollution is visible . A person can see dark smoke pour from the exhaust pipes of large trucks or factories, for example. More often, however, air pollution is invisible . Polluted air can be dangerous, even if the pollutants are invisible. It can make people’s eyes burn and make them have difficulty breathing. It can also increase the risk of lung cancer . Sometimes, air pollution kills quickly. In 1984, an accident at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas into the air. At least 8,000 people died within days. Hundreds of thou sands more were permanently injured. Natural disasters can also cause air pollution to increase quickly. When volcanoes erupt , they eject volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere . Volcanic ash can discolor the sky for months. After the eruption of the Indonesian volcano of Krakatoa in 1883, ash darkened the sky around the world. The dimmer sky caused fewer crops to be harvested as far away as Europe and North America. For years, meteorologists tracked what was known as the “equatorial smoke stream .” In fact, this smoke stream was a jet stream , a wind high in Earth’s atmosphere that Krakatoa’s air pollution made visible. Volcanic gases , such as sulfur dioxide , can kill nearby residents and make the soil infertile for years. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano in Italy, famously erupted in 79, killing hundreds of residents of the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Most victims of Vesuvius were not killed by lava or landslides caused by the eruption. They were choked, or asphyxiated , by deadly volcanic gases. In 1986, a toxic cloud developed over Lake Nyos, Cameroon. Lake Nyos sits in the crater of a volcano. Though the volcano did not erupt, it did eject volcanic gases into the lake. The heated gases passed through the water of the lake and collected as a cloud that descended the slopes of the volcano and into nearby valleys . As the toxic cloud moved across the landscape, it killed birds and other organisms in their natural habitat . This air pollution also killed thousands of cattle and as many as 1,700 people. Most air pollution is not natural, however. It comes from burning fossil fuels —coal, oil , and natural gas . When gasoline is burned to power cars and trucks, it produces carbon monoxide , a colorless, odorless gas. The gas is harmful in high concentrations , or amounts. City traffic produces highly concentrated carbon monoxide. Cars and factories produce other common pollutants, including nitrogen oxide , sulfur dioxide, and hydrocarbons . These chemicals react with sunlight to produce smog , a thick fog or haze of air pollution. The smog is so thick in Linfen, China, that people can seldom see the sun. Smog can be brown or grayish blue, depending on which pollutants are in it. Smog makes breathing difficult, especially for children and older adults. Some cities that suffer from extreme smog issue air pollution warnings. The government of Hong Kong, for example, will warn people not to go outside or engage in strenuous physical activity (such as running or swimming) when smog is very thick.

When air pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide mix with moisture, they change into acids . They then fall back to earth as acid rain . Wind often carries acid rain far from the pollution source. Pollutants produced by factories and power plants in Spain can fall as acid rain in Norway. Acid rain can kill all the trees in a forest . It can also devastate lakes, streams, and other waterways. When lakes become acidic, fish can’t survive . In Sweden, acid rain created thousands of “ dead lakes ,” where fish no longer live. Acid rain also wears away marble and other kinds of stone . It has erased the words on gravestones and damaged many historic buildings and monuments . The Taj Mahal , in Agra, India, was once gleaming white. Years of exposure to acid rain has left it pale. Governments have tried to prevent acid rain by limiting the amount of pollutants released into the air. In Europe and North America, they have had some success, but acid rain remains a major problem in the developing world , especially Asia. Greenhouse gases are another source of air pollution. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane occur naturally in the atmosphere. In fact, they are necessary for life on Earth. They absorb sunlight reflected from Earth, preventing it from escaping into space. By trapping heat in the atmosphere, they keep Earth warm enough for people to live. This is called the greenhouse effect . But human activities such as burning fossil fuels and destroying forests have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has increased the greenhouse effect, and average temperatures across the globe are rising. The decade that began in the year 2000 was the warmest on record. This increase in worldwide average temperatures, caused in part by human activity, is called global warming . Global warming is causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt. The melting ice is causing sea levels to rise at a rate of two millimeters (0.09 inches) per year. The rising seas will eventually flood low-lying coastal regions . Entire nations, such as the islands of Maldives, are threatened by this climate change . Global warming also contributes to the phenomenon of ocean acidification . Ocean acidification is the process of ocean waters absorbing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Fewer organisms can survive in warmer, less salty waters. The ocean food web is threatened as plants and animals such as coral fail to adapt to more acidic oceans. Scientists have predicted that global warming will cause an increase in severe storms . It will also cause more droughts in some regions and more flooding in others. The change in average temperatures is already shrinking some habitats, the regions where plants and animals naturally live. Polar bears hunt seals from sea ice in the Arctic. The melting ice is forcing polar bears to travel farther to find food , and their numbers are shrinking. People and governments can respond quickly and effectively to reduce air pollution. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a dangerous form of air pollution that governments worked to reduce in the 1980s and 1990s. CFCs are found in gases that cool refrigerators, in foam products, and in aerosol cans . CFCs damage the ozone layer , a region in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The ozone layer protects Earth by absorbing much of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation . When people are exposed to more ultraviolet radiation, they are more likely to develop skin cancer, eye diseases, and other illnesses. In the 1980s, scientists noticed that the ozone layer over Antarctica was thinning. This is often called the “ ozone hole .” No one lives permanently in Antarctica. But Australia, the home of more than 22 million people, lies at the edge of the hole. In the 1990s, the Australian government began an effort to warn people of the dangers of too much sun. Many countries, including the United States, now severely limit the production of CFCs. Water Pollution Some polluted water looks muddy, smells bad, and has garbage floating in it. Some polluted water looks clean, but is filled with harmful chemicals you can’t see or smell. Polluted water is unsafe for drinking and swimming. Some people who drink polluted water are exposed to hazardous chemicals that may make them sick years later. Others consume bacteria and other tiny aquatic organisms that cause disease. The United Nations estimates that 4,000 children die every day from drinking dirty water. Sometimes, polluted water harms people indirectly. They get sick because the fish that live in polluted water are unsafe to eat. They have too many pollutants in their flesh. There are some natural sources of water pollution. Oil and natural gas, for example, can leak into oceans and lakes from natural underground sources. These sites are called petroleum seeps . The world’s largest petroleum seep is the Coal Oil Point Seep, off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The Coal Oil Point Seep releases so much oil that tar balls wash up on nearby beaches . Tar balls are small, sticky pieces of pollution that eventually decompose in the ocean.

Human activity also contributes to water pollution. Chemicals and oils from factories are sometimes dumped or seep into waterways. These chemicals are called runoff. Chemicals in runoff can create a toxic environment for aquatic life. Runoff can also help create a fertile environment for cyanobacteria , also called blue-green algae . Cyanobacteria reproduce rapidly, creating a harmful algal bloom (HAB) . Harmful algal blooms prevent organisms such as plants and fish from living in the ocean. They are associated with “ dead zones ” in the world’s lakes and rivers, places where little life exists below surface water. Mining and drilling can also contribute to water pollution. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a major contributor to pollution of rivers and streams near coal mines . Acid helps miners remove coal from the surrounding rocks . The acid is washed into streams and rivers, where it reacts with rocks and sand. It releases chemical sulfur from the rocks and sand, creating a river rich in sulfuric acid . Sulfuric acid is toxic to plants, fish, and other aquatic organisms. Sulfuric acid is also toxic to people, making rivers polluted by AMD dangerous sources of water for drinking and hygiene . Oil spills are another source of water pollution. In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing oil to gush from the ocean floor. In the following months, hundreds of millions of gallons of oil spewed into the gulf waters. The spill produced large plumes of oil under the sea and an oil slick on the surface as large as 24,000 square kilometers (9,100 square miles). The oil slick coated wetlands in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi, killing marsh plants and aquatic organisms such as crabs and fish. Birds, such as pelicans , became coated in oil and were unable to fly or access food. More than two million animals died as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Buried chemical waste can also pollute water supplies. For many years, people disposed of chemical wastes carelessly, not realizing its dangers. In the 1970s, people living in the Love Canal area in Niagara Falls, New York, suffered from extremely high rates of cancer and birth defects . It was discovered that a chemical waste dump had poisoned the area’s water. In 1978, 800 families living in Love Canal had to a bandon their homes. If not disposed of properly, radioactive waste from nuclear power plants can escape into the environment. Radioactive waste can harm living things and pollute the water. Sewage that has not been properly treated is a common source of water pollution. Many cities around the world have poor sewage systems and sewage treatment plants. Delhi, the capital of India, is home to more than 21 million people. More than half the sewage and other waste produced in the city are dumped into the Yamuna River. This pollution makes the river dangerous to use as a source of water for drinking or hygiene. It also reduces the river’s fishery , resulting in less food for the local community. A major source of water pollution is fertilizer used in agriculture . Fertilizer is material added to soil to make plants grow larger and faster. Fertilizers usually contain large amounts of the elements nitrogen and phosphorus , which help plants grow. Rainwater washes fertilizer into streams and lakes. There, the nitrogen and phosphorus cause cyanobacteria to form harmful algal blooms. Rain washes other pollutants into streams and lakes. It picks up animal waste from cattle ranches. Cars drip oil onto the street, and rain carries it into storm drains , which lead to waterways such as rivers and seas. Rain sometimes washes chemical pesticides off of plants and into streams. Pesticides can also seep into groundwater , the water beneath the surface of the Earth. Heat can pollute water. Power plants, for example, produce a huge amount of heat. Power plants are often located on rivers so they can use the water as a coolant . Cool water circulates through the plant, absorbing heat. The heated water is then returned to the river. Aquatic creatures are sensitive to changes in temperature. Some fish, for example, can only live in cold water. Warmer river temperatures prevent fish eggs from hatching. Warmer river water also contributes to harmful algal blooms. Another type of water pollution is simple garbage. The Citarum River in Indonesia, for example, has so much garbage floating in it that you cannot see the water. Floating trash makes the river difficult to fish in. Aquatic animals such as fish and turtles mistake trash, such as plastic bags, for food. Plastic bags and twine can kill many ocean creatures. Chemical pollutants in trash can also pollute the water, making it toxic for fish and people who use the river as a source of drinking water. The fish that are caught in a polluted river often have high levels of chemical toxins in their flesh. People absorb these toxins as they eat the fish. Garbage also fouls the ocean. Many plastic bottles and other pieces of trash are thrown overboard from boats. The wind blows trash out to sea. Ocean currents carry plastics and other floating trash to certain places on the globe, where it cannot escape. The largest of these areas, called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean. According to some estimates, this garbage patch is the size of Texas. The trash is a threat to fish and seabirds, which mistake the plastic for food. Many of the plastics are covered with chemical pollutants. Land Pollution Many of the same pollutants that foul the water also harm the land. Mining sometimes leaves the soil contaminated with dangerous chemicals. Pesticides and fertilizers from agricultural fields are blown by the wind. They can harm plants, animals, and sometimes people. Some fruits and vegetables absorb the pesticides that help them grow. When people consume the fruits and vegetables, the pesticides enter their bodies. Some pesticides can cause cancer and other diseases. A pesticide called DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) was once commonly used to kill insects, especially mosquitoes. In many parts of the world, mosquitoes carry a disease called malaria , which kills a million people every year. Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize for his understanding of how DDT can control insects and other pests. DDT is responsible for reducing malaria in places such as Taiwan and Sri Lanka. In 1962, American biologist Rachel Carson wrote a book called Silent Spring , which discussed the dangers of DDT. She argued that it could contribute to cancer in humans. She also explained how it was destroying bird eggs, which caused the number of bald eagles, brown pelicans, and ospreys to drop. In 1972, the United States banned the use of DDT. Many other countries also banned it. But DDT didn’t disappear entirely. Today, many governments support the use of DDT because it remains the most effective way to combat malaria. Trash is another form of land pollution. Around the world, paper, cans, glass jars, plastic products, and junked cars and appliances mar the landscape. Litter makes it difficult for plants and other producers in the food web to create nutrients . Animals can die if they mistakenly eat plastic. Garbage often contains dangerous pollutants such as oils, chemicals, and ink. These pollutants can leech into the soil and harm plants, animals, and people. Inefficient garbage collection systems contribute to land pollution. Often, the garbage is picked up and brought to a dump, or landfill . Garbage is buried in landfills. Sometimes, communities produce so much garbage that their landfills are filling up. They are running out of places to dump their trash. A massive landfill near Quezon City, Philippines, was the site of a land pollution tragedy in 2000. Hundreds of people lived on the slopes of the Quezon City landfill. These people made their living from recycling and selling items found in the landfill. However, the landfill was not secure. Heavy rains caused a trash landslide, killing 218 people. Sometimes, landfills are not completely sealed off from the land around them. Pollutants from the landfill leak into the earth in which they are buried. Plants that grow in the earth may be contaminated, and the herbivores that eat the plants also become contaminated. So do the predators that consume the herbivores. This process, where a chemical builds up in each level of the food web, is called bioaccumulation . Pollutants leaked from landfills also leak into local groundwater supplies. There, the aquatic food web (from microscopic algae to fish to predators such as sharks or eagles) can suffer from bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals. Some communities do not have adequate garbage collection systems, and trash lines the side of roads. In other places, garbage washes up on beaches. Kamilo Beach, in the U.S. state of Hawai'i, is littered with plastic bags and bottles carried in by the tide . The trash is dangerous to ocean life and reduces economic activity in the area. Tourism is Hawai'i’s largest industry . Polluted beaches discourage tourists from investing in the area’s hotels, restaurants, and recreational activities. Some cities incinerate , or burn, their garbage. Incinerating trash gets rid of it, but it can release dangerous heavy metals and chemicals into the air. So while trash incinerators can help with the problem of land pollution, they sometimes add to the problem of air pollution. Reducing Pollution Around the world, people and governments are making efforts to combat pollution. Recycling, for instance, is becoming more common. In recycling, trash is processed so its useful materials can be used again. Glass, aluminum cans, and many types of plastic can be melted and reused . Paper can be broken down and turned into new paper. Recycling reduces the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills, incinerators, and waterways. Austria and Switzerland have the highest recycling rates. These nations recycle between 50 and 60 percent of their garbage. The United States recycles about 30 percent of its garbage. Governments can combat pollution by passing laws that limit the amount and types of chemicals factories and agribusinesses are allowed to use. The smoke from coal-burning power plants can be filtered. People and businesses that illegally dump pollutants into the land, water, and air can be fined for millions of dollars. Some government programs, such as the Superfund program in the United States, can force polluters to clean up the sites they polluted. International agreements can also reduce pollution. The Kyoto Protocol , a United Nations agreement to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, has been signed by 191 countries. The United States, the world’s second-largest producer of greenhouse gases, did not sign the agreement. Other countries, such as China, the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gases, have not met their goals. Still, many gains have been made. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River, in the U.S. state of Ohio, was so clogged with oil and trash that it caught on fire. The fire helped spur the Clean Water Act of 1972. This law limited what pollutants could be released into water and set standards for how clean water should be. Today, the Cuyahoga River is much cleaner. Fish have returned to regions of the river where they once could not survive. But even as some rivers are becoming cleaner, others are becoming more polluted. As countries around the world become wealthier, some forms of pollution increase. Countries with growing economies usually need more power plants, which produce more pollutants. Reducing pollution requires environmental, political, and economic leadership. Developed nations must work to reduce and recycle their materials, while developing nations must work to strengthen their economies without destroying the environment. Developed and developing countries must work together toward the common goal of protecting the environment for future use.

How Long Does It Last? Different materials decompose at different rates. How long does it take for these common types of trash to break down?

• Paper: 2-4 weeks
• Orange peel: 6 months
• Milk carton: 5 years
• Plastic bag: 15 years
• Tin can: 100 years
• Plastic bottle: 450 years
• Glass bottle: 500 years
• Styrofoam: Never

Indoor Air Pollution The air inside your house can be polluted. Air and carpet cleaners, insect sprays, and cigarettes are all sources of indoor air pollution.

Light Pollution Light pollution is the excess amount of light in the night sky. Light pollution, also called photopollution, is almost always found in urban areas. Light pollution can disrupt ecosystems by confusing the distinction between night and day. Nocturnal animals, those that are active at night, may venture out during the day, while diurnal animals, which are active during daylight hours, may remain active well into the night. Feeding and sleep patterns may be confused. Light pollution also indicates an excess use of energy. The dark-sky movement is a campaign by people to reduce light pollution. This would reduce energy use, allow ecosystems to function more normally, and allow scientists and stargazers to observe the atmosphere.

Noise Pollution Noise pollution is the constant presence of loud, disruptive noises in an area. Usually, noise pollution is caused by construction or nearby transportation facilities, such as airports. Noise pollution is unpleasant, and can be dangerous. Some songbirds, such as robins, are unable to communicate or find food in the presence of heavy noise pollution. The sound waves produced by some noise pollutants can disrupt the sonar used by marine animals to communicate or locate food.

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10 Hands-On Science Projects to Teach About Pollution

And then there is plastic pollution. According to an article by  National Geographic, some 18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions. The problem is, this plastic destroys local habitats and is known to be a contributing factor to animal mortality.  Clearly, something drastic needs to be done about the surge of pollution. And these are just a few examples.

Education is certainly part of improving the situation. Teachers can educate their students so they can make a difference – whether it be in their own personal lives, or as the environmental scientists and inventors in the future.

To spark the inner environmentalist in students, we’ve compiled a list of the best hands-on science projects that teach kids about pollution. We have also suggested what grades each activity is suitable for. However, these are just a guide, so feel free to use your discretion and adapt each activity to the grade you are teaching.

1. Oil Spill Simulation

Oil spills are devastating for the environment, and cost millions of dollars to clean up. Videos and images of oil spill disasters can be an effective teaching tool since they can be so emotional. Although caution is advised when showing pictures of affected animals!

Nevertheless, a hands-on oil spill simulation will help your students to understand why oil spills affect the environment so badly and how difficult they are to clean up. You can find specific instructions for this activity here . In a nutshell, the activity requires students to simulate an oil spill in a tray of water, examine the potential effects on wildlife, and suggest clean-up methods using household items.

Suitable for: 3 – 6

2. Real-World Testing of Biodegradability

If objects and materials were more biodegradable, this would help with pollution since the discarded objects would break down more quickly. Some of the materials we use, however, never break down, and they end up clogging up our waterways and littering our soil. In this activity, students will conduct an experiment that establishes what materials really are biodegradable.

You can find instructions  here . It essentially involves burying a range of objects (an apple core, leaves, plastic packaging, and Styrofoam) underneath the ground and leaving them there for a month. Students then return to the burial site and dig down to see what has broken down and what has not. The activity also comes with some excellent discussion questions. 

Suitable for: K – 6

For more ideas, see  Activity # 14 Renewable or Not? in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

3. “Happy Earth, Sad Earth” Sorting Game

This activity is a very simple sorting exercise for younger children. It involves putting pictures of things that are beneficial for the Earth, and those that are not, into the appropriate category. The activity could be conducted in groups, or as a class.

For this activity, you will need to print out and laminate (optional) the cards and objects found here (courtesy of www.totschooling.net ). How you encourage your students to sort the objects is entirely up to you, but displaying them on a big piece of cardboard that can be put up on the wall when finished is ideal! 

Suitable for: K – 2

For more ideas, see  Activity # 24 Nature’s Recyclers  in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

4. Modeling Pollution Uptake by Plants Using Celery

Pollution can also end up in food chains, including our own, which can have a negative on health and wellbeing. This activity is a great way to kick off a discussion about pollution and food chains. It involves creating a simple model that demonstrates how pollution can be drawn up into plants.

To do this activity, place a piece of celery in a jar or beaker of diluted food dye. Over time, the food dye moves up the celery, and there it remains. The food dye represents pollution, and the celery could represent any number of plants that are used for food. You can find specific instructions for this activity here .

Suitable for: K – 3 (NOTE – A knife is needed to cut the celery, so just be aware of that. Probably best if adults did that part).

For more ideas, see  Activity # 27 Every Tree for Itself  in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

5. Polluted Display Jars

This activity enables students to “see” pollution in the classroom — a great teaching or memory aid when discussing the topic. And it’s super easy too! In summary, students collect samples of air and water (even snow), put them in clear glass or plastic jars, and then manually “pollute” them.  

You can find some instructions and ideas here . But here are some quick suggestions regarding what could be added to your jars to pollute them: For your jar of air, you could drop a lit match into the jar, and quickly put the lid on, so that the smoke is caught in the jar. That will certainly give that nice clean air a brown/grey tinge! (Only adults should handle the matches.) For the jar of water, dirt and bits of plastic will suffice. Remember to have jars of clean water, air, and snow so students can compare the clean ones with the polluted ones. 

Suitable for: K – 5

For more ideas, see  Activity # 28 Air Plants  and Activity # 36 Pollution Search   in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

6. Sea Turtle Fate Game

From the moment they are born, various species of sea turtles have a tough time making it through to adulthood.  Although sea turtles die of natural causes or as the result of predator attacks, they also die as a result of human activity and pollution. This game allows students to explore the effects of humans on sea turtles, and the true scope of the problem.

You can find a detailed explanatory video here . The activity involves drawing plastic eggs out of a bowl of sand, with each plastic egg having a “fate” message inside. The message describes whether the figurative sea turtle in that egg survived or not, and if it didn’t survive, why not. Students then sort each ill-fated turtle egg into categories related to whether its death was as a result of man-made or natural causes.

Suitable for: Grades 2 – 5 (it could be used with younger students, depending on the make-up of your class. The themes may be a little too deep for some).

7. Watering Plants with “Acid Rain”

Acid rain is a significant threat to the environment and is caused by pollutants in the atmosphere mixing with rain as it falls. The topic of acid rain is something students may learn about in both science and geography. This activity allows students to create their own “acid rain” and to asses its effects. 

You can find detailed instructions here . In this experiment, students water three separate plants with either water, a little bit of acid, and a lot of acid. Use either vinegar or lemon juice as the acid. After leaving the plants in the sun to grow for a few days, watering them as they go, students will assess the effects of the acid on the plants. (You will need to be prepared to lose two plants. All for the sake of science of course!)

Suitable for: Grades 5 – 8 (depending on how in depth you go with the theory).

NOTE – You may like to have the children wear lab glasses when handling the lemon juice or vinegar. This can help avoid some stinging eyes, and of course, will make them feel like real little scientists!

8. Water Pollution Detection Experiment

This activity gives students an opportunity to get up close and personal with water “pollution” and explores some of the simple ways we can tell if pollution is present. This activity is excellent because it engages many senses.

The activity involves giving each student/group in your class a cup of clean water. You will then go around the class, adding a few drops of food coloring to each cup of water. The kids then stir the solution, making note of the fact that they can see the “pollution.” The same process is repeated, this time adding vinegar to the fresh water. This illustrates how sometimes we can smell “pollution”. The third time around, add salt and the students’ mix. This highlights that not all pollutants can be seen or smelled (once the salt has dissolved).

You can find detailed instructions for this “Playing Hide and Seek…with Pollution” activity here . There are also some additional questions, activities and suggested teaching strategies.

Suitable for: Grades 2 – 5 

For more ideas, see  Activity # 44 Water Wonders  in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

9. Climate Change Sensory Play

In lessons about pollution, teachers often discuss how it contributes to climate change, and this is a great activity to explore this concept using their sense of touch.  You can find instructions here .

Essentially the activity involves using frozen shaving cream (as snow/glaciers), blocks of ice, beads, and plastic animals to simulate a polar environment. Allow students to spend time playing on their own with everything in the environment. After some time, everything begins to melt. The activity dramatically demonstrates the impact of melting ice caps and glaciers. A discussion of pollution and climate change can follow. Be warned: this activity will require a bit of clean up!

Suitable for: Grades K – 3 

For more ideas, see  Activity # 84 The Global Climate  in PLT’s  PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide .

Are you planning on trying any of these activities? What are some other ways you teach your students about pollution? Let us know in the comments!

Rebecca Reynandez

3 comments on “ 10 hands-on science projects to teach about pollution ”.

Where and how do we download these activities, they look good. I am a facilitator for Wild B.C. and took the online PLT course.

Thank you for sharing! I teach AP Environmental Science to Junior and Senior level students in High School. We just did a lesson on Biomagnification during our pollution unit. I plan to use the celery activity as a demonstration/visual aid to help them SEE Bioaccumulation then review over Biomagnification. Next year I’ll do your celery demo before the activity.

P.S. I have been through the PLT workshop and appreciate your efforts.

Thank you for these. I have a 7year old who is doing a project on energy and pollution. Some great ideas to share with him!

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Students investigate the papermaking process by trying it themselves. Students are thrilled to find that they can make paper and that their product is practical, as well as beautiful. Watch a video of the paper-making process used in this activity.

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Opening Remarks by Ms. Beate Trankmann on the 15th Anniversary of the UNDP-China Water Governance Programme

June 5, 2022.

Ms Beate Trankmann, Resident Representative at UNDP China, delivers opening remarks at an event marking 15 years of the UNDP-China Water Governance Programme

尊敬的 张建弢副总裁 及 ( 卢伦燕首席代表 ) 

As the saying goes: 水是生命之源，万物之基 , water is the source of all things, the foundation of life.

Without it, life on our blue planet would cease to exist. Not only does our individual health rely on safe and sufficient supplies of water, but also our ecosystems, agriculture and industry.

Throughout history, water crises have caused civilizations to collapse - and we may be heading in that direction, too.

The UN General Assembly declared 2018 to 2028 the Water Action Decade , raising the alarm over the increased pressure on global water resources and the heightened risk of droughts and floods.

Due to climate change, overuse and pollution, the availability of freshwater is shrinking . By 2025, 1.8 billion people globally will be affected by water scarcity.

China, which has one fifth of the world’s population but only 6% the world’s freshwater,  has an even more urgent need to build a sustainable water future.

With 80% of China’s water concentrated in the south , water tables in the rapidly developing and arid north are seriously depleted.

The 110 million residents of Beijing, Tianijn and Hebei have an average of just 210 cubic metres of water available annually – far below the 500 cubic metres threshold for water scarcity .

As climate change raises temperatures, water stocks are being squeezed further.

Vital supplies of glacial meltwater are disappearing, rainfall is becoming more unreliable and drier summers more common.

Decades of rapid industrialization has also raised pollution levels, further constraining the availability of safe water.

The importance of water in securing environmental sustainability, poverty reduction and economic growth cannot be understated.

To meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda and in particular SDG 6: Clean Water & Sanitation, it is vital to change how we manage, use and value water .

Today on World Environment Day, it is therefore my pleasure to celebrate 15 years of UNDP’s engagement on the Water Governance Programme – an umbrella initiative that has benefitted tens of millions of people across China , 60% of them women and children.

This strategic partnership with the Ministry of Water Resources, CICETE and supported by Coca Cola China and the World Wild Fund for Nature in China, has evolved and expanded vastly from its initial focus on safe drinking water.

Across nearly 50 projects, in more than 20 provinces and covering 3 river basins we have produced marked improvements in sewage treatment, sustainable agriculture and river basin management, to name but a few.

The ‘Happy Farmhouse Initiative’ for example is currently treating 350,00 tons of water annually in areas lacking sewage pipelines and treatment infrastructure.

It is also helping farmers diversify into eco-tourism, making an important contribution to rural revitalization.

This zero-energy, low-maintenance and nature-based solution could be further scaled-up across China by partnering with local governments, the private sector and communities.

This, along with other lessons learned are being shared with other countries facing similar water challenges.

As well as delivering impact on the ground, we have also impacted local and national level policymaking. Most notably, the State Council’s Document Number One of 2014 now includes stormwater utilization as a best practice.

Today stormwater is no longer seen as just a destructive force, but also a productive resource. It is increasingly captured and recycled, expanding the water available for irrigation and reducing the dependency on limited freshwater supplies.

Achieving water-related goals can also help meet other SDGs. Managing wastewater better can help fight poverty by lowering the financial burden caused by water-borne diseases, while an integrated approach to water resource management can protect and restore ecosystems - key tools in tackling climate change.

To further sustain the development gains achieved thus far, we are working closely with all our partners to embed the aspirations and targets of SDG 6 Clean Water & Sanitation into village development plans and the ongoing rural revitalization campaign, as well as taking local knowledge and applying it for better water management.

In closing, I’d like to thank CICETE, INTCE, Coca-Cola China, WWF China and all our partners and implementing organizations for your support and contributions over the past 15 years.

There is still much more to be done. But with your continued trust and collaboration, I know we can achieve even more in the years ahead.   Together we can build a sustainable future for all - underpinned by safe and quality access to water. Xie Xie!

Opening Remarks by Mr James George at the Symposium on Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Water Management for Localizing the SDGs

Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at the 13th Hong Kong International Finance Forum

Opening Remarks by Mr James George at the International Youth Forum on Green Development at Eco Forum Global Guiyang

Remarks at the Sustainability Forum Hosted by the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing

Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at International Biodiversity Day 2023 Celebration Event

Opening Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at the China-UNDP SDG Pilot Project Village 5 Year Anniversary Plaque Unveiling Ceremony

Opening Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at the Inception Workshop for the Facilitating Cleaner and Energy Efficient Phosphate Chemicals Industry in China Project

Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at First Greater Bay Area Green and Sustainable Finance Summit

Opening Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at COP27 Side Event on Climate actions to Support Cities’ SDG progress

May 24, 2024

Cape Cod Weighs Big-Ticket Pollution Solutions

Toxic algal blooms are forcing Cape Cod communities to consider expensive sewer and septic system projects.

By Rachel Feltman , Barbara Moran , Kathleen Masterson , Madison Goldberg & Jeffery DelViscio

Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/ Scientific American

This story was co-published with WBUR in Boston and produced with assistance from the Pulitzer Center . Read WBUR’s coverage of efforts to improve Cape Cod’s water pollution , including a “ pee-cycling ” project being considered by one innovative town. And check out a documentary short exploring these issues that was co-produced by WBUR and Scientific American.

[CLIP: Theme music]

Rachel Feltman: Cape Cod’s ponds and bays have suffered from decades of pollution. But scientific detective work has finally pinpointed the worst culprit: human urine. When household septic systems flush nitrogen and other nutrients into the water, they provide an all-you-can-eat buffet for algae blooms. More algae means less sunlight and oxygen for other marine life, which means trouble for the people of Cape Cod.

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For Science Quickly , I’m Rachel Feltman. Today we’re bringing you the second installment in our three-part Fascination series on Cape Cod’s yellow tide. In this episode WBUR environmental correspondent Barbara Moran looks at some of the big-ticket pollution solutions up for consideration—and unpacks why they’re so controversial.

So without further ado, here’s part two: “Sticker Shock.”

[CLIP: Gerard Martin speaks at a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) hearing: “All right, excuse me, everybody, I think we’re gonna get going.”]

Barbara Moran: Starting in late 2022 and continuing into the next year, concerned residents gathered for a series of public meetings with representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The residents were there to share their thoughts.

[CLIP: Martin continues to speak at the hearing: “The hearing is being recorded and conducted in a hybrid format.”]

Moran: The state was proposing new rules that would require communities to reduce their nitrogen pollution. In some places that meant people would potentially have to install new $35,000 septic systems. Here’s what Frank King of Brewster, Massachusetts, had to say about that.

[CLIP: Frank King speaks at the MassDEP hearing: “If that is correct, you are looking at a massive protest on the scale of another Boston Tea Party.”]

[CLIP: Chris Shanahan speaks at the MassDEP hearing: “Thirty or thirty-five thousand dollars a year? That’s a complete misrepresentation.”]

Moran: That’s Chris Shanahan of Falmouth, Massachusetts.

[CLIP: Shanahan continues to speak at the hearing: “You can buy a system for that. You gotta maintain it. You gotta fix parts. It just never ends. So lifetime expense is more like eighty or a hundred thousand over 30 years.”]

[CLIP: Joan Hutchings speaks at the MassDEP hearing: “I’m not somebody that has a McMansion. I’ve got a three-bedroom home that’s been in my family for a bazillion years.”]

Moran: Joan Hutchings of North Truro, Massachusetts. She said her town already made her upgrade her septic system.

[CLIP: Hutchings continues to speak at the hearing: “Now the state’s gonna have me do something else? I don’t know, I might put an outhouse out back—seriously.”]

Moran: People are concerned about the cost, as you heard. But they’re also concerned about whether these new systems even work. Can they actually prevent water pollution? I wondered the same thing. So I went to see an expert.

Brian Baumgaertel: My name is Brian Baumgaertel. I’m the director of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center.

Moran: You met Brian briefly in Episode One. Now we’re on his home turf: a two-and-a-half acre outdoor laboratory on Cape Cod known as MASSTC.

Brian’s team is on a mission to find the best septic systems in the world—and it’s not a job for the squeamish.

[CLIP: Sound of wastewater channel]

Moran (tape): All right, so I’m looking into this hole, and there’s, like, water pouring in and some scummy stuff floating around there.

Baumgaertel: Yeah, that’s the raw wastewater coming in from Joint Base Cape Cod. And it doesn’t look like what most people would think of when—you know, when you’re thinking of wastewater, you think it’s pretty disgusting. I—you know, maybe I’ve just gotten so used to it. I don’t know.

Moran (tape): It is a little disgusting. [Laughs]

Baumgaertel: It’s got kind of a smell. You know, it’s one of the less glorious parts of MASSTC, but it’s a necessity. [Laughs] It’s brown gold, brown gold for us.

Moran: MASSTC uses that brown gold to test prototype septic systems from all over the world. I ask Brian to show me one—although it’s hard to see much at the facility.

Baumgaertel: A lot of what we do here is underground because of course, for the most part, septic systems in homes would be underground.

Moran: Brian walks over to a grassy mound that looks weirdly like a burial site—which it is, actually. He says that buried underneath our feet is a new kind of septic system that removes nitrogen from wastewater.

Here’s how it works: Wastewater flows into a tank, and all the solid stuff sinks to the bottom. The liquid left floating on top includes our pee, which is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients. This liquid flows out of the tank …

Baumgaertel: And then flows into the actual unit itself …

Moran (tape): Another tank that’s under our feet.

Baumgaertel: Yep, yep. There’s another tank that’s about 12 feet long right here.

Moran (tape): Okay.

Baumgaertel: And inside that tank are a number of compartments.

Moran: The compartments contain limestone rocks and wood chips. These ingredients create a breeding ground for bacteria that eat nitrogen. They convert it into harmless nitrogen gas before it gets into the groundwater.

Other systems remove nitrogen in different ways. Brian and his team test the water coming out of each system to see how well it works. And he says this one has been working pretty well.

Baumgaertel: So far the data look very encouraging. Every day we get a little bit more data, we get a little bit more confidence that the technology can work.

[CLIP: “We Are Giants,” by Silver Maple ]

Moran: Others are also heartened by the data, including Zenas Crocker, who goes by Zee. He’s executive director of the nonprofit Barnstable Clean Water Coalition.

Zenas Crocker: And this system is so successful that in the data that we’re seeing now, it will remove between 95 and 97 percent of nitrogen going into the groundwater.

Moran: Zee’s group was so impressed with how well these systems remove nitrogen that it launched a pilot project. The group is installing more than a dozen in a neighborhood by Shubael Pond in Barnstable, Massachusetts—including one when I visited last September.

[CLIP: Sound of chains being attached to a tank, followed by it being lifted]

Moran: As we watch, a crane operator uses chains to lift a concrete tank and lower it into a hole in the ground.

[CLIP: Sound of the tank being lowered and men talking]

Moran: Zee’s group is working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor how well the new systems keep nitrogen out of the groundwater.

Crocker: We chose this location in particular because these are all small lots. We’re also in a working-class community. Generally we’re looking at full-time residents here and people who really can’t afford, necessarily, to upgrade their septic systems.

Moran: The Barnstable Clean Water Coalition paid to install the systems in this neighborhood; the homeowners paid nothing—which won’t be an option for the whole cape.

But there is another approach to stopping wastewater pollution: switching from septic tanks to sewage pipes, which would bring the waste to a treatment plant. And that’s what Barnstable is doing in other parts of the town.

I went to Barnstable’s town hall to meet the guy in charge.

Moran (tape): Hi, how’re you doing? I have a nine o’clock interview with Mark Ells.

Receptionist: Okay, sure, he’ll be right with you.

Moran: Mark Ells is Barnstable’s town manager.

Mark Ells: We’ve seen a significant deterioration of our bays to the point where we don’t have shellfish, we don’t have finfish. So we want to make sure that we put in place solutions that help us to address not only what we know today but what we’re anticipating tomorrow.

Moran: Barnstable is the largest town on the cape, and parts are pretty urban, with houses and commercial buildings relatively close together. In places like this, sewer systems are a practical and cost-effective choice.

So the town has begun a massive expansion of its sewer system, planning to extend service to almost 12,000 properties.

[CLIP: “Let There Be Rain,” by Silver Maple ]

It’ll take 30 years and cost more than $1 billion. The town got local, state and federal funding to help cover the expansion costs. But homeowners will still have to pay.

First there’s a town assessment of up to $10,000 . Then homeowners have to pay to get their house hooked up to the sewer line and pay for someone to deal with their old septic tank. And then they’ll have a monthly sewer bill. The final cost, spread over decades, is probably in the range of $20,000 to $30,000—or more—per house.

[CLIP: Construction sounds]

Moran: And there’s another cost to installing sewer lines: seemingly constant roadwork and traffic jams.

One day last fall cars crawled along as superintendent Mike Donovan’s crew dug up the main road into Barnstable.

Moran (tape): Is this going to be, like, what your company does for, like, the next three decades?

Mike Donovan: We—well, hopefully, yeah. That’s what we do for a living. We’re installing sewer all over the cape right now.

Moran: But even this ambitious, expensive sewer expansion will take decades to reach some neighborhoods in Barnstable.

Pat Uhlman lives across the street from Shubael Pond. And she’s seen it turn green with toxic algae. She says a few decades is too long to keep polluting the water.

Pat Uhlman: If we don’t start cleaning it up now, you know, you might not even want to walk down by that pond by then.

Moran: Luckily Pat is part of the neighborhood pilot project that got new septic systems installed for free. She says she understands that other homeowners are feeling sticker shock, but the pollution has to stop.

Uhlman: The cape economy is still people coming here in the summer. So if they can’t swim in our ponds, they can’t swim in our ocean, they can’t boat, there’s not gonna be any reason for them to come here.

Moran: There may be another solution, a cheaper one. It won’t solve all the cape’s water problems, but it could help—a lot. We’ll talk about that next week in the final part of this Scientific American–WBUR Fascination miniseries.

Feltman: Thanks for listening. Tune in next Friday for the final installment in this miniseries—which, spoiler alert, involves a little something called “pee-cycling.” You don’t want to miss it.

Can’t wait for next Friday to get here? Don’t worry. We are taking Monday off for Memorial Day, but we’ll be back in your feed on Wednesday with some tips for protecting wildlife from the comfort of your own backyard.

This series is a co-production of WBUR and Scientific American . It’s reported and hosted by WBUR’s Barbara Moran.

Science Quickly is produced by Jeff DelViscio, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Rachel Feltman. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-checked this series, and Duy Linh Tu and Sebastian Tuinder contributed reporting and sound. WBUR’s Kathleen Masterson edited this series. Additional funding was provided by the Pulitzer Center .

For Scientific American ’s Science Quickly , I’m Rachel Feltman.

• Web Stories
• Life & Women
• Society & Culture

World Environment Day 2024: 3 Short Speech Ideas For Students To Spread Environmental Awareness

With World Environment Day just around the corner, here are some speech ideas that can assist students in preparing for their school presentations.

• Itisha Arya
• Updated - 2024-06-04, 11:30 IST

Speech On World Environment Day

Speech 1: the vital role of biodiversity and its preservation, understanding biodiversity:, threats to biodiversity:, conservation efforts:.

Conclusion:

Speech 2: embracing sustainable practises to tackle climate change, introduction:, understanding climate change:, sustainable practises:, taking action:, speech 3: addressing plastic pollution in our oceans, plastic pollution:.

Impact on Marine Life:

Solutions to plastic pollution:.

Your skin and body like you are unique. While we have taken all measures to ensure that the information provided in this article and on our social media channels is credible and expert verified, we recommend you consult a doctor or your dermatologist before trying a home remedy, quick hack or exercise regime. For any feedback or complaint, reach out to us at [email protected]

Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

SD-Area Reps. Call for Federal Program to Combat Tijuana River Valley Pollution

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Four San Diego-area legislators Tuesday introduced an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act in an attempt to bring federal assistance to the ongoing Tijuana River Valley sewage pollution crisis.

Reps. Juan Vargas, Scott Peters and Sara Jacobs, all D-San Diego, and Mike Levin, D-Dana Point/northern coastal San Diego County, penned the amendment, which would establish a federal program — the Tijuana River Public Health and Water Quality Restoration Program — to plan, coordinate and provide grants for public health and water quality restoration projects in the Tijuana River Valley.

“Toxic pollution in the Tijuana River Valley has harmed the health and well-being of our communities for too long. We need all hands on deck to address this issue,” Vargas said. “By establishing a new federal program aimed at combating pollution, our legislation will bring experts to the table to fully focus on this issue and drive more resources to impacted communities.”

San Diego County recently requested an investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and California Department of Public Health on cross-border pollution and its effect on public health.

Some county beaches have been closed for more than 800 consecutive days due to sewage contamination.

“As we work to stop the unmitigated flows of hazardous water, we must contend with the decades of pollution already caused by this crisis,” Peters said. “Our proposal puts restoration efforts in San Diego on par with places like the Great Lakes, San Francisco Bay and Long Island Sound. This will mean more resources, better coordination, and a real federal plan to clean up our waterways and help the communities that have borne the brunt of this environmental disaster.”

According to the Surfrider Foundation’s 2023 Clean Water Report, not once did the waters off Imperial Beach meet state health standards last year. In April, environmental nonprofit American Rivers called the Tijuana River one of the country’s “most endangered.”

“The regular flow of sewage and pollution from Mexico has damaged our public health, lowered our water quality, and made the Tijuana River one of the most endangered rivers in the country,” Jacobs said. “While we’ve made significant progress lately to bring home hundreds of millions of federal dollars to address this crisis and we welcome Mexico’s increased cooperation, more work remains.”

In March, San Diego-based business advocacy groups sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for more help with the U.S.-Mexico border pollution problem.

Also that month, state Sen. Steve Padilla — whose district includes southern San Diego County — said that he would introduce environmental justice legislation to tackle border pollution.

Last October, the federal government announced $310 million to expand wastewater treatment in the South Bay as part of an ongoing effort to tackle cross-border pollution in the Tijuana River Valley.

“It’s critical that the federal government does everything it can to stem the flow of toxic pollution into our waters,” Levin said. “By creating a program that will help clean up the Tijuana River Valley, we can help protect the health of our communities, economies, and the local ecosystem.”

In 2021, the county received $10 million from the state Coastal Conservancy to reduce trash and sediment movement into the Tijuana River Valley.

More recent efforts include air monitors in South County to track pollutants.

City News Service contributed to this article.

• Biology Article
• Water Pollution Control

Water Pollution And Its Control

Water is one of the most vital natural resources on earth and has been around for a long time. In fact, the same water which we drink has been around in one form or the other since the time of the dinosaurs.

The earth has more than two-thirds of its surface covered with water. This translates to just over 1 octillion litres (1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres) of water distributed in the oceans, rivers, lakes and streams.

That is a lot of water, however, less than 0.3% is accessible for human consumption. As commercialization and industrialization have progressed, that number continues to dwindle down. Furthermore, inefficient and outdated practices, lack of awareness and a plethora of other circumstances have led to water pollution.

Also Read: How Can We Conserve Water?

• Water pollution
• Modern Epidemic

Minamata Incident

• Ganges River

What is Water Pollution?

Water pollution can be defined as the contamination of water bodies. Water pollution is caused when water bodies such as rivers, lakes, oceans, groundwater and aquifers get contaminated with industrial and agricultural effluents.

When water gets polluted, it adversely affects all lifeforms that directly or indirectly depend on this source. The effects of water contamination can be felt for years to come.

Also Refer:  Types of Pollution

Sources Of Water Pollution

The key causative of water pollution in India are:

• Urbanization.
• Deforestation.
• Industrial effluents.
• Social and Religious Practices.
• Use of Detergents and Fertilizers.
• Agricultural run-offs- Use of insecticides and pesticides.

Water Pollution – A Modern Epidemic

One of the primary causes of water pollution is the contamination of water bodies by toxic chemicals. As seen in the example mentioned above, the dumped plastic bottles, tins, water cans and other wastes pollute the water bodies. These result in water pollution, which harms not just humans, but the whole ecosystem. Toxins drained from these pollutants, travel up to the food chain and eventually affect humans. In most cases, the outcome is destructive to only the local population and species, but it can have an impact on a global scale too.

Nearly 6 billion kilograms of garbage is dumped every year in the oceans. Apart from industrial effluents and untreated sewage, other forms of unwanted materials are dumped into various water bodies. These can range from nuclear waste to oil spills – the latter of which can render vast areas uninhabitable.

Effects Of Water Pollution

The effect of water pollution depends upon the type of pollutants and their concentration. Also, the location of water bodies is an important factor to determine the levels of pollution.

• Water bodies in the vicinity of urban areas are extremely polluted. This is the result of dumping garbage and toxic chemicals by industrial and commercial establishments.
• Water pollution drastically affects aquatic life. It affects their metabolism, and behaviour, and causes illness and eventual death. Dioxin is a chemical that causes a lot of problems from reproduction to uncontrolled cell growth or cancer. This chemical is bioaccumulated in fish, chicken and meat. Chemicals such as this travel up the food chain before entering the human body.
• The effect of water pollution can have a huge impact on the food chain. It disrupts the food chain. Cadmium and lead are some toxic substances, these pollutants upon entering the food chain through animals (fish when consumed by animals, humans) can continue to disrupt at higher levels.
• Humans are affected by pollution and can contract diseases such as hepatitis through faecal matter in water sources. Poor drinking water treatment and unfit water can always cause an outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera, etc.
• The ecosystem can be critically affected, modified and destructured because of water pollution.

The Minamata Incident marked one of the worst cases of water pollution

In 1932, a factory in Minamata City, Japan began dumping its industrial effluent – Methylmercury, into the surrounding bay and the sea. Methylmercury is incredibly toxic to humans and animals alike, causing a wide range of neurological disorders.

Its ill effects were not immediately noticeable. However, this all changed as methylmercury started to bioaccumulate inside shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay. These affected organisms were then caught and consumed by the local population. Soon, the ill effects of methylmercury were becoming apparent.

Initially, animals such as cats and dogs were affected by this. The city’s cats would often convulse and make strange noises before dying – hence, the term “dancing cat disease” was coined. Soon, the same symptoms were observed in people, though the cause was not apparent at the time.

Other affected people showed symptoms of acute mercury poisoning such as ataxia, muscle weakness, loss of motor coordination, damage to speech and hearing etc. In severe cases, paralysis occurred, which was followed by coma and death.  These diseases and deaths continued for almost 36 years before they could be officially acknowledged by the government and the organisation.

Since then, various control measures for water pollution have been adopted by the government of Japan to curb such environmental disasters in the future.

Pollution of the Ganges

Some rivers, lakes, and groundwater are rendered unfit for usage. In India, the River Ganges is the sixth most polluted river in the world. This is unsurprising as hundreds of industries nearby release their effluents into the river. Furthermore, religious activities such as burials and cremations near the shore contribute to pollution. Apart from the ecological implications, this river poses a serious health risks as it can cause diseases like typhoid and cholera.

Pollution of the Ganges is also driving some of the distinct fauna to extinction. The Ganges River shark is a critically endangered species that belong to the order Carcharhiniformes. The Ganges River dolphin is another  endangered species of dolphin that is found in the tributaries of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers.

As per a survey, by the end of 2026, around 4 billion people will face a shortage of water. Presently, around 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean, potable water and proper sanitation. It is also projected that nearly 1000 children die every year in India due to water-related issues. Groundwater is an important source of water, but unfortunately, even that is susceptible to pollution. Hence, water pollution is quite an important social issue that needs to be addressed promptly.

Control Measures of Water Pollution

Water pollution, to a larger extent, can be controlled by a variety of methods. Rather than releasing sewage waste into water bodies, it is better to treat them before discharge. Practising this can reduce the initial toxicity and the remaining substances can be degraded and rendered harmless by the water body itself. If the secondary treatment of water has been carried out, then this can be reused in sanitary systems and agricultural fields.

A very special plant, the Water Hyacinth can absorb dissolved toxic chemicals such as cadmium and other such elements. Establishing these in regions prone to such kinds of pollutants will reduce the adverse effects to a large extent.

Some chemical methods that help in the control of water pollution are precipitation, the ion exchange process, reverse osmosis , and coagulation. As an individual, reusing, reducing, and recycling wherever possible will advance a long way in overcoming the effects of water pollution.

Further Reading:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is sewage treatment.

Wastewater treatment or sewage treatment generally refers to the process of cleaning or removing all pollutants, treating wastewater and making it safe and suitable for drinking before releasing it into the environment.

What are the main steps in sewage treatment?

There are four main stages of the wastewater treatment process, namely:

• Stage 1: Screening
• Stage 2: Primary treatment
• Stage 3: Secondary treatment
• Stage 4: Final treatment

What are the main causes of water pollution?

The main causes of water pollution are attributed to

• Industrial activities
• Urbanization
• Religious and social practices
• Agricultural runoff
• Accidents (such as oil spills, nuclear fallouts etc)

What are the effects of water pollution?

Water pollution can have disastrous consequences on the ecosystem. Furthermore, toxic chemicals can travel through the food chain and get into our bodies, causing diseases and death.

To learn more about water pollution, causes, effects, preventive measures and other important environmental concerns (such as eutrophication), visit us at BYJU’S Biology.

Put your understanding of this concept to test by answering a few MCQs. Click ‘Start Quiz’ to begin!

Select the correct answer and click on the “Finish” button Check your score and answers at the end of the quiz

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