WATER POLLUTION

Water pollution is the contamination of lakes, seas, rivers, aquifers etc. by inputs of substances that alter their quality and condition. 

 CAUSES FOR WATER POLLUTION

• Industries discharge pollutants such as nitric acid, phosphoric acid, ammonia, sulphuric acid, hydrochloric acid... in large quantities, causing damage to the aquatic ecosystem.
• Agriculture uses chemical fertilisers, pesticides and sewage, which it discharges into the water, causing eutrophication, i.e. the proliferation of aquatic plants such as algae.
• Some pipes made of asbestos, if damaged, can release small fibres that are harmful to health.
• The presence of waste in the water, such as plastic materials, bottles, bags, etc., that aren't biodegradable and so a lot of fishes eat them and die.
• Ships discharge large quantities of oil in case of accidents.
• Past ignorance: in the past the majority of people thought that oceans were big enough to digest all the waste.

 REMEDIES FOR WATER POLLUTION

• Use purification plants in industry to purify water with to clean it  of pollution.
• Encourage the use of natural fertilisers in agriculture, eliminating phosphates and giving more space to organic farming.
• Replace asbestos pipes with metal, steel, or copper ones.
• Choose glass containers instead of plastic ones. Recycle and separate waste.
• Build ships with double hulls to avoid oil spills.