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Human Causes Nearly All the Water Pollutions. How Come?
by Dr. Jonathan Doyle - Updated July 04, 2020
Humans are both the persecutor and the victim of water pollution. How can we stop
this vicious circle? Check out to see how you can go green with Waterdrop!
Table of Contents
While the world leaders are too busy burying their heads to fight with CO2 emission
reduction, they often forget about our basepoint of life—water. Climate change is not only about the increasing
temperature, the melting icebergs, and the about-to-disappear islands.
Those seem still far away from our current life. In fact, this climate crisis is affecting everyone's life on a
more urgent matter. That is our drinking water.
Indeed. Water pollution is everywhere. We've seen the disastrous sights of oceans
with garbage floating around, the water turning red or green because of the algal blooms.
But miles away from the coast, inside our comfortable homes with their fancy water equipment, we may not notice
such polluted water has already lurked into our water utilities and ended up in our cups. Horrible, right? But
before we go into details about how climate change affects tap water, there is a confession to make. We humans
should take almost all the blame.
What do we do exactly?
Water resources are facing a series of threats that are caused by human activity.
According to GreenFacts, "they include pollution, climate change, urban growth, and landscape changes
such as deforestation. The removal, destruction or impairment of ecosystems are one of the greatest causes that
will influence the water resources." In this article, we are going to list a few aspects that most contribute to
water pollution, and how we are affected by this pollution.
Manufacturing
Emissions from factories are released into the air and poured into the water
nearby. One of these forms of emissions in the air fall to the ground is acid rain, which damages streams, lakes, and marshes and can be harmful to fish and
other wildlife. The contaminated water can be treated to some degree before it runs into the municipal pipe
lines. Still, it is not enough, especially when the local water utility is not useful. Institutions and
governments set up rules and guidelines to control water quality, but by far, only a small percentage of
chemicals are regulated, and unregulated ones have become a growing concern among the public. A variety of
pharmaceutical products, such as painkillers and antibiotics, are having an impact on water resources above and
below ground. Conventional water treatment does not work for many of them.

Agriculture
Agriculture is the single largest user of freshwater resources, consuming a global
average of 70% of all surface water supplies, and taking up almost half of the earth's farmable land. Except for water lost through evapotranspiration, agricultural water is
recycled back to surface water and/or groundwater. It results in a net loss of soil due to poor agricultural
practices such as the discharge of pollutants and sediment to surface and/or groundwater, and the salinization
and waterlogging of irrigated land.
According to EPA (the United States Environmental Protection Agency), the
most common source of agricultural water contamination is soil that is washed off fields. Rainwater carries soil
particles (sediment) and dumps them into nearby lakes or streams. Too much sediment can cloud the water,
reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches aquatic plants. It can also clog the gills of fish or smother fish
larvae.
Domestic water use
Used water is called sewage or wastewater, and we produce a huge amount of it
every day, whether it's through washing dishes, taking showers, or cooking meals. In fact, Americans use an
average of 300 gallons of water per day, per household. But all this goes down the drain. Sewage is very often
not disposed of properly, which becomes a major problem in developing countries. Untreated sewage water in such
areas can pollute the surrounding environment and lead to ailments such as diarrhea. Developed countries such as
the U.S. have their own problems, as people may flush chemical and pharmaceutical substances down the toilet.
When people are ill, sewage often carries harmful viruses and bacteria into the environment. This can cause health problems.
Garbage
Solid waste in the form of trash, litter, and garbage often
ends up in these surface waters, because surface waters collect in low-lying areas, anything that is dropped or
blown into a watershed can eventually reach a drainageway. In urban areas, trash and litter often are
transported by stormwater runoff. In both urban and rural areas, these items sometimes are illegally dumped
directly into a waterbody or wetland, or deposited along riverbanks or lakeshores. Trash also comes from people
who fish or participate in other forms of water-related recreation. Regardless of source or type, trash is a
form of water pollution.
According to Water Encyclopedia, the most common litter in U.S. streams is
household trash, including plastic cups, plastic bags and wrapping materials, fast-food wrappers, plastic
bottles, and other plastic containers. Plastics can be especially hazardous to wildlife. Depending on their form
they can either be ingested, causing internal organ failure, or they can cause a slow strangulation. *

How does climate change lead to even worse water pollution?
PSR (Physicians for social responsibility) has published a
report saying that climate change actually contaminates water because it makes intense heavy downpours,
droughts, and rising water temperatures more common. Bacteria and viruses may thrive in these conditions, and
they may come into the human body through drinking water and damage people's health. Water runoff carries animal
wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers in rural areas, while in cities, it picks up both pollutants and wastewater.
This may result in untreated sewage to flow into drinking and recreational water sources.
How can we remove it?
It takes much longer to clean up polluted water bodies than it does for pollution
to occur in the first place. Therefore, we have to pay attention to protecting our water resources. In many
cases, the clean-up takes longer than 10 years. Underground water is less easily polluted, but cleaning it is
more expensive and takes longer. However, there are still many ways to prevent water pollution.
- Collect all the oils and fats produced from cooking and throw them away with solid waste. In this way, they won't be put back into the environment directly with water.
- Don't dispose of household chemicals or flush pills, liquid, or powder medications down the sink or toilet. Such water cannot be treated.
- Go green. Saving water is an amazing solution to reduce water pollution because this can reduce the amount of sewage. You can do this by, for example, using the dishwasher only when there is a full load.
- Use water purification systems to further filter out impurities. Waterdrop offers a wide range of water treatment solutions to meet your need for healthy drinking water, including fridge, pitcher, and under-sink water filtration systems.
Waterdrop tankless Reverse
Osmosis G3 Water Filtration System is has a good reduction ability. This NSF 58-certified water purifier
can effectively remove up to 94% of TDS. It has passed more than 400 tests to certify the elimination of more
than 400 contaminants such as chlorine, fluoride, mercury, bisphenol A, formaldehyde, benzene, lead, cadmium,
etc.
Water pollution affects all of us. Because water is essential to human life, you
must act now if you want to live a healthy life by drinking healthy, pure water. Feel free to contact us to learn
more about our RO system and Waterdrop.
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