How industries are polluting our water resources?
Industries discharge chemical wastes comprising substances called effluents in rivers, lakes, streams etc. Factories sometimes turn waterways into open sewers by dumping oil, toxic chemicals and other harmful liquids called effluents into them.
When did water pollution start?
Along with amazing technological advances, the Industrial Revolution of the mid-19th century introduced new sources of air and water pollution. By the middle of the 20th century, the effects of these changes were beginning to be felt in countries around the world.
How are we polluting water?
Chemical waste from factories is sometimes dumped into rivers and lakes, or directly into the ground. Pesticides (chemicals that kill insects) applied to farmland enter surface water and groundwater, often in large quantities. Leaks from underground storage tanks for liquids like gasoline go directly into groundwater.
How does water get contaminated?
There are many sources of water contamination, including naturally occurring chemicals and minerals (for example, arsenic, radon, uranium), local land use practices (fertilizers, pesticides, concentrated feeding operations), manufacturing processes, and sewer overflows or wastewater releases.
How do you define water pollution?
Water pollution is the contamination of water sources by substances which make the water unusable for drinking, cooking, cleaning, swimming, and other activities. Pollutants include chemicals, trash, bacteria, and parasites.
Who discovered pollution?
The Quelccaya core first records evidence of pollution from Inca metallurgy around 1480 in the form of trace amounts of bismuth, likely released into the atmosphere during the creation of bismuth bronze, an alloy which has been recovered from the Inca citadel at Machu Picchu.
Who signed the Clean Water Act?
President Lyndon Johnson
All that began to change on November 3, 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Clean Waters Restoration Act. The previous year’s Water Quality Act required the states to establish and enforce water quality standards for all interstate waters that flowed through their boundaries.
Where do you find water pollution?
water pollution, the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, and oceans to the point where the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems.