Freshwater Resources And Water Pollution

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Freshwater Resources and Pollution Becky Scovell Axia College University of Phoenix There is water all around us, so why should anyone be concerned about polluting it? We should have plenty of water available to us, right? Wrong. In fact, about 97% of Earths water is salty and not consumable (Berg, Hager, 2007). As humans, we rely on water for many daily activities other than consumption. A few of these items include washing dishes, washing clothes, and bathing. While performing these daily activities we, sometimes, unknowingly pollute the water. Aside from household pollutants, there are many other sources that pollute the water. Some sources deliberately pollute, while others are oblivious. The ways in which to overcome water pollution are through education and awareness. While there are many types of water pollutants, they are broken down into two sources; point source pollution and non point source pollution. An example of point source pollution would be sewage that is deposited directly from a subdivision into a stream. Other examples of point source pollutants would include mills/factories, Inorganic Chemicals, thermal pollution and disease causing agents. An example of non point source pollution would be agricultural runoff or fertilizers and pesticides that travel through precipitation and are deposited into lakes, rivers, streams, etc… Other examples of non point source pollutants would include radioactive substances, inorganic chemicals, organic compounds, inorganic plant and algal nutrients and sediment pollution. Not only do these pollutants contaminate water for human consumption, but the underwater life is also affected greatly. Pollutants stimulate growth of excess plants and algae that are harmful to aquatic life. They deplete water of oxygen and the reduced amount of oxygen threatens the fish (Berg, Hager, 2007). Humans

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