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https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/how-does-water-pollution-affect-humans

 

More and more of our groundwater is being polluted

Between 1960 and 2000, the scale of groundwater pollution doubled. By 2000, over 280 billion tons of groundwater was being polluted annually (the same as 280 square kilometers or 9000 tons a second).

Our groundwater is being polluted with various pesticides and chemicals. In an average US city, tap water contains over 500 different chemicals. 

 

How groundwater pollution affects humans

An example of a chemical often present in drinking water is bisphenol A (or BPA). 

Almost a third of groundwater sites in the US contain BPA. BPA is harmful at very low concentrations as it interferes with our hormone and reproductive systems. Low doses of BPA have been found to disturb the cognitive development of infants.

“Tiny doses of bisphenol A (...) have been found to alter brain structure, neurochemistry, behavior, reproduction and immune response”. Peter Waldman, The Wall Street Journal, 2005

 

 

 

The consumer society runs on freshwater

Pollution of Earth’s groundwater affects humans immensely as modern societies require enormous amounts of water.

Global use of freshwater is estimated to be a massive 4.3 trillion cubic meters annually. That’s 530 tons per person a year or 1500 liters daily. Most of the water is used in agriculture (70 %) and industry (20 %) with households responsible for the remaining 10 %.

To illustrate how the water is used for our food and products, it takes 24,000 liters of water to produce 1 kilo of chocolate; 21,000 liters to produce one kilo of coffee beans, 12,100 liters to produce a smartphone, 15,500 liter for 1 kilo of beef, and 2,500 liters for a cotton t-shirt. 

When our groundwater is polluted, we are therefore polluting many aspects of our everyday lives.

 

 

Dirty water kills

Unclean water and sanitation are responsible for more lives over the past century than any other cause. Dirty water causes the death of a human being every 10 seconds and 850 million people don’t have access to clean drinking water.

 

 

Is Your Water Clean?

Humans have established communities and flourished around sources of clean, drinkable water since the beginning of time. It’s vital to our survival. 

Do you know that you can survive several days without food but not without water? It’s heartbreaking to know that millions of people worldwide do not have access to this most basic need, and are dying of thirst and water borne diseases.

Freshwater sources around the world are threatened by water pollution. Not only are we managing our resources poorly through wastage, we are also thoughtlessly dirtying it.

 

 

Sources of Pollution

The main sources of water pollution are the following:

·        Discharge of untreated Raw Sewage from households and factories

·        Chemicals dumped from Factories

·        Agricultural run-offs that make their way into our rivers and streams and groundwater sources

·        Urbanization

·        The rising use of synthetic organic substances

·        Oil Spills

·        Acid Rain caused by the burning of Fossil Fuels

·        Human littering in rivers, oceans, lakes and other bodies of water. Harmful litter includes plastics, aluminum, glass and Styrofoam.

Almost everything that is a byproduct of our civilization is polluting our drinking water. Governments, through various Clean Water Acts and water resource policies have sought to regulate the discharges of pollutants in the water to minimize pollution and contamination. From 1990 to 2006, an additional 1.6 billion people had access to safe drinking water. But we are not acting fast enough and most factories still find a way to dump their toxic wastes in the sea, unseen.

 

 

Effect of Polluted Water on Humans

How does water pollution affect humans? Try drinking untreated water nowadays and your body will immediately react to it. You will get a stomach ache at the least. Water-borne diseases account for the deaths of 3,575,000 people a year! That’s equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing every hour, and the majority of these are children. 

Infectious diseases can be spread  through contaminated water. Some of these water-borne diseases are Typhoid, Cholera, Paratyphoid Fever, Dysentery, Jaundice, Amoebiasis and Malaria. 

Chemicals in the water also have negative effects on our health. 

Pesticides – can damage the nervous system and cause cancer because of the carbonates and organophosphates that they contain. Chlorides can cause reproductive and endocrinal damage.

Nitrates – are especially dangerous to babies that drink formula milk. It restricts the amount of oxygen in the brain and cause the “blue baby” syndrome.

Lead – can accumulate in the body and damage the central nervous system. 

Arsenic – causes liver damage, skin cancer and vascular diseases

Flourides -  in excessive amounts can make your teeth yellow and cause damage to the spinal cord.

Petrochemicals – even with very low exposure, can cause cancer.

These are just to name a few.

 

 

Let’s do our part…

Water pollution is a known threat to humans and we can do our part to help keep our waters clean.

·        Don’t throw litter in the ocean.

·        Don’t dispose of chemicals, paint, in water supplies and drains.

·        If you see anyone throwing litter into any body of water, report it to the authorities.

·        Help increase awareness by educating your children and increasing awareness within your community.

 

 

https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/how-does-water-pollution-affect-humans

 

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