How Does Water Get Polluted

 Water is the most essential to human beings, and with the population increasing there is a demand for water. But with more people there is also more water pollution.

Water is everywhere around us, and although it may look clean and clear, you'll be surprise to know that it maybe toxic or polluted. Water is an essential thing for human beings to have everyday, but if our lakes, drinking waters, rivers and lakes are polluted or not available for us to drink and use, it will also not be in good use for everything that depends on it too such as sea creatures, plants, soil, and many other things. So how does water get polluted?

Industrial agriculture is one of the leading causes of water pollution in the United States today. In the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), agricultural activity was identified as a source of pollution for 48% of stream and river water, and for 41% of lake water. According to the website Sustainable Table, most water population results from animal waste which in most industrial farms are store in large tanks call the "lagoon" that can hold up to millions of gallons of animal manure and urine. The lagoons may leak or rupture when a storm occurs, and since raw manure are 160 times more toxic than raw municipal, it'll be dangerous if it leaks into underground water states Sustainable Table. Leaking lagoons releases antibiotic residues and harmful bacteria which can make anyone who drinks the water sick or die. Another leading cause of water pollution is hydro-modification.

Hydromodification that alters the flow of water is the second leading source of damage to U.S. rivers, streams, and lakes. Examples of hydromodification are channelization, dredging, and construction of dams according to Rank. Rank states that excess sediments due to erosion caused by projects such as building dams can clog fishes gills and suffocate eggs. He goes further in details that sediments may also carry other pollutants such as mercury which can poison many living organisms that depends on the water. Next, the third leading cause of water pollution is habitat modification.

Habitat modification occurs when the vegetation along stream banks is removed, diminishing buffers that help filter runoff and provide shade for the adjacent water body states Rank. Without the vegetation that helps shade the stream banks, the water temperature are usually higher and an increase in quantity and velocity of runoff makes it harder for living organisms that lives underwater to survive. Habitat modification may also kill  many animals that may depend on their natural habitat to live and survive, and with habitat modification occurring frequently these days to better the human society, it will soon affect us too.

Here I showed you three of the leading causes of water pollution. Beside these three, there are still hundreds of ways how water can get polluted. To decrease our chances of having many water pollutions in our country and other countries, we can make a difference picking up trash that floats upon the water and shores, educate people about water pollutions, and voice your thoughts and ideas to our government.


Rank, J. "Nonpoint Source Pollution ." Pollution issues. N.p., 2011. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.pollutionissues.com/Na-Ph/Nonpoint-Source-Pollution.html>.

"Water pollution." Sustainable Table. N.p., 2011. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/waterpollution/>.