Water pollution is the degradation of water quality to the point:
- to the health, safety and well-being of the population;
- create adverse conditions for social and economic activities;
- unfavorably affect the biota (set of all living beings in a given environment or period).
- unfavorably affect the aesthetic or sanitary conditions of the environment;
- release materials or energy in disagreement with environmental standards
Contamination is a particular case of pollution. Contamination refers to the introduction, in the environment, of any product or organism, in concentrations harmful to animal and plant life. This means that a polluted environment is a polluted environment, but the reciprocal environment is not necessarily true. For example, it can pollute fountains , with the launching of brackish water, and can contaminate fountains, with the launch of domestic sewage.
The difference between polluted water and contaminated water lies in the fact that the latter is related to the onset of diseases, such as cholera and schistosomiasis.
When we get to a dirty river, for example, we hear a lot of people saying we should not bathe in that area because the place is polluted. However, not all polluted areas have pathogenic organisms.
We call polluted water the one that has modifications in its physical and chemical characteristics. When we see a water with a different color or odor, we know that it is polluted. However, staining and bad smell may be caused by substances that do not cause disease in humans.
When water has disease-causing organisms or substances that can cause health problems, we say that it is contaminated. Thus, we can conclude that not all polluted water is contaminated, but all contaminated water is polluted, that is, contaminated water is a type of polluted water .
The contaminated water causes various diseases such as hepatitis, amebiasis , cholera , gastroenteritis and schistosomiasis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 80% of the world’s diseases are caused by the intake of unsafe water.
To be suitable for human consumption, the water must have a taste, color and odor unchanged and have no toxic substances or pathogenic micro-organisms. Waters with these characteristics are called drinking .
Nowadays it is increasingly difficult to find potable water , being reported daily in local newspapers that face water rationing. This rationing is a result, in parts, of pollution and contamination of rivers and lakes that decrease the amount of available quality water.
Contamination and pollution of rivers are serious problems and require immediate action not only of the rulers, but of the entire population. First of all we must always remember not to throw any material in water bodies, not to release sewage in rivers and lakes and to report whenever we observe that garbage and sewage are being released in an inadequate way in the environment.
It is fundamental to position ourselves in an ecologically correct way and to demand the efforts of the rulers in relation to this serious problem. Together we can reverse this sad picture!
