Paragraph on Water Pollution!
Water pollution simply means contamination of water due to any external material, or, in other words, introduction of something to natural water which makes it unsuitable for human consumption.
WHO has defined water pollution as “any foreign material either from natural or other sources that may contaminate the water supply and makes it harmful to life, cause of their toxicity, leads to reduction of normal oxygen level of water, causes aesthetically unpalatable effects and spread of epidemic diseases.”
Owen (1971) has defined it as “any unreasonable contamination of water which lessens its value to man.” In general, “water pollution may be defined as the adverse change in composition or condition of the water such that it becomes less suitable for the purposes for which it would be suitable in its natural state. The changes include physical changes, chemical changes and biological changes” (Manivasakam, 1992).
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According to Gilpil (1978), “the deterioration in chemical, physical and biological properties of water brought about mainly by human activities” is the water pollution. Whatever additions are done to the water, either by natural processes or by human activities invariably, they change the natural qualities. The problem of water pollution was first recognised by Hippocrates (450 BC), who suggested filtration and boiling as remedial measures.
With the fast increase in our industrial civilisation, the demand for water is also increasing day by day. At the same time, population explosion, urbanisation, improper sewage disposal, unsafe industrial wastes, radioactive wastes, oil leakages, etc., have polluted our water resources so much so that about 70 per cent rivers and streams not only of India but of all the countries contain polluted water.