Author: Dalia Dhafer Hasan AL-SAADI, Year 5
Date: February 2022
Every day, our world faces numerous difficulties and issues, one of which is water pollution\contamination. Before we look into the causes and effects of water pollution, as well as potential solutions, we must first understand what it is. Water pollution occurs when toxins are released into water, making them unsuitable for human consumption and damaging our water ecosystem. Toxic waste, petroleum, and disease-causing bacteria are just a few examples of contaminants that can pollute water. When dangerous substances contaminate a stream, river, lake, ocean et cetera, the water quality deteriorates and the water becomes toxic to humans or the environment. This not only makes water highly hazardous for us to drink, which is a serious problem on its own, but it also harms our aquatic biodiversity and fish population, that plays a big role in the marine food chain.
Malaysia is one of the many countries dealing with a water pollution issue. Analyzing the Malaysian Environmental Quality Report of 2016, just 47% of the 477 monitored rivers were categorized as clean, with the rest being slightly contaminated. Then, in 2017, a follow-up study revealed that the percentage was decreasing. The incident in the Kim Kim River in 2019, which was caused by unauthorized chemical waste dumping in the river in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia, is more recent evidence. Toxic gases were emitted as a result of the illegal dumping, impacting 6,000 individuals and hospitalizing 2,775.
The following are some of the causes of water pollution: water is extremely easy to contaminate. Water is referred to as a "universal solvent" since it dissolves more substances than any other liquid on the planet. Toxic compounds from farms, cities, and factories easily dissolve and combine with it, polluting the water rather easily. Industrial Waste, Sewage and Wastewater, Mining Activities, Marine Dumping, Accidental Oil Leakage, Sewer Line Leakage, and a variety of other reasons are just a few. Agriculture, on the other hand, is a major contributor to water pollution in Malaysia and around the world. Agricultural pollution is the leading cause of pollution in rivers and streams, the second most common cause in wetlands, and the third most common cause in lakes. Other sources of water pollution include wastewater dumping, as well as toxic fuel spills.
Because of how readily water may become contaminated and infected, we humans must be mindful and not simply dump poisonous garbage into the water we require. Water is a necessity for every life on the planet. When a water source gets contaminated as a result of pollution, it can cause human health problems such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. We need to be wary about what we do and how we dispose of things, as doing so carelessly could result in the loss of countless lives.
One of the reasons why I believe we should be very concerned about water pollution is its severe and serious effects and after math, that can’t just be ignored.
The following are some of the severe effects of water pollution in Malaysia and anywhere else in the world; because we continuously drink the water, we pollute ourselves, it causes some serious health problems like poor blood circulation, skin lesions, cholera, gastroenteritis and damage to the nervous system, just to name a few. Every year, almost 297,000 children under the age of five die from illnesses associated with contaminated drinking water, according to the United Nations. Water pollution not only causes serious illnesses, but it also destroys our marine biodiversity and food chain. Dissolved oxygen levels in streams are frequently decreasing, making our aquatic species more sensitive to climate change, single handedly destroying our aquatic food chain. Pollution causes the food chain to be damaged by transporting poisons from one level to the next. Water pollution has the potential to wipe out a whole food chain in certain circumstances. And if one prey becomes extinct, the others who rely on the animal for food will starve to death; it will be a never-ending cycle, and if we don't intervene now, all our marine wildlife will perish.
The following are some ways that we can use to conserve our marine water life and ourselves at the same time: we can be more wary about what we throw out in the water and be more responsible with our hazardous waste. Another option for water pollution is to practice responsible fertilizer usage. This is because surface fertilizers into water bodies alter the natural ecology of the water body. These chemicals have the potential to harm plants, insects, and animals in and around contaminated waterways, as well as creating an ecosystem that is difficult to recover from. Another way to fight water pollution is to protect curb inlets and drains. What most people don't realise is that storm drains are solely for rain and rain only. Water flowing through storm drains typically end up in streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. This makes storm drains highly essential to safeguard since the water they contain not only serves as a habitat for animals and plants, but also as a source of drinking water. There is a plethora of solutions on the market to aid in the filtering of runoff and the protection of stormwater drains. Capture and Disposal of Floating Pollution in Waterways is something you may undertake on your own. Floating pollution may be easily removed and disposed of with the use of a floating boom. Boom is intended to function as a barrier against pollutants in the water that is floating.
Of course, there are a plethora of other answers to this critical issue that can be easily avoided if we simply put our heads together; we must reverse this "curse" since we are the makers of it and not leave it to future generations to deal with. But I've only mentioned a few.
Thus, to sum up everything that's been stated, water contamination is mostly caused by oil spills, industrial waste, and human waste disposal. This has a significant impact on our environment, as well as the lives of humans and animals. Water is a vital resource for the human race's survival, covering more than 70% of the earth's surface, hence it's critical that we investigate into water research. Water pollution degrades this vital resource by rendering it unsuitable for human use, and it always impacts human health and the environment if suitable steps are not taken to combat it.
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