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Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. [1]: 6 It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies.
Pollution of the Ganges. Funeral ghats in Varanasi. The ongoing pollution of the Ganges, the largest river in the Indian subcontinent, poses a significant threat to both human health and the environment. [1] The river supplies water to approximately 40% of India's population across 11 states [2] and serves an estimated 500 million people—more ...
Topsoil runoff from farm, central Iowa (2011). Water pollution in the United States is a growing problem that became critical in the 19th century with the development of mechanized agriculture, mining, and industry, although laws and regulations introduced in the late 20th century have improved water quality in many water bodies. [1]
In the 2023-24 water year, the state added 4.1 million acre-feet — almost the volume of Lake Shasta — to its depleted groundwater stock by sending excess water from rivers into open spaces ...
Hinkley groundwater contamination. From 1952 to 1966, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) dumped about 370 million gallons (1,400 million litres) of chromium -tainted wastewater into unlined wastewater spreading ponds around the town of Hinkley, California, located in the Mojave Desert about 120 miles north-northeast of Los Angeles. [1][2 ...
The Hudson River from the Poughkeepsie Bridge. Between 1947 and 1977, General Electric polluted the Hudson River by discharging polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) causing a range of harmful effects to wildlife and people who eat fish from the river. Other kinds of pollution, including mercury contamination and cities discharging untreated sewage ...
Following initial discoveries of groundwater contamination in 2002, the Minnesota Department of Health conducted numerous studies –concluding in 2008, 2010, and 2014 – on the level of PFAs found in the bloodstreams of exposed residents. On February 20, 2018, the state of Minnesota settled its lawsuit against 3M in exchange for $850 million.
Thermal pollution is the rise or drop in the temperature of a natural body of water caused by human influence. Thermal pollution, unlike chemical pollution, results in a change in the physical properties of water. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. [1]