What happens when water is contaminated?
If drinking water contains unsafe levels of contaminants, it can cause health effects, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, nervous system or reproductive effects, and chronic diseases such as cancer.
What are the 4 types of water contamination?
What Are the Different Types of Water Pollution?
- Chemical pollution.
- Groundwater pollution.
- Microbiological pollution.
- Nutrient pollution.
- Oxygen-depletion pollution.
- Surface water pollution.
What is a synonym for contaminant?
synonyms for contaminant
- contamination.
- impurity.
- poison.
- pollutant.
- toxin.
- adulterant.
- foreign matter.
Why does water get contaminated?
Water can be contaminated in several ways. It can contain microorganisms like bacteria and parasites that get in the water from human or animal fecal matter. It can contain chemicals from industrial waste or from spraying crops. Nitrates used in fertilizers can enter the water with runoff from the land.
What are the different ways which water gets contaminated?
Following are the causes of water contamination: Sewage and wastewater – Many households dump their waste directly into water bodies. Moreover, households which are not served by municipal treatment plant may use septic tanks, which eventually infiltrates into the soil, causing pollution of groundwater.
What is the definition of a contaminant in water?
Therefore, the law defines “contaminant” very broadly as being anything other than water molecules. Drinking water may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.
What are the most common sources of groundwater contamination?
Found in low concentrations in rocks, coal, and petroleum and enters the groundwater and surface water when dissolved by acidic waters. May enter the environment from industrial discharge, mining waste, metal plating, water pipes, batteries, paints and pigments, plastic stabilizers, and landfill leachate.
Which is an example of a physical contaminant?
Physical contaminants primarily impact the physical appearance or other physical properties of water. Examples of physical contaminants are sediment or organic material suspended in the water of lakes, rivers and streams from soil erosion.