Water Pollution Sources: Content Depth

Environmental Factors

Agricultural waste is a one of largest contributors to water pollution in today’s society. One of the most harmful effects on the environment that is caused by agricultural runoff is Eutrophication. Eutrophication occurs when nitrogen and phosphorus rich pollutants such as chemical fertilizers make their way in to our water. When this happens the added nutrient cause an extreme overgrowth of algae and other aquatic plants. This then virtually chokes the water with organic materials. The volume of organic material then surpasses the carrying capacity of the water source. When this matter dies, it fill the water with large amounts of decaying material basically poisoning the water.
Domestic waste plays a large role in determining the Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of a water source. The BOD of water is the volume of oxygen required to allow organic material to decompose. The composition of the organic material releases dissolved oxygen, which is extremely important in determining the quality of the water. The water quality is best when the amount of dissolved oxygen is high. The sewage hit our waterways there is more material for microorganisms to break down. As they break down the sewage they use up oxygen more and more oxygen. This could possibly drain the water of all oxygen suffocating the organisms that are supposed to be there.
Industrial waste even though when driving through the outskirts of a large city you see an abundance of factories built on marshes and think what a terrible thing, it is actually the best place for them to be. First off when factories are built on marshes they do not have the soundest foundations. Second as the waste leaves the factory and heads into the surrounding environments it is in the best place for that. When waste is dumped into marshes they acts as a sponge and filter. The marshes tend to drain out the more toxic material and leave closer to the factory as apposed to letting it drift away. Even though this is better then what could happen there will obviously be negative effects on the surrounding ecosystem.

Socioeconomic Considerations on the Health of Society

Polluted water brings many kinds of socioeconomic cost. First and foremost, pollution limits the total amount of adequate, safe water for domestic consumption and agricultural and industrial usage. More simply, this is the cost of water that is held back from the amount of supply. Also, there are costs related to the use of polluted water for consumption and production.
The costs of using contaminated water for production in the industrial sector leads to a decrease in both quality and quantity of products. The same is true in the agricultural usage section. Crops may accumulate heavy metals or toxic substances that dissolved in the wastewater, therefore, making them unhealthy for consumption. At the same time, the polluted water may affect the level of nutrients and vitamins the crops would normally have if the water were unpolluted. To conclude, if any industry is exposed to polluted water during the production process, it is likely to face a decrease of the product quality or may be forced to stop production entirely. This ultimately leads to a large economic loss from water pollution.

Cultural Beliefs

Culture can affect how a people deal with their waste products. For example, the Onondaga Nation, which is in New York, has been developing a system that is to deal with their waste. The system is a transfer station that has bins that collect and sort various waste products such as car batteries, paper, glass, and paper. This nation is an advocate for recycling, and all of this is done so, the trash does not go into the water supply. The belief of the Onondaga people is not to hurt the planet.