Effects of Water Pollution on Natural Assemblages

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Effects of Water Pollution on Natural Assemblages
Abstract
Two thirds of the earth`s surface is covered by water with only a third being taken up by land. The earth`s population, however, has continued to grow rapidly over the past few years and the result of this has been an increasing pressure on the earth`s water resources. The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century led to the creation of many industries. It soon spread to other countries across the globe. Despite the benefits that industrialization brought, it had the negative effect of causing all kinds of pollution including water, air and soil pollution. Pollution has subsequently led to various consequences like global warming. This paper discusses water pollution in particular and the effects it has had on natural assemblages.
Introduction
According to the United Nations, water pollution is defined as the direct or indirect introduction by man of substances or energy into the marine environment including estuaries which results to deleterious effects such as hazards to human health, harm to living resources, hindrance to marine activities such as fishing, reduction of amenities, and the impairment of the water quality (Laws 2000, p. 45). Water pollution can occur in surface water like that in water bodies such as rivers, lakes and oceans. It can also occur on underground water especially when weed killers used in agricultural activities are allowed to drain to the ground (Clark et al 2001, p. 42). Apart from pollution of surface water and underground waters, water pollution can also occur as point-source pollution or as nonpoint-source pollution. Point-source pollution occurs when pollution comes from a single location. For example, when a discharge pipe attached to an industry pours its waste on a water body, this is referred to as point-source pollution as the discharge pipe here is the only location from which pollution occurs. Oil spill from a tanker is also another example of point-source pollution (Best 2005, p. 71). Nonpoint-source pollution on the other hand takes place when water pollution happens from many different sources. For example, an oil spill from a tanker and industrial plants located near a lake can pollute the lake collectively. In point-source water pollution, the place that is most affected is the one located immediately near the source. Usually, the pollution disperses in such a case the further away it gets from the source (Clark et al 2001, p. 47). In nonpoint-source water pollution, however, this is not the case since pollution is happening from many sources. Water pollution can spread to other areas other than near the source and when this happens, this is referred to as trans-boundary pollution (Laws 2000, p. 47).
Causes of water pollution
Water pollution is brought about by various causes. First, it is caused by industrial waste being discharged into water bodies. According to a report by...