Canadian Drinking Water Safety Article

Water Pollution - Are We At Risk?

The simple answer is ‘yes’ – and sadly that answer is true across the globe.

What is water pollution?

Any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water.

Where does water pollution come from?

Water pollution is generally caused by human activity. Are we careful not to throw toxins in our waterways, down our drains at work and at home? Is it easier just to look over our shoulder and hope we’re not caught? After all, it’s just one time, right? Drinking polluted water has serious effects on everyone’s health.

What are major water pollutants?

There are several categories of pollutants. Disease-causing agents include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms that enter sewage systems and untreated waste.

Another cause is water-soluble inorganic pollutants, such as acids, salts and toxic metals. In large quantities these pollutants result in water unfit for drinking and can cause death in aquatic life.

Nutrients also pollute our water – they are water-soluble nitrates and phosphates that cause excessive growth of algae resulting in depletion of the water’s oxygen supply. I have witnessed ‘red-tide’ on several occasions in the Gulf of Mexico when our beaches were deemed unfit to swim in and thousands of fish washed up on the shoreline. The results were devastating.

Let’s not leave out oil, plastics and pesticides, which are harmful to humans, plants and animals in our water.

Finally, water-soluble radioactive compounds can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic damage and are considered very dangerous water pollutants.

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