Cause:                                              Effect:

Drinking polluted water

 Person may become affected with waterborne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid, or diarrhea

Cholera: an intestinal bacteria disease, which causes vomiting, dehydration, diarrhea, and gastric pain transfer by contaminated food or water

Typhoid: an infection in the stomach cause by bacteria

Drinking polluted water with harmful chemicals

May cause heart and kidney failure

                  (Ewww!!!)

Pesticides and chemicals from homes and industries flowing into rivers

Can kill aquatic life and spread bacteria

Animal manure and urea and vegetable peelings, along with other organic materials, enter the rivers and streams and feed algae, the green plant like organisms, producing an algae bloom

Bacteria feed on these plants, and cause a depletion, or drop, in oxygen levels. The aquatic animals that depend on that oxygen then suffocate and die.

Soil waste leaking into rivers

Clogs up waterways, causing floods, especially during rainy seasons

Oil spills

Birds' feathers will lose their waterproof after diving into oily water, their feathers get heavy, start to lose their insulating properties

(Environmental Protection Agency)

Surface water pollution caused by:

  • Mining periods during the gold rush (toxic levels of mercury) effect fish we eat.
  • Agricultural industry, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicide runoffs, effect health
  • Runoff pollution and non-point source pollution: a bunch of little problems become a large one in a small area.
  • Residential sources: litter, automotive fluids, household hazardous waste, organic waste, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, fertilizers

  • Business sources:
    • Carpet cleansers (toxic cleaning products)
    • Landscape contractors and nurseries (pest, excess soil)
    • Bars, coffee shops, restaurants (cigarette butts, litter)
    • Power Washers (street litter into storm drain system)
    • Painters and general contractors (paint, thinners, toxic chemicals)

(Oman)

Photographs by Thao

Continued