Is your local stream healthy or polluted?

If you answer 'yes' to any of these questions, it may be polluted. Tell your parents and contact the nearest environmental agency.

Water has been both worshipped and feared: it is essential for life, but causes natural disasters through floods and storms. In ancient times, water was seen as one of the four elements which, along with fire air and earth, formed the building blocks for all things on Earth. Over two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water. Most of it is sea and ocean, which are home to a wide variety of animals. Less than one per cent is the fresh water needed of drinking and growing crops. Yet, water can be a destructive power. Millions of people around the world suffer from monsoon rains, river floods, tropical storms and raging seas. Such dangers have forced people to divert and hold back water, by building dams, dike and flood barriers. But when its full force is unleashed, nothing can stop this raging element. Cities are at the greatest risk from floods, as their paved streets prevent water from draining away. In major disasters, the emergency services are stretched to the full. They use boats, and also helicopters to rescue people from the tops of buildings, and to throw ropes for people to cling to.