types of surface water pollution

Surface waters are the natural water resources of the Earth. They are found on the exterior of the Earth's crust and include:
Oceans
Rivers
Lakes
These waters can become polluted in a number of ways, and this is called surface water pollution.

Industrial and agricultural work involves the use of many different chemicals that can run-off into water and pollute it.

• Metals and solvents from industrial work can pollute rivers and lakes. These are poisonous to many forms of aquatic life and may slow their development, make them infertile or even result in death.
• Pesticides are used in farming to control weeds, insects and fungi. Run-offs of these pesticides can cause water pollution and poison aquatic life. Subsequently, birds, humans and other animals may be poisoned if they eat infected fish.
• Petroleum is another form of chemical pollutant that usually contaminates water through oil spills when a ship ruptures. Oil spills usually have only a localised affect on wildlife but can spread for miles. The oil can cause the death of many fish and stick to the feathers of seabirds causing them to lose the ability to fly.

Some pollutants do not dissolve in water as their molecules are too big to mix between the water molecules. This material is called particulate matter and can often be a cause of water pollution.
The suspended particles eventually settle and cause a thick silt at the bottom. This is harmful to marine life that lives on the floor of rivers or lakes.
Biodegradable substances are often suspended in water and can cause problems by increasing the amount of anaerobic microorganisms present.
Toxic chemicals suspended in water can be harmful to the development and survival of aquatic life.

Causes of water pollution in Marine Dumping.

Dumping of litter in the sea can cause huge problems. Litter items such as 6-pack ring packaging can get caught in marine animals and may result in death. Different items take different lengths of time to degrade in water:

• Cardboard – Takes 2 weeks to degrade.
• Newspaper – Takes 6 weeks to degrade.
• Photodegradable packaging – Takes 6 weeks to degrade.
• Foam – Takes 50 years to degrade.
• Styrofoam – Takes 80 years to degrade.
• Aluminium – Takes 200 years to degrade.
• Plastic packaging – Takes 400 years to degrade.
• Glass – It takes so long to degrade that we don’t know the exact time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

GroundWater pullotion

A lot of the Earth's water is found underground in soil or under rock structures called aquifers. Humans often use aquifers as a means to obtain drinking water, and build wells to access it. When this water becomes polluted it is called groundwater pollution. Groundwater pollution is often caused by pesticide contamination from the soil, this can infect our drinking water and cause huge problems

Microbiological water pollution is usually a natural form of water pollution caused by microorganisms.
Many types of microorganisms live in water and cause fish, land animals and humans to become ill. Microorganisms such as:
Bacteria
Viruses
Protozoa
Serious diseases such as cholera come from microorganisms that live in water. These diseases usually affect the health of people in poorer countries, as they do not have the facilities to treat polluted water.

Causes of oil pollution

Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping.

• Oil spills make up about 12% of the oil that enters the ocean. The rest come from shipping travel, drains and dumping.
• An oil spill from a tanker is a severe problem because there is such a huge quantity of oil being spilt into one place.
• Oil spills cause a very localised problem but can be catastrophic to local marine wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters.
• Oil cannot dissolve in water and forms a thick sludge in the water. This suffocates fish, gets caught in the feathers of marine birds stopping them from flying and blocks light from photosynthetic aquatic plants.