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River Pollution-Reasons, Impact and Clean Up

Dr. Shivakumara, M. N.1* and Dr. Jagadeesha, G. S.2

1College of Horticulture, Mudigere (UAHS, Shivamogga) 2UAS, Bengaluru

Corresponding Author

Shivakumara, M. N.

Email: mnshivakumara@gmail.com

Keywords

River pollution, water quality, domestic wastes, Industrial wastes

How to cite this article:

INTRODUCTION

ater is the source of life. It covers

70% of the Earth. But only a small

portion of this precious natural

resource is fit for human consumption. Out of

the earth’s total water, 97% is stored in oceans

which is not fit for human consumption. The

further 3% is stored in various sources like

rivers, lakes, and under-ground aquifers. India

is a blessed country when water sources come

into question which is available in the form of

numerous rivers and lakes. It has 14 major, 55

minor and numerous small rivers. India is often

referred as the “Land of Rivers”. In fact

riverbanks first hosted human civilizations in

India as elsewhere in the world. Rivers in India

play important social and economic roles. This

is the reason why Indians worship rivers as

goddesses. Our mythologies are full of stories

glorifying the rivers. Our current life is totally

dependent on rivers. The river systems provide

irrigation, potable water, cheap transportation,

electricity, as well as livelihoods for a large

number of people all over the country.

The spiritual reverence for rivers remains

intact. But the physical well being of the rivers

show that we have totally failed in keeping our

reverence for rivers. Rapid growth in

W

ABSTRACT

There is no sign of river pollution being stopped. It is increasing day by day. There are

several sources of water pollution, which work together to reduce overall river water

quality. Industries discharge their liquid waste products into rivers. Our agriculture practice

that uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides also contribute to river pollution as rainwater

drains these chemicals into the rivers. Domestic wastes that we throw into rivers adds to

pollution levels. As population grows, the size of towns and cities also grows. With that the

amount of domestic wastes that we throw into river increases. In most of the towns and

cities, the municipal drains carry our wastes to rivers.

OPEN ACCESS

Shivakumara, M. N. and Jagadeesha, G. S. 2021. River Pollution- Reasons, Impact and Clean Up.

Vigyan Varta 2(1): 27-31.

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industrialization to support the country’s

growing population and economy has polluted

our rivers like never before. Studies show that

domestic and industrial sewage, agricultural

wastes have polluted almost all of Indian rivers.

This poses a serious health problem as millions

of people continue to depend on this polluted

water from the rivers. Water-borne diseases are

a common cause of illness in India today.

Pollution of river has affected animals, fish, and

bird’s population, sometimes threatening their

very existence. Polluted water seriously affects

the reproductive ability of animal and fish

species in rivers thus making them extinct in

future.

Causes of Pollution: Broadly classified into

two types,

1. Point source: Point source water pollution

refers to contaminants that enter a waterway

from a single, identifiable source, such as a

pipe or ditch that include discharges from a

sewage treatment plant, a factory, or a city

storm drain.

2. Non-Point source: Nonpoint source

pollution refers to diffuse contamination that

does not originate from a single discrete

source. NPS pollution is often the cumulative

effect of small amounts of contaminants

gathered from a large area. A common

example is the leaching out of nitrogen

compounds from fertilized agricultural lands.

Nutrient runoffs in storm water from “sheet

flow” over an agricultural field or a forest are

also cited as examples of NPS pollution.

Main sources of River Pollution:

Acid rain: Polluted air contains many

poisonous gases such as sulphur di-oxide (SO2),

oxide of nitrogen (NOx) etc that reacts with

rainwater to form acids. We call this acid rain.

On reaching the ground the acidic rainwater has

many effects. It can release harmful substances

such as aluminium and heavy metals from the

soil. These are normally present in an inert and

harmless state, but acidic conditions result into

many compounds poisonous to plant and

animal life. When washed into rivers, lakes and

streams they can kill small water creatures and

fish.

Industrial pollution: Lot of industrial wastes

discharged into water are mixtures of

chemicals, which are difficult to clean up. Some

industries try to cut the costs of safety measures

by illegally dumping chemicals at places where

they think they will not be caught. These

dumped wastes then runs off into river along

with rain water. Industries/activities which

contributes to Pollution are, Power plants,

Paper mills, Pharmaceutical manufacturers,

Semiconductor fabrication plants, Chemical

plants, Petroleum refineries, and bottling

facilities, Processes such as mining and drilling.

Pollutants of Industrial wastewater-

o Microbiological contaminants like

bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

o Chemicals from industrial activities

like solvents and organic and inorganic

pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls

(PCBs), asbestos, and many more;

o Metals such as lead, mercury, zinc,

copper, and many others.

o Nutrients such as phosphorus and

nitrogen;

o Suspended matter including

particulates and sediments;

o Temperature changes through the

discharge of warm cooling-water

effluent;

o Pharmaceuticals and personal care

products.

Agricultural pollution: The extensive uses of

chemicals in the form of fertilizers and

pesticides in agriculture have left the water

bodies contaminated with heavy metals. Such

heavy metals enter human body through the

food we eat, and many of them cause health

problems such as cancer. When waste in the

form of chemicals or liquid manure enter rivers,

the amount of oxygen in the water reduces.

Without sufficient oxygen no life form can

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survive in a water body. It also permanently

changes the nature of river. The water running

off from agricultural fields brings nitrate into

rivers. We also intake nitrate through our

drinking water when sourced from the river.

Agricultural activities which contribute to

river pollution are-

a) Tillage/ploughing:

Sediment/turbidity, sediments carry

phosphorus and pesticides adsorbed to

sediment particles; siltation of river

beds and loss of habitat, spawning

ground, etc.

b) Fertilizing: Runoff of nutrients,

especially phosphorus, leading to

eutrophication causing taste and odor

in public water Supply.

c) Manure spreading: Manure

application can spread antibiotics and

other pharmaceutical products that are

given to livestock.

d) Pesticides: Runoff of pesticides leads

to contamination of surface water and

biota; dysfunction of ecological system

in surface waters by loss of top

predators due to growth inhibition and

reproductive failure; public health

impacts from eating contaminated fish.

e) Irrigation: Runoff of salts leading to

salinization of surface waters

f) Aquaculture: Release of pesticides

and high levels of nutrients to surface

water and groundwater through feed

and faeces, leading to serious

eutrophication

Oil Pollution: Careless people can also pollute

rivers and harm wildlife by pouring things like

used car oil and paint into drains. If oil enters a

slow-moving river it forms a rainbow-coloured

film over the entire surface preventing oxygen

from entering the water. As mentioned above,

without oxygen the river is biologically dead.

Other sources of pollution

• Phosphorus from household waste

water and sewage is another powerful

pollutant. It comes from detergents and

stays in rivers for a long time where it

takes up valuable oxygen. Only few

sewage systems are equipped to

remove phosphates.

• Disposal of solid waste, plastic bags

and flower garlands into rivers.

• People defecating in open and near

rivers contribute to river pollution.

• Animals washing and wallowing in the

river

• The practice of dumping human

remains in the river also poses health

threats because of the unsustainable

rate at which partially burned bodies

are dumped. The dumped dead bodies

of people suffering from certain

infectious diseases spread pollution and

epidemics.

IMAPCT OF RIVER POLLUTION

1) Effects on ecosystem:

• Low levels of oxygen in rivers and

lakes due to water pollution are a major

cause for extinction of indigenous

organisms.

• Contamination of groundwater from

pesticides causes damage to the

reproductive system in the wildlife

ecosystem.

• The non-biodegradable pesticides and

chemicals cause mass destruction of

aquatic life.

• Steep increase in the BOD [Biological

Oxygen Demand] levels of water.

• Imbalance in host-parasite relations in

the ecosystem, changing the food webs

and food chain.

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• Deposition of hazardous chemicals in

soil leads to soil infertility.

2) Effects on Animal Health:

• Pollution kills life that depends on

these water bodies.

• Fishes and the aquatic organisms are

poisoned due to industrial chemicals

and agricultural pesticides.

• Animals that eat dead fish from

contaminated streams are affected.

• Fish, birds, dolphins and many other

animals are killed by pollutants in their

habitat.

• Reproduction rate in reduced in aquatic

organisms.

• Incidences of diseases increase.

• Bio accumulative and non-

biodegradable pesticides are

accumulated in animal bodies.

3) Effects on Human Health

• Swimming and drinking in

contaminated water can causes skin

diseases and also can lead to cancer,

reproductive problems, typhoid fever

and stomach ailments in humans.

• Heavy metals poisoning due to

consumption of contaminated fish. For

example : Mercury poisoning interferes

with the nervous system development

in foetuses and young children.

• Highly polluted water can harm

internal organs like heart and kidneys.

• Pesticide contamination of ground

water can cause endocrine and

reproductive problems to animals and

humans.

• Water borne diseases like hepatitis,

cholera, dysentry and typhoid are

common and affect large populations in

the tropical regions

• Nitrate contamination can prove fatal

for infants as it can restrict the oxygen

to the reach the brain causing the 'blue-

baby' syndrome. It can also cause

digestive tract cancers and

eutrophication in water bodies.

• According to World Bank Sponsored

Study (State of Environment Report-

U.P.) pollution levels in the Ganga are

contributing 9-12% of total disease

burden in Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). The

coliform bacteria levels are in excess of

2 lakh MPN as against the national

water quality standard of 5000 (Basant

Rai., 2013).

CLEAN UP OF RIVER POLLUTION:

1) Physical removal of suspended solid

particles from river stream which is very

difficult to carry out.

2) Algal blooms are the major reason for river

pollution which scavenges the valuable

oxygen leading to death of the aquatic

organisms.

• Removal of Algae by Chemical Agent-

Ex- Copper sulphate, bleaching

powder, alum, poly aluminum and

ferrous sulfate, etc..

• Remediation Technology with Aquatic

Animals which feed on algal blooms

and grow. Ex-silver carp and common

carp.

3) Remediation Technology with Aquatic

Plants which are tolerant to pollution and

grow. They remove potential contaminants

from river through adsorption, absorption,

bioaccumulation and degradation. Ex -

Reed, water hyacinth, cattail etc.

4) Sewage waste water treatment: mainly

contains three steps. Primary treatment

which is physical process to remove

suspended particles. Secondary treatment

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which uses microorganisms in the form of

bio film which reduces contaminants

through adsorption or by filtration etc.

Tertiary process is chemical disinfection

process using chemical agents finally water

is ready to use for human needs.

5) Industrial wastewater treatment before

release to rivers will reduce the addition

contaminants to river bodies.

6) Farmers should give up chemicals and

pesticides in farming and should instead

adopt organic methods of farming thus

reducing chemical pollution of rivers.

7) We should stop our religious practices that

pollute river water.

8) Proper drainage and sewage systems

should be adopted that will not allow the

polluted water to mix with river water.

9) Ban on Dhobi ghats alongside the river

which reduces addition of phosphorous to

river water thus reduces loss of oxygen

from river.

Controlling river pollution is in our own

interest. As citizens of India we have

constitutional duty to protect our environment.

Similarly, the government also has a duty to

protect the environment for the welfare of its

citizens.

CONCLUSION:

River pollution occurs in many ways which

may be natural or by manmade. Avoiding or

reducing the release of pollutants to rivers and

pre-treatment of waste water before releasing to

rivers may help in control of river pollution.

REFERENCES:

Palaniappan, M., Gleick, H P., Allen, L.,

Cohen, M J., Smith, C J and Smith C.,

2010. Clearing the waters: a focus on

water quality solutions., United nations

environment programme.

Quy-Toan Do., Joshi, S and Stolper, S., 2014,

Pollution externalities and health: a

study of Indian rivers., Working paper.

Rai, B., 2013, Pollution and conservation of

ganga river in modern India., Int. J. Sci.

Res. Publications, vol: 3, Issue 4, 2250-

3153.

River Pollution: Causes, Actions and Revival.

Janhit Foundation, Meerut.