Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and
revision of water resource policy at all levels. It has been suggested that water
pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts
for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 580 people in India
die of water pollution related illness every day. About 90 percent of the water in the
cities of China is polluted. As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe
drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing
countries, developed countries also continue to struggle with pollution problems. For
example, in the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 44
percent of assessed stream miles, 64 percent of assessed lake acres, and 30
percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.
The head of China’s national development agency said in 2007 that one quarter the
length of China’s seven main rivers were so poisoned the water harmed the skin.
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic
contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, or
undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities,
such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and
earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of
water.
1. What is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases?
2. How many people die every day by water pollution?
3. How many percent of the water in the cities of China is polluted?
5. What phenomena cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status
of water?
Water pollution is a major global problem which requires ongoing evaluation and
revision of water resource policy at all levels. It has been suggested that water
pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases, and that it accounts
for the deaths of more than 14,000 people daily. An estimated 580 people in India
die of water pollution related illness every day. About 90 percent of the water in the
cities of China is polluted. As of 2007, half a billion Chinese had no access to safe
drinking water. In addition to the acute problems of water pollution in developing
countries, developed countries also continue to struggle with pollution problems. For
example, in the most recent national report on water quality in the United States, 44
percent of assessed stream miles, 64 percent of assessed lake acres, and 30
percent of assessed bays and estuarine square miles were classified as polluted.
The head of China’s national development agency said in 2007 that one quarter the
length of China’s seven main rivers were so poisoned the water harmed the skin.
Water is typically referred to as polluted when it is impaired by anthropogenic
contaminants and either does not support a human use, such as drinking water, or
undergoes a marked shift in its ability to support its constituent biotic communities,
such as fish. Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and
earthquakes also cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status of
water.
1. What is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases?
Water pollution is the leading worldwide cause of deaths and diseases.
2. How many people die every day by water pollution?
More than 14,000 people die every day by water pollution.
3. How many percent of the water in the cities of China is polluted?
25% of the water in the cities of China is polluted.
5. What phenomena cause major changes in water quality and the ecological status
of water?
Volcanoes, algae blooms, storms, and earthquakes.
