Water Quality and Contamination - Lab Report Example

The process of purifying salty water to make it using fresh water is extremely complicated and expensive and as such, people, many animals, and plants have to survive on the 1%. There are three sources of fresh water used by people and animals; groundwater, surface water, and aquifers. Surface water includes water that collects on the ground through the process of precipitation and which does not evaporate back to the atmosphere or even infiltrates to the ground. This water collects in such places such as rivers, lakes, among others.

Groundwater, on the other hand, settles underneath the ground and is stored in pores, fractures, or solid rock underneath the earth surface. This water collects in these places through the infiltration process. Aquifers, on the other hand, are areas where water collects such as in sand, gravel or permeable rock. Although rainwater is pure, it gets contaminated very fast, especially after it touches the ground through man-made, natural and animal pollutants. Ground pollutants travel from one place to another through streams, rivers, or groundwater while others are available in the air.

Man-made pollutants include motor oil, petrol, and diesel, acidic chemicals, among others. There are many dangers of consuming contaminated water, especially the potential of these impurities in causing diseases. Poisons, disease-causing agents and toxins can reside in water, and adversely affect people. Medics believe that contaminated water such as toxins and lead-acid chemicals are responsible for the majority of cancers affecting many people today. It is because of these impurities and dangers associated with contaminated water that water purification becomes necessary.