Water Pollution - Essay Example

Pollution Introduction I live next to River Indiana. This west fork which is a stream to river white Indiana have faced a lot of threats from the community and environment around it. The river use to stream through the forest of the hardwoods. The fish and other species used to be many but they decreased over time due to heavy pollution of the stream which later lead to impairment of the stream of the River Indiana. Pollution of this stream was mainly caused by cutting down of the trees in the nearby forest in the process of cultivation as well as grazing areas.

This exposed the waters of the river to the sun and the river eventually dried up. Over time the stream dried and it became a seasonal flowing river.The livestock waste was streamed into the Fork West making it extremely polluted making the vertebrates in the river to perish which in turn led to a decrease in fish population in the stream. This animal waste also led to algal bloom which worsens the conditions of waters in this river which later leads to death of fish due to lack of oxygen. The pesticides and insecticides used in the farms gets its way into the waters of river West Fork polluting its waters.

The poor sewerage systems along the river make the river polluted and unhygienic therefore the water is not suitable for domestic use.As the towns grew and expanded this made pollution of this stream more severe and deadly to the life of the river. The sewage water was channeled to the stream with no concern of its effects. This made pollution more terrible to the marine life in the river at that point in time. The users of the river at the downstream were not taken into consideration. The situation of the stream became worse when the domestic waste came into contact with waste from the industries.

This destroyed the natural environment which was a catchment area for this river and a source of living to many downstream. The clearing of the natural vegetation led to rapid surface runoff which further led to formation of ditches which never had the capacity of carrying the flow which was on increase. The development of ditches and trenches led to the destruction of water catchment areas which were formally of a quality nature. This pollution led to degradation of the water of this stream and lives of the people who live downstream .

The people down the stream use the river both for domestic use and other farming activities. The water could therefore have negative effects on their health since it may lead to contamination of water and food.These conditions of the stream lead to a massive death of fish and other organisms living in the river. This reduced one of the sources of income to the people around the river. This further poses a threat of food security in the future this is because the fishing activity is rapidly reducing and at the same time water levels are declining making the future life not an easy game.

The deteriorating conditions of this stream make it not of greater use in the future. Continued pollution of the river may lead to its death. This stream may even lead to the drying up of the main river that it streams to. This may lead to many of the irrigation schemes downfield to fail terribly there will be no water to facilitate the projects of irrigation. When the river dries up we will not be able to access the recreational facilities like canoeing and kayaking as well as fishing. Poor agricultural practices along the river leads to water erosion along the river making the waters muddy band not suitable for drinking and other domestic uses.

These poor farming practices may also result in the inappropriate use of farm chemicals leading to excessive water pollution.The corrective measures that can be taken include planting trees on river banks as well as treating sewage and industrial effluents before releasing them into Rive West Fork. This will help reduce pollution in the long run.Cited WorksWest Fork Des Moines River Water Quality Survey, Estherville Area. Iowa City, Iowa: The Laboratory, 1972. Print. West Fork White River Watershed Data Inventory and Nonpoint Source Pollution Assessment.

Little Rock: Dept. of Environmental Quality, Environmental Preservation Division, 2004. Print. Investigative Mine Survey of a Small Watershed: A Field Investigation to Locate and Define Unknown or Hidden Drift Mine Openings in the Browns Creek Watershed of the West Fork River in West Virginia. Washington: U.S. Federal Water Quality Administration, 1970. Print.