| Abstract from DBPedia | Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into these water bodies. Water pollution can be attributed to one of four sources: sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. It can be grouped into surface water pollution (either fresh water pollution or marine pollution) or groundwater pollution. For example, releasing inadequately treated wastewater into natural waters can lead to degradation of these aquatic ecosystems. Water pollution can also lead to water-borne diseases for people using polluted water for drinking, bathing, washing or irrigation. Water pollution reduces the ability of the body of water to provide the ecosystem services (such as drinking water) that it would otherwise provide. Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse, such as agricultural runoff. Pollution is the result of the cumulative effect over time. Pollution may take the form of toxic substances (e.g., oil, metals, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, industrial waste products), stressful conditions (e.g., changes of pH, hypoxia or anoxia, increased temperatures, excessive turbidity, unpleasant taste or odor, and changes of salinity), or pathogenic organisms. Contaminants may include organic and inorganic substances. Heat can also be a pollutant, and this is called thermal pollution. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers. Control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans as well as legislation. Technology solutions can include improving sanitation, sewage treatment, industrial wastewater treatment, agricultural wastewater treatment, erosion control, sediment control and control of urban runoff (including stormwater management). Effective control of urban runoff includes reducing speed and quantity of flow.水質汚染（すいしつおせん、water pollution）とは、人間の行動によって引き起こされた湖、河川、大洋、地下水といった水に対する一連の有害影響のことである。具体的な例として、水道法で定める飲料水の基準を悪化させるとする、細菌の増加、化学物質や有機物増加、色度や濁度の変化などの状態がある。主に生活排水と産業廃棄物が原因になりやすく、現在の水質汚染の原因の約70%は生活排水である。中でも台所からの排水が最も多く、油や醤油、米のとぎ汁といったものの負荷も大きい。河川・湖沼などの公共用水域は水質汚濁、海水や海域は海洋汚染として別に書き分ける。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Water_pollution) |
