Impacts on the environment
by Axel Oliva
by Axel Oliva
Lakes and ocean water pollution effects can be severe, especially when causing algae bloom. The sources often originate from fertilizers and even waste water treatment. The excess amount of nutrients helps in growing of plants and algae very fast. This consumes the oxygen in the water body, the process referred to is called eutrophication. When oxygen levels drop, the plants and animals die due to lack of oxygen leading to dead zones. These are areas that can barely support any form of life.
Besides the oxygen depletion, harmful algal blooms can also have neurotoxic effects, which ingredients contained in these blooms can be very harmful to other animal populations such as sea turtles and even whales. These substances are threatening because they affect how the living organism operates, hence causing disharmony in the place’s economy.
In addition to this, the presence of these chemicals in water also causes severe long lasting environmental effects. Deleterious substances like pesticides and heavy metals as well industrial effluents have also been involved in biological magnification. Updated information on pollutants lessons for fish contain, pcbs, dioxins and furans and other residues that have been the cause of pollution lakes rivers and oceans due to runoff from cities and other industries.
These substances are poisonous, hence the need for caution when they are ingested in large quantities over time – the more contaminated fish one eats. Such that larger fishes which include the tuna fish for example, packs a lot of toxics, mercury being the most common. Heavy metals released into the water bodies also pose a risk to the fish themselves and reduces the years they can live and reproduce. Also, these contaminants can cause abnormality and illness to the aquatic life thus threatening the biodiversity of the ecosystem.
There are many factors contributing to the threat of water pollution, some of which include the communities and societies themselves. Most communities depend on them for economic activities such as fishing and tourism which reposes a greater risk of enhancing the water bodies pollution. With growing concern over marine policies, pollution relates the human activity to the degradation and even destruction of the natural resources for the use of future generations. As there are always sources of pollution left uncontrolled, it is important that every national government fairly regulates the level of these pollutants and the impact on the environment.
In summary, the aquatic ecosystems as well as the organisms resident in them are under serious threat due to water pollution caused by harmful toxic blue green algae blooms and other chemicals. It is imperative that the outflow of nutrients into the oceans and freshwaters and industrial sewage discharge be reduced. Agricultural runoff must be controlled, and more regulatory measures should be implemented concerning wastewater discharge.