Tuesday, September 20, 2011

What Does Sewage Pollution Do

By Jason Restall


Its is not only sewage that gets discharged into the sea and rivers, and people use the sea nice leisurely swim. Everyday tons of toxic chemicals find there way from sinks, baths and toilets into our treatment works. However too many of these pipes continue their journey by bypassing the sewage treatment works and go straight into the sea and rivers. The many chemicals that enter the streams or rivers disrupt the ecosystem and the food chain. The environmental agency report a staggering one third of male fish in UK rivers have had their hormones changed which result in feminisation.

The harmful chemicals that enter the rivers and steams are found in daily household cleaning products like as shampoo, washing powders, soap, bleach ect.

There are a lot signs of river and sea pollution such as discolored water, smelly water and dead fish floating on top water surface. There are three main reasons for pollution these are - One) Fertilizers. Fertilizers commonly used by farms which drain into rivers discharging large volumes of concentrated nitrogen and phosphate. These pollutants cause the algae to multiply rapidly converting the water green, this explosion of growth eutrophication leads to serious problems. Two) Industrial waste. Industrial pollution is probably the great threat to water courses in the UK. The horrible pollution caused from industrial waste include zinc, copper, mercury lead, cyanide etc. These substance will enter the food chain and accumulate until they reach toxic levels killing fish, birds and mammals. Three) Oil pollution. Oil contamination enters our water course and forms a rainbow colored skin or film over the surface of the water preventing oxygen entering the water.

Polluted water also carriers many diseases. Often animal drink water from streams and rivers and when they do they can get diseases that can slowly kill. If we eat these animals we can catch the disease the infected animals had and die.

The environmental agency now have brought in much needed legislation to combat sewage pollution. Coupled with measures implemented by the British water companies such as southern water, Seven Trent many of Britons rivers and streams are now being cleaned up.




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