Phosphorus, Nitrogen & Microbiological based water pollution from municipal sources - Essay Example

Water pollution usually occurs when a water body gets contaminated by different materials which are usually not present in it and which are harmful in nature. So in such a situation the water body is no longer useful for its intended use and hence is termed as polluted. If we consider the case of pollutants, there are two variants of water pollution. They are called as point source and non point source. Point sources of pollution happen when harmful substances are emitted directly in the water body and non point sources are those which deliver pollutants indirectly usually through environmental effects.

It is generally regarded that water pollution which arises from non point sources are usually difficult to deal and ironically these are the ones which account for a majority of the contaminants in water bodies like streams and lakes. In order to understand the whole scenario clearly lets give a brief introduction to causes of pollution. We all know that there are many elements which cause pollution. Some of the important ones are sewage and fertilizers. These are dangerous because they contain nutrients like nitrates and phosphates.

The main problem is that these nutrients stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and excessive growth of these organisms clogs the waterways. They also block light to the deeper section of the water body and this affects fish and other living organisms.  Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains. Normally, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies undergo Eutrophication, an aging process that slowly fills in the water body with sediment and organic matter.

  When these sediments enter various bodies of water, fish respiration becomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth become