Water pollution

“Water pollution” is defined as the presence of toxic chemicals and biological agents in water
that exceed what is naturally found in the water and may pose a threat to human health
and/or the environment.
Additionally, water pollution may consist of chemicals introduced into the water bodies as a
result of various human activities. Any amount of those chemicals pollutes the water,
regardless of the harm they may pose to human health and the environment.
Sources of water Pollution
1. Point sources
These are localized sources like an industrial process, a mining activity, etc. These sources are
usually regulated so that the effect may be predicted and the impact minimized. However,
accidental leaks and spills are an exception to that.
2. Non-point sources
These are unidentified sources from which pollutants are carried away by water discharges
and runoffs. Non-point pollution may involve a broad range of pollutants, but in lower
amounts than the point sources.
Causes of water pollution
1. Industrial waste: Industries produce huge amount of waste which contains toxic
chemicals and pollutants which can cause air pollution and damage to us and our
environment. They contain pollutants such as lead, mercury, sulphur, asbestos, nitrates
and many other harmful chemicals. Many industries do not have proper waste
management system and drain the waste in the fresh water which goes into rivers, canals
and later into sea. The toxic chemicals have the capability to change the colour of water,
increase the amount of minerals, also known as Eutrophication, change the temperature
of water and pose serious hazard to water organisms.
2. Sewage and waste water: The sewage and waste water that is produced by each
household is chemically treated and released in to sea with fresh water. The sewage water
carries harmful bacteria and chemicals that can cause serious health problems. Pathogens
are known as a common water pollutant. The sewers of cities house several pathogens
and thereby diseases. Microorganisms in water are known to be causes of some very
deadly diseases and become the breeding grounds for other creatures that act like
carriers. These carriers inflict these diseases via various forms of contact onto an
individual. A very common example of this process would be Malaria.
3. Mining activities: Mining is the process of crushing the rock and extracting coal and other
minerals from underground. These elements when extracted in the raw form contains
harmful chemicals and can increase the load of toxic elements when mixed up with water

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 which may result in health problems. Mining activities emit several metal waste and
sulphides from the rocks and is harmful for the water.
4. Marine dumping: The garbage produced by each household in the form of paper,
aluminium, rubber, glass, plastic, food if collected and deposited into the sea in some
countries. These items take from 2 weeks to 200 years to decompose. When such items
enter the sea, they not only cause water pollution but also harm animals in the sea.
5. Accidental oil leakage: Oil spill pose a huge concern as large amount of oil enters into the
sea and does not dissolve with water; thereby opens problem for local marine
wildlife such as fish, birds and sea otters. For e.g., a ship carrying large quantity of oil may
spill oil if met with an accident and can cause varying damage to species in the ocean
depending on the quantity of oil spill, size of ocean, toxicity of pollutant.
6. Burning of fossil fuels: Fossil fuels like coal and oil when burnt produce substantial
amount of ash in the atmosphere. The particles which contain toxic chemicals when
mixed with water vapor result in acid rain. Also, carbon dioxide is released from burning
fossil fuels which result in global warming.
7. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used by farmers
to protect crops from insects and bacteria. They are useful for the plant growth. However,
when these chemicals are mixed up with water become harmful for plants and animals.
Also, when it rains, the chemicals mix up with rainwater and flow down into rivers and
canals, which pose serious damages for aquatic animals.
8. Leakage from sewer lines: A small leakage from the sewer lines can contaminate the
underground water and make it unfit for the people to drink. Also, when not repaired on
time, the leaking water can come on to the surface and become a breeding ground for
insects and mosquitoes.
9. Global warming: An increase in earth’s temperature due to greenhouse effect results
in global warming. It increases the water temperature and result in death of aquatic
animals and marine species, which later results in water pollution.
10. Radioactive waste: Nuclear energy is produced using nuclear fission or fusion. The
element that is used in production of nuclear energy is Uranium which is highly toxic
chemical. The nuclear waste that is produced by radioactive material needs to be
disposed off to prevent any nuclear accident. Nuclear waste can have serious
environmental hazards if not disposed off properly. Few major accidents have already
taken place in Russia and Japan.
11. Urban development: As population has grown, so has the demand for housing, food and
cloth. As more cities and towns are developed, they have resulted in increased use of
fertilizers to produce more food, soil erosion due to deforestation, increase in
construction activities, inadequate sewer collection and treatment, landfills as more
garbage is produced, increase in chemicals from industries to produce more materials.

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12. Leakage from the landfills: Landfills are nothing but huge pile of garbage that produces
awful smell and can be seen across the city. When it rains, the landfills may leak and the
leaking landfills can pollute the underground water with large variety of contaminants.
13. Animal waste: The waste produced by animals is washed away into the rivers when it
rains. It gets mixed up with other harmful chemicals and causes various water borne
diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, jaundice, dysentery and typhoid.
14. Underground storage leakage: Transportation of coal and other petroleum products
through underground pipes is well known. Accidentals leakage may happen anytime and
may cause damage to environment and result in soil erosion.

Substances polluting water

Water used in the agricultural, industrial and civil sectors often contains substances which will
alter the ecosystem and hence must not be discharged directly into river flows. The most
common polluting agents are the following.
1. Faecal pollutants: materials of faecal origin that reach water bodies through sewage
discharges or introduction of zootechnical manure that has not been adequately treated.
If there is a high faecal type pollution, can be observed the presence of pathogen
microorganisms in water that can cause diseases as cholera, typhus fever, viral hepatitis,
etc.
2. Toxic inorganic substances: these are constituted by heavy metal ions that can poison or
kill living organisms. Industries that employ these heavy metals during processing, must
sanitize them to eliminate any heavy metal leftover before discharging water.
3. Inorganic harmful substances: there are substances constituted by phosphates and
polyphosphates existing in detergents, fertilizers, compounds of nitrogen and phosphorus
and in some industrial discharges. These substances cause eutrophication.
4. Unnatural organic substances: in this category are included weed killers, pesticides,
insecticides, etc. These substances are convenient for agriculture but can pollute both
water and soil. Among these substances are included also organic solvents used by
industries, such as trichlorethylene, acetone, benzene, etc., which must be eliminated
before water is discharged.
5. Free oils and emulsifiers: these are insoluble, low-density substances which for this
reason form superficial oily film layers that prevent oxygen dissolution in water. It is not a
rare phenomenon and it can cause real ecological disasters.
6. Suspended solids: creating a mixture of various kinds of substances that make water
murky and prevent solar light from passing through. When they deposit deep on the
bottom of a water body, they obstruct vegetation growth.

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7. Heat, acids and strong bases: originating especially from industrial discharges. They
reduce the solubility of oxygen, modify the temperature and pH of the environment
causing pathological alterations or the disappearance of living organisms or on the
contrary the comparison of others.
Emerging pollutants in water
As a result of the continuous development of anthropogenic activities (industry, agriculture,
health), the production and use of chemicals known as “emerging pollutants” and/or
“pollutants of emerging concerns” have increased. The first EPs were discovered in early 1800s
in aquatic environments. The presence of emerging pollutants in the environment is the result
of the uncontrolled urbanization, development of industry, health care activities essential to
support human well-being, agriculture and transport and include a wide range of substances
produced by humans, considered indispensable for the modern society. EPs are synthetic
persistent organic chemicals, which are not normally monitored in the environment, but
which can create adverse effects on the environment and human health. There are more than
700 compounds grouped in 20 classes of emerging pollutants: “surfactants, antibiotics and
other pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones and other endocrine – disrupting compounds
(EDCs), fire retardants, sunscreens, disinfection byproducts, new pesticides and pesticide
metabolites, naturally–occurring algal toxins.”
Table 1. Categories of emerging chemicals of concern in the water environment, with some examples.

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Emerging pollutants can occur in the environment from various point or diffuse sources, and
then reach the soil, atmosphere or water bodies through several ways or mechanisms that
depend largely on EPs properties (polarity, volatility, persistence) and the environmental
compartments characteristics. EPs and some of their metabolites are released into the
environment over several routes from industry, households, hospitals, lands and enter surface
and ground water.

Origins of emerging pollutants and their routes in the environment

EPs will manifest their toxic effects, depending on their category and mixtures. If EPs are in
mixtures, the toxic effects can cumulate and generate synergistic or antagonistic interactions,
leading to the so-called cocktail effect, so that the difficulty of risk analysis increases. In this
context, the precautionary principle needs to be applied consistently to ensure a clean and
healthy environment for future generations, which is why further studies on the risks induced
by EPs (because of their specific environmental behavior, toxicity and impacts on the
environment and human health) become essential.
The toxic effects of typical EPs in the environment

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Effects of water pollution
Water pollution has a dual effect on nature. It has negative effects on the living and also on
the environment. The effects of pollution on human beings and aquatic communities are many
and varied.
1. Water pollution leads to damage to human health. Disease carrying agents such as
bacteria and viruses are carried into the surface and ground water. Drinking water is
affected and health hazards result. Water pollution causes approximately 14,000 deaths
per day, mostly due to pollution of drinking water by untreated sewage in developing
countries. An estimated 700 million Indians have no access to a proper toilet, and 1,000
Indians children’s die of diarrhoea every day and so many other countries too. Definitely
with all these, we can expect that there is going to be a reduction in productivity.
2. Biomass and diversity of communities are to be affected when large quantities of toxic
materials are released into the streams, lakes and coastal waters in the ocean. Much of
aquatic pollution involves sewage in which organic waste predominate. This waste can
increase secondary productivity while altering the character of the aquatic community.
Most fishes especially the species desired as food by man are among the sensitive species
that disappear with the least intense pollution.
3. Direct damage to plant and animal nutrition also affects human health. Plants nutrients
including nitrogen, phosphorus and other substances that support the growth of aquatic
plant life could be in excess causing algal gloom and excessive weed growth. This makes
water to have odour, taste and sometimes colour. Ultimately, the ecological balance of a
body of water is altered.
4. Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides cause acid rain which lowers the pH value of soil and
emission of carbon dioxide cause ocean acidification, the ongoing decrease in the pH of
the Earth’s Oceans as CO2 becomes dissolved.
Things to remember
Minamata disease: It is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning.
Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness,
narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity,
paralysis, coma, and death follow within weeks of the onset of symptoms. Minamata disease
was first discovered in Minamata city in Japan in 1956. It was caused by the release of methyl
mercury from, the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968.
This highly toxic chemical bio-accumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata. When these are
eaten by the local people resulted in mercury poisoning. While cat, dog, pig, and human
deaths continued over more than 30 years.
Fluorosis: People suffer from a disease called fluorosis after consuming water containing
fluorine for sufficiently a long time. Quantity of fluoride in water is only 1.0 mg l-1. Symptoms
of fluorosis are back pain, joints get stiffened as so movement of joints is impaired, teeth are

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the worst effected and a brown coating appears on the enamel of teeth giving bad appearance
and persons with fluorosis cannot erect freely.
Control of water pollution
1. Municipal wastewater treatment: well-designed and operated systems (i.e., with
secondary treatment steps or more advanced treatment) can remove 90% or more of the
pollutant load in sewage. Some plants have additional systems to remove nutrients and
pathogens, but these more advanced treatment steps get progressively more expensive.
2. On-site sanitation and safely managed sanitation can reduce ground water pollution.
3. Industrial wastewater treatment: Some industrial facilities generate wastewater that is
similar to domestic sewage and can be treated by sewage treatment plants. Industries
that generate wastewater with high concentrations of organic matter (e.g., oil and
grease), toxic pollutants (e.g., heavy metals, volatile organic compounds) or nutrients
such as ammonia, need specialized treatment systems.
4. Best agricultural management practices.
5. Erosion and sediment control: erosion controls, such as mulching and hydroseeding, and
sediment controls, such as sediment basins and silt fences.
6. Control of urban runoff: Effective control of urban runoff involves reducing the velocity
and flow of storm water, as well as reducing pollutant discharges.
7. Pollution prevention practices include low-impact development techniques, installation
of green roofs and improved chemical handling (e.g. management of motor fuels & oil,
fertilizers and pesticides).

Chemical examination of water (tests) to find the state of water pollution

pH; biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO), etc. are some of the chemical
tests to find the stage of water pollution.
1. pH: The value of pH gives the degree of acidity or alkalinity of polluted water.
2. Biological oxygen demand (BOD): It is defined as the quantity of oxygen utilized by
microorganisms at a temperature of 20⁰C, generally measured for 5 days. When water is
polluted by unwanted materials, naturally the O2 content gets reduced and that water
become not fit for consumption either by human beings or animals or plants. Living
organisms require water with some quantity of sustainable oxygen in it. That oxygen is
necessary for living organisms is generally called BOD. If there is reduction in oxygen
content of water, it becomes unfit for biological consumption because there is change in
BOD.

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 Marine pollution
Ocean pollution is a significant environmental issue that poses a serious threat to the health
and well-being of our planet. Oceans account for 70% of the surface of planet Earth and play
a pivotal role in the health of our ecosystem — including land-dwelling animals like ourselves.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), billions of pounds
of trash and other pollutants enter our oceans every year. The consequences of ocean
pollution are far-reaching; ocean pollution is now tied to negative health outcomes in human
health and marine ecosystems.
Marine/ocean pollution
Ocean pollution — also called marine pollution — is a mixture of both chemical contamination
and trash. The act of ocean pollution occurs when chemicals and trash are either washed,
blown or intentionally dumped into the ocean.
Sources/causes of marine pollution
There are many sources/causes of marine, but most (80%) of the pollution in our oceans
originates on land and is caused by humans. Here are some of the major sources/causes of
marine pollution:
1. Non-point source pollution (runoff)
Non-point source pollution is the accumulation of pollution from multiple sources that cannot
be exactly identified. Examples include the pollution created by individual cars, boats, farms
and construction sites. Non-point source pollution typically becomes ocean pollution via
runoff, which occurs when rain or snow moves pollutants from the ground into the ocean. For
instance, after a heavy rainstorm, water flows off roads into the ocean, taking oil left on streets
from cars with it. But wind can transfer dirt and other debris from non-point sources and
deposit these pollutants on the ocean’s surface.
2. Intentional discharge
Manufacturing plants in many areas of the world release toxic waste into the ocean, including
mercury. Discharge of sewage also contributes to ocean pollution. Meanwhile, plastic waste
poses a particularly tough challenge; according to the Ocean Conservancy, eight million metric
tons of plastic go into our oceans every year.
3. Oil spills
Ships are major contributors to ocean pollution, especially when crude oil spills occur. Crude
oil lasts for years in the ocean and is difficult to clean up. You can find a history of oil spills on
the NOAA site, but the largest one in recent history was, by far, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, which spilled roughly 134 million gallons of oil into the
ocean.

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4. Littering
Atmospheric pollution — a type of ocean pollution where objects are carried by the wind to
the ocean — is often caused by littering. It includes single-use plastics (such as plastic bags)
and styrofoam containers which can take hundreds of years to biodegrade. It is estimated that
roughly 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide per year.
5. Ocean mining
Deep-sea ocean mining causes ocean pollution and ecosystem disruption at the lowest levels
of the ocean. Drilling for substances such as cobalt, zinc, silver, gold and copper creates
harmful sulphide deposits deep in the ocean.
Effects of ocean pollution
Ocean pollution has many consequences that directly and indirectly affect marine life, as well
as humans. Here are some of the most common effects of ocean pollution:
1. Harmful to marine life
Sea animals are frequent victims of ocean pollution. Oil spills, for instance, will ensnare and
suffocate marine animals by permeating their gills. When the oil gets into seabird feathers,
they may not be able to fly or feed their young. Animals that are not killed by crude oil may
suffer from cancer and behavioural changes and become unable to reproduce.
Marine animals also mistake small plastic debris for food or become entangled in or strangled
by plastic bags and discarded fishing nets. Animals most vulnerable to harm from plastic debris
in the ocean include dolphins, fish, sharks, turtles, seabirds and crabs.
2. Depletion of oxygen in seawater
As excess debris in the ocean slowly degrades over many years, it uses oxygen to do so,
resulting in less oxygen in the ocean. Low levels of oxygen in the ocean lead to the death of
ocean animals such as penguins, dolphins, whales and sharks.
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus in seawater also cause oxygen depletion. When a great deal
of oxygen depletion occurs in an area of the ocean, it can become a dead zone (see below)
where very little marine life can survive.
3. A threat to human health
Pollutants in the ocean make their way back to humans. Small organisms ingest toxins and are
eaten by larger predators, many of which are seafood that we eventually eat. When the toxins
in contaminated animals get deposited in human tissue, it can lead to long-term health
conditions, cancer and birth defects.
For example, phytoplankton will absorb methylmercury (bacteria-converted mercury carried
down to the ocean’s surface). This makes its way up the food chain when zooplankton eat the
phytoplankton, then small fish eat the zooplankton, then bigger fish eat the smaller fish. By

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the time you reach a fish the size of a swordfish, they can contain a very high mercury load (in
fact, swordfish contain one of the highest mercury loads).
Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of litter — primarily microplastics — in the
North Pacific Ocean and is actually composed of two separate large patches, the Western
Garbage Patch (found near Japan) and the Eastern Garbage Patch (found between Hawaii and
California). The GPGP is the biggest, but not the only, garbage patch; the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans are home to trash vortexes and smaller bodies of water are also developing them.
Dead zones
Dead zones are areas of water where sea life cannot survive due to reduced oxygen levels.
Dead zones result from nutrient pollution — a type of pollution created when runoff
introduces excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus — which encourages the growth of
algae blooms. These algae blooms consume oxygen and block sunlight to oxygen-producing
underwater plants.
Prevention and control of marine pollution
Given the long-term, disastrous effects of ocean pollution, anything we can do to avoid
contaminating our seas is a good idea. With a few small changes to our daily routines, we can
all do our part to help reduce the amount of pollution going into our oceans.
1. Reduce chemical fertilizer use
Excess chemical fertilizer eventually makes its way into the oceans. Choose organic fertilizers,
which tend to be lower in nutrients, and use them at half strength or half as often as
suggested.
2. Use for reusable bottles and utensils
Single-use plastic bottles, eating utensils and straws, are massive ocean polluters. Rather than
contributing to the threat to marine life, opt for reusable bottles and utensils. When using
reusable bottles, bisphenol-A (BPA)-free or glass bottles are best. Reusable straws made from
silicone or metal can be good option.
3. Properly dispose of plastics and other trash
One of the simplest ways to reduce ocean pollution is to properly dispose of plastics and other
recyclable materials, so they do not end up in the ocean.
4. Other options:
• Improving existing sewage disposal facilities
• Ensuring individual houses have sewage disposal systems (such as septic tanks).
• Large resorts should use and manage their own packaged treatment plants.

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• Marine planning and management should be considered as processes such as land
– sea interaction; inter disciplinary co-operation; participation of public & private
sector organizations; balance between protection and development public
participation
• Oil tankers are double hulled (two layered bottom) to reduce the chance of oil
leakage

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 Thermal pollution
Thermal pollution is also known as heat pollution and occurs when heat is released into water
or air that produces undesirable effects. Sudden heat release usually due to forest fire or
volcanoes or human induced activities. Thermal pollution is also the addition of excess
undesirable heat to water that makes it harmful to human, animal or aquatic life.
• The combustion of fossil fuels always produces heat, sometimes as a primary desired
product and sometimes as a secondary, less desired by-product.
• Heat is also produced when fossil fuels are burned to generate electricity. In this case,
heat is a by-product, not the main reason that fuels are burned.
• Electricity is also generated in nuclear power plants, when no combustion occurs.
• The decay of organic matter in landfills also releases heat to the atmosphere.
It is clear, therefore, that a vast array of human activities results in the release of heat to the
environment. As those activities increase in number and extent, so does the amount of heat
released. In many cases, heat added to the environment begins to cause problems for plants,
humans or other animals. This effect is then known as thermal pollution.
Sources of thermal pollution
Various sources of thermal pollution include thermal power plants, nuclear power plants,
petroleum refineries, steel plants, metallurgical industries, paper mills, chemical plants. Coal
fired power plants constitute major sources of thermal pollution. Nuclear plants discharge
much heat and also trace of toxic radioactive substances. Many industries use water for
cooling purpose and thus the heat effluents are finally discharged into water.
A one megawatt nuclear power plant may require 1.3 billion gallons (five million m3) of cooling
water each day. The water used in such a plant has its temperature increased by about (17°C)
during the cooling process. For this reason, such plants are usually built very close to an
abundant water supply such as a lake, a large river or the ocean.
Effects of temperature
Temperature plays an important role in determining the conditions in which living things can
survive. Birds and mammals require a narrow range of body temp for survival whereas aquatic
species can exist at a certain range of temperatures. Thermal pollution increases water
temperature causing a change (lowering) of dissolved oxygen levels. This disrupts and causes
decay of plant and animal species. The warmer water increases the metabolic rate of fish and
other animals in the sea; this decreases the life expectancy of aquatic animals.
When thermal pollution drives water temperatures up, most aquatic and marine wildlife
cannot survive. Immobile organisms, such as plants and shellfish, simply die. One inevitable
result of thermal pollution is a reduction in the amount dissolved oxygen in water. The amount
of any gas that can be dissolved in water varies inversely with the temperature. As water is

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warmed, therefore, it is capable of dissolving less oxygen. Organisms that need oxygen to
survive will, in such cases, cannot be able to survive.
When heated water is released from a plant or factory, it does not readily mix with the cooler
water around it. Instead, it forms a stream like mass known as a thermal plume that spreads
out from the outflow pipes. It is in this thermal plume that the most severe effects of thermal
pollution are likely to occur. Only over an extended period of time does the plume gradually
mix with surrounding water, producing a mass of homogenous temperature
Invasion of destructive organism
Water temperatures can have other, less expected effects also. As an example, trout can swim
less rapidly in water above 19°C making them less efficient predators. Organisms may become
more subject to disease in warmer water too. The bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris is
harmless to fish at temperatures of less than 10°C. Between temperatures of 10° - 21°C,
however, it is able to invade through wounds in a fish's body and at temperatures above 21°
it can even attack healthy tissue.
Undesirable changes in algal population
Excess nutrients from the washout water from farm lands combined with thermal pollution
cause an excessive algal growth with consequent changes. High temperature promotes blue
green algal blooms which disrupts the aquatic food chain.
Urban heat dome
Another example of thermal pollution is the development of urban heat islands. An urban
heat island consists of a dome of warm air over an urban area caused by the release of heat
in the region. Since more human activity occurs in an urban area than in the surrounding rural
areas, the atmosphere over the urban area becomes warmer than it is over the rural areas.
It is not uncommon for urban heat islands to produce measurable climate changes. For
example, the levels of pollutants trapped in an urban heat island can reach 5 to 25% greater
than the levels over rural areas. Fog and clouds may reach twice the level of comparable rural
areas, wind speeds may be produced by up to 30% and temperatures may be 0.5° - 2°C higher
than in surrounding rural areas. Such differences may cause both personal discomfort and, in
some cases, actual health problems for those living within an urban heat island.
Control of thermal pollution
Thermal Pollution is controlled by the following methods:
1. Cooling towers are designed to control the temperature of water which transfers some of
the heat from the water to the surrounding atmosphere by evaporation. There are two
types of cooling towers namely wet cooling towers and dry cooling towers.
• Wet cooling tower: Hot water coming out from the condenser (reactor) is allowed to
spray over baffles. Cool air, with high velocity, is passed from sides, which takes away
the heat and cools the water.

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 • Dry cooling tower: Here, hot water is allowed to flow in long spiral pipes. Cool air with
the help of a fan is passed over these hot pipes, which cools down hot water. This cool
water can be recycled
2. Cooling ponds are employed for thermal discharges. Heated effluents on the surface of
water in cooling ponds maximize dissipation of heat to the atmosphere.
3. Spray ponds: The water coming out from condensers is allowed to pass into the ponds
through sprayers. Here water is sprayed through nozzles as fine droplets. Heat from the
fine droplets gets dissipated to the atmosphere.
4. Artificial lakes are manmade bodies of water which offer possible alternative. The heating
effluents are discharged into lake at one end and the water for cooling purpose may be
withdrawn from the other end.
The water heated by thermal pollution also has a number of potential useful applications. For
example, it may be possible to establish aquatic farms where commercially desirable fish and
shellfish can be raised. The Japanese have been especially successful in pursuing this option.
Some experts have also suggested using this water to heat buildings, to remove snow, to fill
swimming pools, to use for irrigation, to de-ice canals, and to operate industrial processes that
have modest heat requirements. Hot water is pumped into one end of the pond and cooler
water is removed from the other end. The heat gets dissipated from the pond into the
atmosphere. The main disadvantage is large amounts of water are lost due to evaporation.
Here at Westport, Kentucky the Ohio River provides the large amount of water required by
this coal-fired power plant. Thermal pollution is abated by the use of the large cooling tower,
which emits only steam into the atmosphere. The emission of the smokestack is largely steam
but still contains pollutants.

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