Free Custom «Water Science» Essay Paper

Statistical data on the water is full of paradoxes. Over 70% of the planet's surface is covered with water. It seems that people should not worry about water, but alas - it is suitable neither for drinking nor for business. A person needs sweet water. However, its reserves are very modest, and it is distributed unevenly. The number of it is less than 3% of the total reserves. 75% are concentrated in glaciers with uncertain prospects of use. Only one hundredth of the total volume of sweet water is easily accessible. The situation is complicated by the fact that even available resources are not suitable for consumption without further processing. Water quality in natural sources is poor. Clean rivers, lakes and springs are only in legends. Artesian water also has a complex chemical composition. Groundwater is also polluted. So the overall conclusion is not comforting – there are no sources that provide clean, safe and potable water.

Industrial development leads to the accumulation of industrial wastes, which in turn affect the quality of water. For example, a pulp and paper plant discards about 150 thousand m³ of wastewater per day that is the same as a major industrial city. There are fibers and other non-oxidizing organic inclusions in such effluents. Phenolic compounds contained in wastewater enterprises of wood chemical, oil shale, aniline industry are very dangerous. Wastewaters of some chemical plants contain synthetic surfactants, even a small amount of which causes the formation of stable foam. Consequently biochemical properties of water are sharply deteriorating. Discharge of industrial wastes leads to the pollution of the World Ocean, which causes a sharp decrease in its biological productivity and a negative impact on climate (Tripathi& Pandey, 1990). Because of strong water pollution by industrial wastes a large number of population has broken metabolism, kidney stones, gallstones, cancer, and other diseases. The accumulations of harmful compounds are accelerated. Most of fish die due to poisoning by industrial wastes.