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"Water pollution"
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Critical review on toxic contaminants in surface water ecosystem: sources, monitoring, and its impact on human health
Surface water pollution is a critical and urgent global issue that demands immediate attention. Surface water plays a crucial role in supporting and sustaining life on the earth, but unfortunately, till now, we have less understanding of its spatial and temporal dynamics of discharge and storage variations at a global level. The contamination of surface water arises from various sources, classified into point and non-point sources. Point sources are specific, identifiable origins of pollution that release pollutants directly into water bodies through pipes or channels, allowing for easier identification and management, e.g., industrial discharges, sewage treatment plants, and landfills. However, non-point sources originate from widespread activities across expansive areas and present challenges due to its diffuse nature and multiple pathways of contamination, e.g., agricultural runoff, urban storm water runoff, and atmospheric deposition. Excessive accumulation of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, pesticides, chlorination by-products, pharmaceutical products in surface water through different pathways threatens food quality and safety. As a result, there is an urgent need for developing and designing new tools for identifying and quantifying various environmental contaminants. In this context, chemical and biological sensors emerge as fascinating devices well-suited for various environmental applications. Numerous chemical and biological sensors, encompassing electrochemical, magnetic, microfluidic, and biosensors, have recently been invented by hydrological scientists for the detection of water pollutants. Furthermore, surface water contaminants are monitored through different sensors, proving their harmful effects on human health.
Graphical Abstract
Journal Article
The low but uncertain measured benefits of US water quality policy
US investment to decrease pollution in rivers, lakes, and other surface waters has exceeded $1.9 trillion since 1960, and has also exceeded the cost of most other US environmental initiatives. These investments come both from the 1972 Clean Water Act and the largely voluntary efforts to control pollution from agriculture and urban runoff. This paper reviews the methods and conclusions of about 20 recent evaluations of these policies. Surprisingly, most analyses estimate that these policies’ benefits are much smaller than their costs; the benefit–cost ratio from the median study is 0.37. However, existing evidence is limited and undercounts many types of benefits. We conclude that it is unclear whether many of these regulations truly fail a benefit–cost test or whether existing evidence understates their net benefits; we also describe specific questions that when answered would help eliminate this uncertainty.
Journal Article
Physical and chemical processes in the aquatic environment
\"This book has a unique outline in that it follows pollution from sources to impact. Included in the text is the treatment of various tracers, ranging from pathogens to stable isotopes of elements and providing a comprehensive discussion which is lacking in many other books on pollution control of natural waters\"- Provided by publisher.
Book
Shedding light on the invisible: addressing the potential for groundwater contamination by plastic microfibers
The processes of microplastic fiber pollution in groundwater are unknown. The recent research on this contaminant threat is generally focused on surface waters (mainly oceans and rivers), while aquifer contamination is only marginally mentioned as an issue needing further investigation. Synthetic microfibers can be introduced into soils in different ways (e.g. wastewater treatment plants or greywater discharge, septic tank outflows, direct injection of contaminated water in cases of managed aquifer recharge, losing streams, etc.), and can thus reach aquifer systems due to leaching or infiltration in soil pores. Microfibers can then adsorb persistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, which include persistent organic pollutants and metals, and become a carrier of harmful substances in the aquifer system, hence contributing to the overall contamination in both urban and rural areas. For this reason, it is of paramount importance, not only to assess the occurrence and fate of microplastic fibers in groundwater, but also to study the role of microplastics as carriers of contaminants within the aquifer and to advance standardization and organization of monitoring campaigns. Only by addressing these key challenges can hydrogeologists contribute to the state of the art on microplastic pollution and ensure that groundwater is not neglected in the environmental assessments tackling this contaminant of emerging concern.
Journal Article
Plastic Debris in Lakes and Reservoirs
Plastic debris is thought to be widespread in freshwater ecosystems globally
1
. However, a lack of comprehensive and comparable data makes rigorous assessment of its distribution challenging
2
,
3
. Here we present a standardized cross-national survey that assesses the abundance and type of plastic debris (>250 μm) in freshwater ecosystems. We sample surface waters of 38 lakes and reservoirs, distributed across gradients of geographical position and limnological attributes, with the aim to identify factors associated with an increased observation of plastics. We find plastic debris in all studied lakes and reservoirs, suggesting that these ecosystems play a key role in the plastic-pollution cycle. Our results indicate that two types of lakes are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination: lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized areas and large lakes and reservoirs with elevated deposition areas, long water-retention times and high levels of anthropogenic influence. Plastic concentrations vary widely among lakes; in the most polluted, concentrations reach or even exceed those reported in the subtropical oceanic gyres, marine areas collecting large amounts of debris
4
. Our findings highlight the importance of including lakes and reservoirs when addressing plastic pollution, in the context of pollution management and for the continued provision of lake ecosystem services.
Analysis of plastic debris found in surface waters shows that lakes and reservoirs in densely populated and urbanized regions, as well as those with elevated deposition areas, are particularly vulnerable to plastic contamination.
Journal Article
Water Contamination and Human Health Risks in Pakistan: A Review
Water contamination is one of the most significant hazards to human health on the world scale. Drinking water quality in Pakistan is decreasing gradually due to alarming population growth, rapid industrialization, climate change and lack of efficient water quality management. In Pakistan, the majority of the population doesn’t have access to safe and healthy drinking water sources, and people are forced to use unsafe drinking water. This review compiled data from multiple studies published in international and national journals from 2010 to 2022 and reports issued by the governments and non-governmental institutions to highlight Pakistan’s drinking water quality status, and to emphasize major water pollutants, sources of contaminants, and significant health problems. The results revealed that bacteriological contamination such as coliforms (total coliform, fecal coliform,
Escherichia coli
), toxic elements like arsenic (As), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chloride (Cl
−
), fluoride (F
−
), mercury (Hg) and pesticides were found in both surface water and groundwater, and were the major causes of waterborne diseases. The majority of sampled water had bacteriological, physicochemical and toxic metals concentrations exceeding the National Standards for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) and WHO drinking water quality standards. There is an immediate need to adopt water management strategies and protective measures to overcome the shortages and unhygienic conditions of the drinking water supply in Pakistan.
Journal Article