Future prospects for inland waters are very negative. There are many studies that seek to include information on the quantity and quality of available water. The UN (United Nations) prepared a series of studies to obtain a concrete opinion of the real situation in the planet's water situation, and it was proven that over time the commitment of water for human consumption, for the maintenance of animals and for irrigation in agriculture occurs in a growing.
Currently, several different factors and segments contribute to the process of scarcity of this indispensable resource to every living being, among the main ones are: the industrial activity, which uses the rivers to drain its tailings; mining companies, agriculture, which makes use of various agricultural inputs (fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc.) in order to increase production in order to meet the foreign market, that is, export; between others.
A part of the agricultural inputs is taken by the runoff of rain, which reaches rivers and streams, inserting various toxic substances, these same substances are absorbed by the soil and reach the ground. water table.
Substances commonly found as polluting agents are: petroleum residues and derivatives, lead, mercury and heavy metals, which are widely used in industry and in mineral extraction.
Another center of pollution diffusion are the urban centers, which daily, throughout the planet and especially in poor countries, release domestic sewage without any type of treatment, the sewage reaches rivers and streams, in addition to the water table, which are in the vicinity of the cities. This happens in several places, however, the incidence is more common in small towns that do not have domestic sewage treatment centers.
Deforestation is a direct factor that aggravates the issue of water scarcity, since when removing the vegetation cover for urban or rural occupation, the soil is exposed to water from rain and wind, with this the soil is deposited in water sources, causing the siltation of rivers, this process promotes climate change and compromises aquatic life.
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The mines, which have their activities on the banks of rivers, cause the dispersion of heavy minerals, such as mercury, polluting the water that is consumed by communities.
The ports carry out cleaning every five years, dumping an immense amount of waste; sanitary landfills are major water polluting agents, mainly from the water table, as millions of tons of accumulated garbage release a liquid (slurry) that is absorbed by the soil and reaches the underground reserves of Water.
Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "Continental Water Pollution"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/poluicao-aguas-continentais.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
