It covers 71% of the earth's surface
and makes up 65 % of our bodies.

We use copious amounts of it every day and don’t even give it a second
thought. What am I referring to?

Water!

Everyone wants clean water to drink, for recreation, and just to enjoy
looking at. If water becomes polluted, it loses its   value to us
economically and aesthetically, and can become a threat to our health
and to the survival of the fish living in it and the wildlife that depends
on it.

The used water of a community is called wastewater, or sewage. If it is not treated before being discharged into waterways, serious pollution is the result. Historically, it has taken humanity quite a bit of time to come to grips with this problem. Water pollution also occurs when rain water runoff from urban and industrial areas and from agricultural and and mining operations makes its way back to receiving waters (river, lake or ocean) and into the ground.

To keep our used water from spoiling our water resources, we have to remove the pollutants before the water gets back   into the environment. In urban areas in most developed countries, the wastewater from homes, businesses and factories is collected by a system of underground pipes-- sewers-- which carry it to one or more central treatment facilities. Most of these are located near bodies of water into which the treated wastewater is discharged.

Besides having a set of sewer pipes-- called, strangely enough, sanitary sewers-- which carry wastewater to a treatment   plant, cities and towns also need pipes to collect storm water. These are needed to prevent street flooding and usually lead directly to a waterway without any treatment. The runoff of pollutants from streets and yards into these storm sewers contain oil and other automotive wastes, which may contain toxic metals and organic compounds-- as well as   pesticides and nutrient-containing fertilizers from lawns and gardens, and pathogenic micro organisms from animal wastes. Reference: www.geocities.com

So what can we do to help and prevent more water pollution?

Don't dump pollutants in your sewers or drains.
Keep toxic motor oil and other pollutants out of your water.

Use fewer chemical-based cleaners.
Find non-toxic alternatives to household chemicals.

You may feel that your small efforts will have no impact on the bigger picture, however when we put these small
efforts into practise the knock on effect will be substantial.



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