Water Pollution

Estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide lack safe drinking water and that at least 5 millions deaths per year can be contributed to water- borne diseases.Water pollution may come from point sources or non point sources.Point sources discharge pollutants from specific locations,such as factories,sewage treatment plants,and oil tankers.The technology exists to monitor and regulate point sources of pollution,although in some areas this occurs only sporadically.Pollution from non point sources occurs when rain fall and snow melt moves over and through the ground.As the run-off moves,it picks and carries away pollutants,such as pesticides and fertilizers,depositing the pollutants into lakes,rivers,wetlands,coastal waters,and even underground sources of drinking water.Pollution arising from non point sources accounts for a majority of the contaminants in streams and lakes.