But do we really understand the imminent effects of water pollution? I’ll list just some of them.   

1. Animal life suffers from polluted substances in the water - they drink this water, some of them live in this water. Nowadays a lot of animals, birds, fish have become extinct and endangered because of  contaminanted water.  Dirty water  affects vegetal life as well. A great number of plant species became extinct  because of polluted groundwater.

2. Ecosystems have been changed or destroyed due to careless human activities. A lot of areas are unfit for habitation  and growth   since ecological disasters have happened there (e.g. Gulf of Mexico).

3. At school we were taught that all the components of flora and fauna are closely connected. Tiny animals drink water containing pollutants, later these animals are eaten by  fish and this chain continues to be disrupted at all  levels.

4. Of course humans can’t elude all the effects of water pollution. Contaminated water is a great health risk.  A number of different diseases might be caused  by drinking  that poisonous water. The thing is that nowadays nobody can avoid the negative effects of water pollution. We drink water, we use water in our everyday life so we do need to take care of water we use.

The water is polluted in many different ways. In general there can be direct and indirect pollutant sources:

-Direct source refers to contaminants that are emitted directly into some water reservoirs. Example is when factories, waste treatment plants etc. drain different contaminated fluids   into urban water supplies.

- Indirect source refers to  pollutants  that enter waterway from soils or groundwater and from atmosphere via rainwater.  The  water with pesticides from the fields that drains into rivers is an example.

You can object that you assist in polluting the water. But do you use water? Do you use different chemicals in your everyday life (e.g. washing powder, cleaning substances)? If your answer is "yes” so it’s time to put on a thinking cap on how you can help to reduce water pollution.

There are some easy ways to prevent pollution which everyone can follow:

- don’t drop rubbish into street drains - it will poison the water and end up on  riversides, shores.   Do some volunteer job and help to clean up litter in public places (e.g. beaches, parks) and you will help nature a lot.

- If you turn the tap off while you are cleaning teeth you will not only save fresh water but also reduce waste water treatment. Run your washing machine with full loads for the same purposes.

- Non-degradable products shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet. It breaks down the process of waste water treatment and this litter occurs on riversides and shores.

-  Try to use environmentally friendly household products as far as possible.

- In your garden try to use natural fertilizers or minimize usage of chemicals. You should remember that all these toxic substances from your fertilizers will go to waterway from groundwater.

- Do you have a car? If yes don’t forget to maintain your vehicle in roadworthy condition in order to prevent oil and fuel leak. It  pollutes waterways when it flows into city drains. Try not to wash your car in the roads, use a car wash.