Water:
Water is a
universal solvent. Therefore, water found in rivers, seas, oceans, springs,
lakes, etc, always have a variety of dissolved substances in it.
The various
dissolved substances can be classified into 2 main categories.
- Harmless or naturally occurring:
- Oxygen
- Mineral salts
- Organic matter
- Carbon dioxide (sparingly soluble)
- Pollutants:
- Metal compounds
- Sewage
- Microbes
- Nitrates from fertilizers
- Phosphates from fertilizers and detergents
Table 2:
Oxygen
|
Atmospheric oxygen
dissolved in water, sustains underwater plants and marine life.
|
Mineral Salts
|
Rock mineral salts
are important for all human, animals and aquatic life.
|
Pollutants
|
All pollutants are
hazardous to health of the consumers of polluted water, be it humans, animals
or aquatic life, causing disease, deaths and even extinction.
|
