01. Definition

What is water pollution?

Water pollution can be defined as the contamination of a stream, river, lake, ocean or any other stretch of water, depleting water quality and making it toxic for the environment and humans. There are two types of water pollution:

Organic pollution due to microorganisms - bacteria and viruses - present in the water, generated by excrement, animal and vegetable waste
Chemical pollution generated by the nitrates and phosphates of pesticides, human and animal drugs, household products, heavy metals, acids and hydrocarbons used in industries

02. Causes

Water pollution causes

What are the sources of water pollution? Unsurprisingly, human activity is primarily responsible for water pollution, even if natural phenomenon - such as landslides and floods - can also contribute to degrade the water quality.

Sewage and wastewater: inadequate sewage collection and treatment are sources of water pollution. According to the United Nations, more than 80% of the worldwide wastewater goes back in the environment without being treated or reused.
Urbanization and deforestation: even though it does not have a direct impact on water quality, urbanization and deforestation have a lot of indirect effects. For instance, cutting down trees and concreting over large areas generates an acceleration of flows which does not give enough time for water to infiltrate and be purified by the ground.
Agriculture: agriculture has an impact on water pollution due to the use of chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or insecticides running off in the water, as well as livestock excrement, manure and methane (greenhouse effect). Regarding aquaculture, pollution is directly in the water, as excess food and fertilizers are causing dystrophication.
Industries: industries produce a lot of waste containing toxic chemicals and pollutants. A huge amount of the industrial waste is drained in the fresh water which then flows into canals, rivers and eventually in the sea. Another source of water pollution is the burning of fossil fuels, causing air pollution like acid rain which then flows to streams, lakes, and other stretches of water.
Marine dumping: everyday, garbage such as plastic, paper, aluminum, food, glass, or rubber are deposited into the sea. These items take weeks to hundreds of years to decompose, and thus they are a major cause for water pollution.
Radioactive waste: generated - among others - by power plants and uranium mining, radioactive waste can linger in the environment for thousands of years. When these substances are released accidentally or disposed improperly, they threaten groundwater, surface water, as well as marine resources.

03. Impacts

Water pollution effects

On the environment:
Water pollution truly harms biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems. The toxic chemicals can change the color of water and increase the amount of minerals - also known as eutrophication - which has a bad impact on life in water. Thermal pollution, defined by a rise in the temperature of water bodies, contributes to global warming and causes serious hazard to water organisms.

On human health:
Water pollution has very negative effects on public health. A lot of diseases result from drinking or being in contact with contaminated water, such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery or skin infections. In zones where there is no available drinking water, the main risk is dehydration obviously.

04. Solutions

Water pollution solutions

The Solar Impulse Label is granted to innovative solutions to water pollution that meet high standards of sustainability and profitability. Each solution goes through a strict assessment process performed by independent experts.

Aug 2024

Use case available

WAISENSE COMFORT

An IoT solution for saving water and increasing comfort every time you want to use hot water.

Buildings & Constructions
Utilities (Water, Energy, Waste)

Feb 2021

Water Pigeon

Optical water metering in the cloud

Buildings & Constructions
Utilities (Water, Energy, Waste)

Oct 2019

GreenCIP

A technology allowing a permanent reuse of industrial cleaning chemicals

Industrial Processes & Consumer Goods

Apr 2020

Blue Economy

Fastening a blue economy with a tailor-made csr solutions for corporations

Buildings & Constructions

05. Implementations

Water pollution solutions implementations

WAISENSE COMFORT by Waisense implemented by Private customer in Madrid (Spain) in 2022

Water Powered Piston Technology by Dosatron implemented by WATALUX SA in Pabré (Burkina Faso) in 2019

Waterless Urinal by URIMAT Schweiz AG implemented by McDonald's in Zurich (Switzerland) in 2002

Environmental DNA (eDNA) by NatureMetrics implemented by MSC Cruises in Geneva (Switzerland) in 2023

Environmental DNA (eDNA) by NatureMetrics implemented by Gridserve in Iver (United Kingdom) in 2024

System O)) by DBO International implemented by SouthernCopperCorporation in Huaytire (Peru) in 2020

Aqua Assist by Drylet, Inc. implemented by Hera group in Sassuolo (Italy) in 2021

Reflaunt by Reflaunt implemented by Kering in Singapore (Singapore) in 2022

Sustainable Building Materials by WAS Company implemented by VyACI in Chihuahua (Mexico) in 2022

Acea Smart Comp by Acea Elabori S.p.A. - Gruppo Acea implemented by Arma dei Carabinieri in Rome (Italy) in 2021

Urban & Ocean Plastics Carbon Recycling by Enerkem implemented by Varennes in Québec (Canada) in 2020

ALTRA PROVEN WATER TECHNOLOGY by Sanexen implemented by City of Toronto in Toronto (Canada) in 2019

FluidSolids Biocomposites by FluidSolids AG implemented by Pumpstation GmbH in Zurich (Switzerland) in 2022

BactoSense by bNovate Technologies SA implemented by The Municipality of Saxon in Saxon (Switzerland) in 2022

BactoSense by bNovate Technologies SA implemented by Veitur in Reykjavík (Iceland) in 2019

BactoSense by bNovate Technologies SA implemented by Farys in Brakel (Belgium) in 2018

06. Conclusion

Water pollution prevention

How to solve water pollution? How can water pollution be prevented? Here’s a list of water pollution solutions:

Wastewater treatment: wastewater treatment consists of removing pollutants from wastewater through a physical, chemical or biological process. The more efficient these processes are, the cleaner the water becomes.
Green agriculture: globally, agriculture accounts for 70% of water resources, so it is essential to have climate-friendly crops, efficient irrigation that reduces the need for water and energy-efficient food production. Green agriculture is also crucial to limit the chemicals that enter the water.
Stormwater management: stormwater management is the effort to reduce runoff of rainwater or melted snow into streets, lawns and other sites and the improvement of water quality” according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is important to avoid pollutants from contaminating the water and helps to use water more efficiently.
Air pollution prevention: air pollution has a direct impact on water contamination as 25% of human induced CO2 emissions are absorbed by oceans. This pollution causes a rapid acidification of our oceans, and threatens marine life and corals. Preventing air pollution is the best way to prevent this from happening.
Plastic waste reduction: 80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources. In order to reduce the amount of plastic entering our ocean, we need to both reduce our use of plastic globally, and to improve plastic waste management.
Water conservation: Without water conservation, we won’t go very far. It is central in making sure the world has better access to clean water. It means being aware that water is a scarce resource, taking care of it accordingly, and managing it responsibly.

Connect with us

Any questions

Feel free to get in touch with us
pauline.michiels@solarimpulse.com

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