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water pollution: Quick Facts

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News •

Microplastics React With Water, a New Study Says. That’s a Problem for Biology • Oct. 17, 2026, 5:00 AM ET (WIRED)
Microplastics in water aren’t inert and make damaging chemicals on their own • Oct. 15, 2026, 2:39 PM ET (Ars Technica)

Photos and Videos

Water pollution
Point source
Green algae bloom covers the surface of a pond or lake, with trees and vegetation along the shore, indicating water pollution.
Plastic bottles, cups, and other trash litter the banks and surface of Ballona Creek in Culver City, California, after a rainstorm, with a bridge visible in the background.
Solid waste pollution
Illustration showing the process of plastic pollution in the ocean, from floating garbage and subsurface debris to breakdown into microplastics, sinking debris, and microplastic particles reaching the ocean floor and deep-sea trenches. Various types of plastic waste, marine animals, and labeled stages highlight how plastics and toxins disperse and persist in the marine environment.
Thick toxic foam covers the surface of the Yamuna River below the Okhla Barrage in Delhi, India, with small boats on the water and a yellow and blue bridge in the background.
Toxic waste
Dark oil slick spreads across pond water, swirling around partially submerged rocks and polluting the surface with a shiny, iridescent sheen.
Diagram showing three stages of saltwater intrusion into a coastal aquifer: the first panel shows normal conditions with a stable interface between ocean saltwater and fresh groundwater; the second shows increased saltwater intrusion and a cone of depression when groundwater is pumped; the third shows how an injection well restores pressure and blocks saltwater intrusion. Labels identify ocean, aquifer, potentiometric surface, and water flow directions.
Two large pipes discharge polluted, muddy water, illustrating water contamination and environmental pollution.
Aerial view of wastewater treatment basins with circular clarifiers; overlaid toilet graphic and arrow with text reading: “Where does it go?”
Bright green algae blooms distort the surface of water.
A white woman in blurry focus holds up a small piece of plastic called a nurdle, highlighted with a blue circle.
A large pile of plastic trash collected from the ocean.
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Related Topics and References

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Key People

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Henry Edward Armstrong
British chemist
Edward Frankland
Sir Edward Frankland
British scientist