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water pollution
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Water pollution
Two large pipes discharge polluted, muddy water, illustrating water contamination and environmental pollution.
Point source
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.
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
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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Water pollution
Water pollution Metals from industrial production waste contaminate surface water.

water pollution

environmental science
Written by
Jerry A. Nathanson
Professor of Engineering, Union County College, Cranford, New Jersey. Author of Basic Environmental Technology: Water Supply, Waste Disposal, and Pollution Control.
Jerry A. Nathanson
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

water pollution, the release of substances into subsurface groundwater or into lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, and oceans to the point that the substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the natural functioning of ecosystems. In addition to the release of substances, such as chemicals, trash, or microorganisms, water pollution may include the release of energy, in the form of radioactivity or heat, into bodies of water. Although water pollution was historically a...

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