River Pollution

Can rivers be managed sustainably?

What do you think this river is used for?

Is there a link between what’s

floating on the river and the apartments on the river bank?

Is this clean water being discharged into the river?

What is revealed as a dry spell causes the

river to dry up?

Here’s somewhere that’s not taking recycling seriously!

What is this man doing?

Just muddy or something more

sinister?

What are these people doing?

What killed these fish?

Is this ‘white water’ from a fast flowing river?

How many different things

have been dumped in this

river?

Certainly doesn’t look nice – but could it also be toxic?

… and green?

Why is the water red?

Is this cow a source of pollution?

Have you ever seen a river bank like this one?

What do you see?

Would you like to live alongside this river?

Over to you

1. What gets dumped in rivers? Try to name 10 things!

2. Of all the kinds of rubbish which is the most common?

3. What/who causes most of the solid rubbish?

4. What/who causes most of the liquid rubbish?

Answers

1. Plastic bottles, pieces of wood, tin cans, glass bottles, wooden boxes, scrap metal, steel drums, car tyres, a range of toxic chemicals, hot water, foam, sheets of plastic, human excrement, etc

2. Plastic

3. Householders dumping unwanted stuff

4. Factories – industrial pollution

The Ganges is one of thedirtiest rivers in the world

The major polluting industry along the Ganges is the leather industry from which chromium and other toxic substances leak into it

And there are dozens of other industries that use the river as a convenient and cheap way to dispose of their hazardous wastes

Another huge source of pollution is that of the nearly 1 billion litres of mostly untreated raw sewage that enters the river every day from the 400 million people that live along its banks

The dead are cremated and then dumped in the river because it is believed the waters will purify them, but the cremated people are not burned well because they can't afford much kindle and therefore partially cremated dead bodies add to the already high health risks

Agricultural chemicals like nitrogen fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides wash into the river

In the holy city of Varanasi, the water of the Ganges is a "brown soup of excrement and industrial effluents“ – the contaminants are 120 times above the levels permitted for safe bathing

And to cap it all as many as 10 million bathe in this river in a single day, for it is believed the Ganges is a holy river

It is no wonder the people are at risk from catching life threatening diseases like cholera, typhoid and dysentery

YouTube clip of pollution in the River Ganges, India

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb_yDBmRgmU

What have you learnt?

1. How many people bathe in the river in a single day? Why do they do this?

2. What holy city is like a “brown soup of excrement and industrial effluents” ?

3. Write down three facts about the River Ganges that make it one of the dirtiest rivers in the world

4. Now swop your paper with someone else so that they can try to add two more

Answers 10 million bathe in the holy waters Varanasi is the holy city at risk from toxic substances

that are 120 times above the legal limit The leather industry discharges chromium and other

toxic substances into the river Dozens of industries use the river as a convenient and

cheap waste tip 1 billion litres of raw sewage are discharged into the river Partially cremated corpses are dumped into the river Agricultural chemicals leak into the river

Does it matter that rivers pollute? It can be an eyesore Human excrement causes the spread of cholera

which can kill people in their thousands Toxic substances like chlorine can destroy

aquatic life Nitrate fertilisers and pesticides leaking into the

river from the land can threaten the quality and safety of domestic drinking water

Plastic bags can clog up waterways and sewers and lead to flooding

How can rivers be cleaned up?

In UK the Environment Agency can impose heavy fines for industrial polluters

Local Authorities have by-laws to stop householders ‘fly tipping’ – this can mean heavy fines or in extreme cases a prison sentence

Volunteers can clear rivers Children can be taught to recycle and not to dump

rubbish in rivers The task is to introduce such measures in places like

India and China where rivers are often badly polluted

Homework

Write about 100 words to describe the range and sources of pollutants that can be found in rivers

Then write another 100 words or so to respond to the question “Does it matter that rivers pollute?”

Having done this write about 200 words to explain how we can manage rivers sustainably so they are not polluted

Use your notes, the text book and the Internet