Sv Environ:water% Communication Library

Water Contamination

Clean water: a resource you may take for granted

Fresh water only makes up 2.5% of the total water on the planet, yet 70% of industrial waste gets dumped into these waters.

This waste causes bacteria to grow in the rivers, which contributes to the reason why 45% of lakes and 40% of rivers are deemed unsafe to swim or fish in.

Garbage and litter make up for a lot of the pollution in the water and contribute heavily to marine animal death.

There are hundreds of millions of people who don't have access to clean water. This problem expands far beyond Africa, to China especially.

Water Conservation

Conserving water is easy

Many daily activities that use use a lot of water.

A typical shower uses 3.8 gallons of water every minute; leaving the sink running uses 5 gallons every minute.

Simply installing a low-flow shower head, cutting down on shower time and turning off the faucet whenever possible (while shaving or brushing your teeth) you could substantially reduce your water usage.

Littering and the Ocean

Litter affects more than you think

In certain ocean areas, especially the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, plastic debris can add up to 1 million pieces per square kilometer.

A lot of the litter in the ocean degrades slowly. Plastics can take up to 450 years to degrade.

Some of the ocean litter is from people who live or visit coastal areas. But much is from other sources, such as cargo lost from shipping vessels, untreated or overflow sewage, and more.

Do your part. Properly dispose of all litter. Help save the environment and make the world a nicer place to live.