Water Pollution

Water is an important environmental component of life. It covers over 70% of the earth's surface. It can be used as drinking water, for bathing, washing, etc. The living thing on earth can’t be separated from the need for water. Water is the main requirement for the process of life on earth. So there is no life if on earth there is no water. However, water can be disastrous if not available in the right conditions, both the quality and quantity.

The term water pollution may be perceived differently by one person with other people remember a lot of literature references that formulate the definition of the term, both in the dictionary or a scientific textbook. Definition of water pollution also defined in Government Regulation, as derived from an understanding of pollution environment that is defined in the law.

In practice operational, environmental pollution is never shown in full, but as pollution of environmental components, such as water pollution, sea water pollution, groundwater contamination and air pollution. Thus, the definition of water pollution refers to the definition of environmental stipulated in the Law on environmental namely Law No. 23/1997. In the PP. 20/1990 on the Control of Water Pollution, water pollution defined as:

“Pencemaran air adalah masuknya atau dimasukkannya mahluk hidup, zat, energi dan atau komponen lain ke dalam air oleh kegiatan manusia sehingga kualitas air turun sampai ke tingkat tertentu yang menyebabkan air tidak berfungsi lagi sesuai dengan peruntukannya”
"Water pollution is the introduction of living things, matter, energy and / or other components into the water by human activities so that the water quality down to a certain level that causes the water no longer functions in accordance with the designation".

The other definition says that water pollution is any chemical, physical or biological change in the quality of water that has a harmful effect on any living thing that drinks or uses or lives (in) it. Water pollution happens when toxic substances enter water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans and so on, getting dissolved in them, lying suspended in the water or depositing on the bed. This degrades the quality of water. Not only does this spell disaster for aquatic ecosystems, the pollutants also seep through and reach the groundwater, which might end up in our households as contaminated water we use in our daily activities, including drinking. (Mariz_08-06)


References:

Lina Warlina. 2004. Pencemaran Air: Sumber, Dampak, dan Penanggulangannya. Bogor : IPB.

Taken from http://www.lenntech.com/water-pollution-faq.htm#ixzz13Ngt3wCK