Water pollution is caused by natural events such as a volcano eruption and flooding. These natural disasters challenge the quality of water that we receive. Another primary challenge is controlling nonpointsource pollutants; these are areas in which pollution occur but are difficult to trace where they began. Such as runoffs created by logging, sewage disposal and agricultural runoff, because it is difficult to locate these points, they are challenging to regulate. One of the main concerns with water quality is that “much of the planets fresh water is degraded.” (Dale, 2015, p. 4.2) Because of this, it is difficult to develop the technology necessary to filter this and deliver it to locations that may lack easily accessible water supply. 

One of the social impacts of water quality is the health risk that it imposes on the population. One of the critical things the book noted was some of the diseases and sicknesses that transmitted from poor water quality such as, “echovirus, hepatitis A and rotavirus.” (Dale, 2015, p. 4.3) Agricultural runoff is another issue that has major impacts on overall life expectancy and health. One of the major concerns with agricultural runoff Is that nitrate pollution linked to infant death. The condition of infant mortality linked to agricultural runoff has been termed “baby blue syndrome” (Dale, 2015) because of the lack of oxygen the infant receives. 

One of the main issues with agricultural runoff is that they are a source of nonpoint pollutants making it challenging to pinpoint exactly where the pollution begins. Additionally, source pollutants are not monitored by the EP as corporate and political views has delayed any chances of rectifying the issue as many corporations see runoff as, “critical for the American way of life.” (Dale, 2015) The federal government has assisted with offering grants to states to assist with funding and technical assistance to enhance their ability to manage water quality. 

References

Dale, L. (2015). Environmental policy (second ed.). Bridgepoint Education.