Water Pollution and Its Control

Across the world, human beings have long treated rivers, lakes and other water bodies as convenient places to dispose of waste, on the mistaken assumption that flowing water simply "washes everything away." In reality these water bodies are the lifeline of countless organisms, ourselves included, and dumping waste into them — from household refuse to industrial effluent — has left ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries and even oceans polluted in many parts of the world. Recognising how essential clean water resources are, the Government of India enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1974, specifically to safeguard the country's water bodies from this kind of contamination. The sections that follow examine the …