Water Quality/Water Pollution Perspective
Nitrate, from fertilizers, animal manure and human sewage, is the world's most prevalent pollutant.
Categories of Pollutants
There are 2 categories of pollutants: 1) Naturally-Occurring; 2) Anthropogenic, or Man-Made. An example of naturally-occurring pollution is the high concentrations of arsenic in Bangladesh groundwater, which is generally believed to originate from the unconsolidated sediments (sands, silts, clays and gravels) that host the groundwater.
Anthropogenic Pollution
Most anthropogenic groundwater pollution can be categorized into either agricultural, sewage, or industrial pollution. There is widespread nitrate and phosphate pollution from agricultural and sewage sources, including fertilizers, animal manure and human sewage, and detergents. Industrial pollutants can be grouped as fuels (gasoline, diesel); solvents (degreasers including trichloroethylene); metals (nickel, cadmium, copper and zinc from cars, batteries); semi-volatile organic compounds (pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances [PFAS], flame retardants, phthalates in plastics, and wood treatment compounds (pentachlorophenol in creosote); and explosives.
Documents
- PowerPoint IWRA Gander CC & Ag WQ WWDR CCTF May 9 2026 (pdf)