Te Taiao o Tamaki - 10 interesting facts about water pollution

40% of America's rivers and 46% of America's lakes are too polluted for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life. 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are discharged into US Waters annually. 

1. Nearly 40% of all water bodies in America and 46% of all lakes in the country are polluted or are unfit for any swimming and aquatic activities. A large quantity of fishes and under water ecosystems are gradually dying out because of pollution caused by industries and man.

2. Nearly 1.3 trillion gallons of sewage, untreated chemical wastes and industrial effluents are discharged into the water bodies annually. This is set to double given the current standards and may jeopardize life amid polluted waters in America alone! 

3. More than a half of the world's population faces a water shortage and polluted drinking water afflicts about 250 million people worldwide resulting to about 10 million deaths every year. 


4. In 2010, a huge oil spill in America, caused by ruptured wells in British Petroleum rigs led to a disaster in the Louisiana coast for about 400 miles. Over 1000 animals and birds, turtles and mammals died because of the water pollution and some humans too perished because of the spill. Only about 6% of the damaged area was reportedly cleaned. In November 2012, the company agreed to a $4.5 billion settlement with the US federal goverment and paid a fine of $1.2 billion. 

5. In developing countries, 70% of all industrial wastes flow into water and plant ecosytems and pollute the soil and the drinking water supplies.

6. There is a problem of drinking water in 27% of the world's cities. A quater of the world's population, according to the World Water Assesment Programme, faces a drinking shortage with no piped water system in their homes.

7. Hundreds and millions of people across the world die due to cholera and malaria, along with other water borne diseases. 

8. The nuclear crisis in Japan occured in 2011, when a Tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant and caused 4 of the 6 reactors to crash. About 2 million gallons of radioactive water poured into the Pacific Ocean. 

9. About 15 million children under the age of 5 perish each year because of the water borne diseases and polluted drinking water. The Ganges River, the source of life in the Indian subcontinent, the crucible of one third of humanity, is the most polluted river that contains trash, untreated sewage and animal remains.

10. Nearly 320 million people in China have no access to clean drinking water and about 20% of the country's groundwater is contaminated with cancer producing chemicals, because of high levels of water pollution.

Facts about water pollution - Te Taiao O Tamaki

Here is some interesting facts about the water pollution.

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. Lakes, Rivers, Oceans, Aquifers, and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or in
directly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.

In New Zealand our waters are starting to get polluted by different reason of how and I am going to tell you dose reasons. Littering is starting to cause water pollution, how littering is causing water pollution is that when ever someone drops a piece of rubbish they might think that their piece of rubbish is just going to stay in one place but they are wrong, the wind is going to blow that piece of rubbish threw the alley and other things that leads to the ocean, creeks, lakes, rivers and any sort of river that has living animals in it.

The rubbish that was dragged into the different oceans sinks down below the sea or it floats above the water and when sea creatures swim around that piece of rubbish they would think that the rubbish is some sort of sea food or their food, so then the fishes eat the rubbish and then they choke on the plastic and become dead. Once sea creatures are dead most of them float above the water and then they stink the whole area.

And the other reason is because a few statistics illustrate the scale of the problem that waste water ( Chemicals washed down the drains and discharged from factories) cancause. Around half of all ocean pollution is caused by sewage and waste water ....... Virtually everyone pours chemicals of one sort or another down their drains or toilets.

So can you please try help us to save our water from being polluted??

Te taiao o tamaki - keeping our city safe and clean

What can we all do to help save our city? Well what we can do is that we can help and pick up rubbish whenever you see one even though if it's not yours. We can try and go around GI and pick up the rubbish on saturdays or even if you are free.

We all have special jobs that we all can do, what we can all do is that we can try helping by not littering on the ground we can put in the bin even if you can't find the bin or if there is no bins around you then you can just put in your pocket or hold it until you get home and then you can put it in the bin.

In two more weeks there is going to be an exhibition happening at the te oro. It is all about te taiao o tamaki. There are going to be different kind of presentation from different other schools. So please help save the sea animals.