Business

Smoke from the industries

Toxic and mineral oil pollution from the industries

Clearing of land can lead to erosion of soil into the river.

Waste and sewage generated by industry can get into the water supply, introducing large organic pollutants into the ecosystem.

Many industrial and power plants use rivers, streams and lakes to despose of waste heat. The resulting hot water can cause thermal pollution. Thermal pollution can have a disasterous effect on life in an aquatic ecosystem as temperature increaces decreace the amount of oxygen in the water, thereby reducing the number of animals that can survive there.

Water can become contaminated with toxic or radioactive materials from industry, mine sites and abandoned hazardous waste sites.

Acid precipitation is caused when the burning of fossil fuels emits sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. The sulfur dioxide reacts with the water in the atmosphere, creating rainfall which contains sulfuric acid. As acid precipitation falls into lakes, streams and ponds it can lower the overall pH of the waterway, killing vital plant life, thereby affecting the whole food chain. It can also leach heavy metals from the soil into the water, killing fish and other aquatic organisms. Because of this, air pollution is potentially one of the most threatening forms of pollution to aquatic ecosystems.

Chemical waste from the industries