A Review of Environmental Effects of Surface Water Pollution

Water is life without pollution, but death when it is polluted. The objective of this study is to conduct a literature review of environmental effects of surface water pollution. The method used for this study is a review of academic journal articles, internet materials, textbooks, bulletins, conference papers, project reports and publicly available materials on the environmental effects of surface water pollution. All previous authors whose works were reviewed agreed that anthropogenic activities greatly contributed to surface water pollution and spatial variation of physicochemical parameters over time and location more than other sources in terms of both chemical and physical water pollutants that indicated elevated values of major chemical parameters (lead, cadmium, chromium, copper and some anions) beyond the permissible/threshold limits set by regulatory bodies. They also had a unity of opinion that the parameters have adverse effects on human plants, aquatic and physical environment. From the review and based on the results of the previous studies, this study concludes that most surface waters across the globe are polluted and as such must be treated before use both for domestic and industrial purposes to avoid the spread of epidemics that can lead to deaths of humans who are the most precious of all creatures. Recommendations of the study include: (1) regular review of environmental effects of surface water pollution by researchers to indicate the trend in pollutional loads of rivers and streams across the globe; (2) strict enforcement of regulations water quality standards and (3) regular monitoring of the environments of water bodies by regulators and the locals.