Introduction
The relationship between the influence of water pollution and the economy is important since without the water, no life, no prosperity and no economic development can be achieved. The scarcity of water has been identified in various parts of the world and the predictions for the future are even more concerning. Most of the planet earth is composed of water, but only 3% of it is fresh and drinkable and therefore useful for the global population. There has been seen development of the techniques of desalination, but the prices are still relatively high with various other negative factors. The scarce resources along with the increasing water pollution are the reasons for more sustainable usage of water. With the development of industry the usage of water has increased along with the water pollution, which has become a severe problem all around the globe. Almost all factories and industries need water for production and along they are causing emissions and polluting the water resources. The paper will focus on presenting negative impacts and cases in industry which result in the water pollution. The thesis of the paper is: economy is highly dependent on the water resources and is one of the major causes of water pollution worldwide.
Economy correlation with the water pollution
Impacts of the economy on the water pollution
Based on the Pacific Institute (2010) two millions of sewage and industrial waste are discharged globally into the water every day. The amount of waste water produced in one year from all sectors is six times more than the global available water that exists in all rivers. The economic development and underdevelopment are playing a significant role in the water pollution. Where the economic development is slow the lack of adequate sanitations represents one of the major water pollutants. The economy has effects on the pollution of water and negative impacts human health and ecosystems. Pollution from industry and mining are affecting the quality of water worldwide. It is concerning that 70% of the industrial waste in developing countries is disposed untreated into the waters. Further on, the numerous abandoned mines are polluting the water streams and groundwater. One of the major water pollutants is also agricultural sector, which uses the greatest amount of fresh water and also contributes to the pollution of water with nitrate, fertilizers and various chemicals. The agriculture results in the pollution and salinization of water. Also the economic infrastructure has an effect on the water quality (Pacific Institute, 2010).
In the economy sector the industry, agriculture, construction and other sectors that are part of the sector along with the growth of the world’s population are causing water pollution worldwide. Causes of water pollution are industrial waste, sewage and water waste, mining activities, marine dumping, accidental oil leakage in the industry, burning of fossil fuels, energy production,, using of fertilizers and pesticides in the agriculture along with the radioactive waste dumped in waters and urban development that is happening because of the economic growth worldwide (UNESCO, 2015). The growing production and inadequate safety regulations are causing further contamination of fresh water resources as well as pollution of the oceans. Various sectors in the economy have negative impacts on the water quality. The statistics data differs a lot between the countries and also based on the specific regions. Common statistics of total pollution of water from economic sectors is impossible to give on the global scale. The developing countries are facing greater issues of water pollution because of the moving industries from developed to developing countries and because of the insufficient measures of control over the pollution and less strict environmental laws. One of the countries with one of the most severe water pollution issues is China. Among of all Chines groundwater resources only 10.4% were of excellent and 26.9% of good quality. This means that the majority of ground water resources are somewhat poor quality 43.9%, and 15.7% are of very poor quality. The very poor quality water cannot be used for drinking purposes as well as the somewhat poor water can be used only after the proper treatment. The water pollution in China is presented in the graph 1. The overall quality of river basins in the country is also polluted with 9% of all being useless and cannot be used even for the industry or agriculture and another 28.3% not recommended for swimming, which means they can be harmful to the health (Du, 2015).
Graph 1 Overall water quality of China's groundwater
Source: Du, 2015, n. p.
The main sources of pollution can be observed inside the wastewater discharge in China. The percentage of the waste water discharge has been increasing thorough the past, which is the result of the increased industrialization and rapid industry growth. The industry, which is part of the economic sector along with the agriculture, contributes to the pollution of water resources. The most polluting industry in 2013 were chemical and paper industry, along with the mining and metal ores and textile industry, which is presented in more detail in the Graph 2.
Graph 2 Industries with the highest waste water discharge in China in 2013
Source: The Statistical Portal, 2013, n. p.
Impacts of water pollution on the economy
The water pollution can have vast impacts on the economy. With the pollution the drinking costs are raised, the tourism declines along with the commercial fishing and results in the loss of biodiversity. There are two affects we can see between the water pollution and the economy, the first is that in order for economy to increase a lot of natural water resources are being spend and also the economy needs water resources. The water pollution results also in the social costs with increasing health risks. The environmental and water pollution can therefore result in the economic loss (Krishnadas et al., 2013). Every economy needs energy in order to function. The energy systems today are highly dependent on the fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas, which are using unsustainable techniques that many times result in the water pollution. In order for the economy to function the supply of resources is needed. Energy producing facilities are responsible for significant water pollution in the form of the thermal shocks, discharge of uncontrolled contaminants and hazardous pollutants. There are many different pollution standards and requirements, which greatly differs around the globe (Bhattacharyya, 2011). Economic growth can be achieved only with the sustainable and secure water supplies.
The water pollution caused by industry can have severe impacts on the human health. One of the most concerning is the Minamata disease and the Mercury pollution. The extreme cases of negative health effects were a result of the chemical release in the industrial wastewater. The toxin of industrial release can greatly impact human life and result in severe environmental damage that can result in great expenses of the cleanup (Harada, 1978). From the health perspective it is seen that the water pollution is increasing health expenses and results in the economic loss thorough diminished working capacity of the world population that suffers from various diseases related to the water pollution.
How to diminish water pollution
Control of water pollution must include educational and technical assistance to the various sectors, which contributes the most to the water pollution. With the sharing of knowledge the best practices can be implemented. Financial and regulatory framework must exist, which prevents to achieve competitive advantage on the expense of water pollution. Actors in the economy must face finical issues which can highly impact the behavior and reduces the actions that led to the pollution. Assistance and the financial contributions and incentives from the national and local levels are very important. The taxes imposed on the polluters and regular monitoring will make the practice of pollution more expensive with following the path towards a cleaner industry (Shortle & Dunn, 1986). The economic sector is very complex and diverse and is causing various environmental concerns. The economy affects the water and the water is one of the most important factors in the continuation of the economic development. Growing population and urbanization are calling for the better handling of water supply, sanitation, storm water and waste water management. Many big cities, industry and firms do not have sufficient protection to prevent the water pollution (UNESCO, 2015). Various firms are moving their production to the geographical areas where lack of framework for environment protection exists which must be prevented. With the unsustainable consumption of water and increased pollution that has reached alarming rates in China and other countries the economy will hurt in the long term by having a long lasting effect on human health, biodiversity and environment.
Conclusion
The paper has examined the relationship between water pollution and the economy. The topic is very broad since in the economy, there are various actors and sectors. There are major differences between various geographical locations and countries, but the impact the economy has on the water pollution is indisputable. The same can be argued for the impact of quality of water on the economy. The thesis that the economy is highly dependent on the water resources and is one of the major causes of water pollution worldwide can be confirmed, since the economy and water are dependent and interlinked. The economy is using water in unstainable patterns which can contribute to the future scarcity of water resources, water and overall environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity and can have adverse impacts on the economy. With causing the water pollution which results in diseases the economy loss is seen along with the causing additional economic burdens on the health related expenses. With the water pollution and insufficient water resources the economy cannot function and contributes to the diminish tourism and overall economy loss. The water pollution greatly differs among world countries and for the better understanding statistical data on the water pollution for China was presented. The country is facing one of the most serious issues of the water and environmental pollution, but it must be pointed out that among the developed countries also in the United States a lot of water and groundwater resources are being polluted from the economic sector.
Work cited
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