Why so polluted?

Water covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface and is a very important resource for people and the

environment. Water pollution affects drinking water, rivers, lakes and oceans all over the world.

This consequently harms human health and the natural environment.

Under the belief that water could dilute any substance, industries and individuals during the

18th and 19th centuries often used rivers and lakes as garbage cans. Industrial effluent, raw

sewage and animal carcasses would often be dumped into waterways, without much thought of

contamination and downstream neighbors.

This practice started changing in the 20th century as people became aware of the importance

of clean water to health. However, as more industries and people moved into the Great Lakes

region, the more the rivers and lakes became polluted. Today, pollutants enter the Great Lakes

in many different ways, but the main three entryways of pollutants are point source, nonpoint

source and atmospheric pollution.