Chapter 9 - Challenges of water contamination in urban areas

Abstract

An area with high density of population and buildings where people live in close proximity to each other in a systematic manner is considered an urban area. In these areas, people generally work in factories, industries, civil institutions, and offices for their livelihood. Activities in urban areas involve transportation of goods through heavy and light diesel vehicles and human activities, which create different types of pollutants in the environment and ultimately change the water, air, and soil chemistry. The patterns of land use are totally different in urban areas (cities, towns, etc.) compared to rural areas (villages) where the majority of land is used for agriculture. Due to different types of solid and liquid waste generation by anthropogenic activities like industrial, vehicular, construction, and domestic, water quality has deteriorated in urban areas, which can cause health hazards for urban dwellers. Different types of pollutants like heavy metals, organic/inorganic compounds, and biological and plastic material may get mixed in the water. Discharge of untreated industrial effluents is one of the major contributors of increased concentration levels of toxic pollutants in water. The use of untreated contaminated water for domestic purposes may severely affect the health of urban dwellers. Therefore, proper and effective operation of sewage treatment plants (STPs) installed in urban areas can play a significant role in the prevention of water contamination in such areas. Managing the solid and liquid wastes in urban areas in order to sustain the natural water quality is a significant challenge, but contamination of surface water and groundwater in urban areas can be controlled by adopting strict and standardized protocols of solid waste management. Similarly, industrial effluents and the sewage water must be treated before their discharge in the environment. This chapter focuses on the sources of water contamination in urban areas, their impacts on human health, and suggestions of smart approaches for the prevention and mitigation of water contamination in urban areas to protect human societies along with other living creatures.