water pollution

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

groundwater pollution

Gitanjali Rao explains the fight for clean drinking water

water pollution point source

sewage pollution

What causes algae blooms?

toxic Euglena bloom

Video thumbnail image shows a large amount of plastic trash collected from the ocean.

A white woman in blurry focus holds up a small piece of plastic called a nurdle, highlighted with a blue circle.

plastic pollution breakdown into microplastics

The video thumbnail image shows a person's hand holding small fragments of colorful plastic.

For Students

water pollution summary

Read Next

Air, land, and water pollution. Other types of pollution: plastic, noise, light, and thermal. infographic

What Are the Different Types of Pollution?

Fireboat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in the Gulf of Mexico, April 21, 2010. A Coast Guard rescue helicopter document the fire, searches for survivors of the 126 person crew. BP spill

Deepwater Horizon Disaster: Five Years Later

Workers pressure cleaning rocks coated in oil from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1990. In the intertidal zone, Prince William Sound, Alaska. pollution disaster

9 of the Biggest Oil Spills in History

Community service - volunteers picking up garbage in a park during a spring cleanup. Environmentalism

A Timeline of Environmental History

Polar bear leaping among ice floes at Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, Norway, the Arctic. Sea ice climate change mammal jump global warming

All 81 References in Fall Out Boy’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Discover

Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics

10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

German machine gunners occupy a trench during World War I.

Weapons of World War I

July, 2006, Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121. See attached for full caption information.

Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

water pollution: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

How much sewage is spilled into rivers, lakes and the sea near you? • Mar. 28, 2025, 12:17 AM ET (BBC)

Sutang river: Once a lifeline, now a toxic stream • Mar. 23, 2025, 5:58 AM ET (Daily Star)

Photos and Videos

groundwater pollution

water pollution point source

sewage pollution

toxic Euglena bloom

plastic pollution breakdown into microplastics

Gitanjali Rao explains the fight for clean drinking water

What causes algae blooms?

Video thumbnail image shows a large amount of plastic trash collected from the ocean.

A white woman in blurry focus holds up a small piece of plastic called a nurdle, highlighted with a blue circle.

The video thumbnail image shows a person's hand holding small fragments of colorful plastic.

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

oil spill slick thermal pollution dispersed-source pollutant point-source pollutant hydrosphere Minamata disease pollution air pollution noise pollution land pollution plastic pollution pollution in India light pollution

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Henry Edward Armstrong

British chemist

Frankland

Sir Edward Frankland

British scientist