Normally, water pollution is caused through the discharge of domestic and industrial wastes into water that affects water quality. The industrial wastes, chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture make it more hazardous for human use. These uses have affected the quality and quantity of water in the following ways :  

(i) Our villages particularly suffer on account of the quality of water available for domestic use. About half of our village are yet to be provided with safe drinking water.  

(ii) Most of India’s rivers, especially the tributaries of the main river have become sinks of domestic and industrial wastes. The Supreme Court, in a recent judgement, described river Yamuna as the ‘City’s Drain’.

(iii) Today, most rivers are health hazards, threatening the health and livelihoods of many people.  

(iv) Water contamination and deteriorating water quality have caused degradation of our natural ecosystems.  

(v) Over-exploitation and mismanagement of water have impoverished our resource base and caused ecological crises.