How to avoid river pollution

Rivers provide us with a variety of ecosystem goods and services. First of all, they are the source of fresh water that allows life on Earth. They are also the sustenance of diverse flora and fauna that are part of complex trophic chains and, in addition, we cannot fail to mention the scenic beauty that they represent and that makes them a suitable place for recreation and sports activities.

In summary, rivers are a valuable resource that we must preserve since they are essential for the balance of ecosystems and for human development. For this reason, from Green Ecologist, we will talk about how to avoid river pollution and we will provide some tips.

Reduce the consumption of plastics

If you wonder how to avoid contamination of river water, the simplest answer is decrease the consumption of single-use plastics. The truth is that there are more and more plastics in rivers: either on the coast, floating on the surface, and even in the river bed. As we know, plastics take hundreds and hundreds of years to degrade and decompose into microplastics that contaminate countless liters of water and some aquatic animals mistake them for food.

For this reason, reducing the consumption of plastics will significantly help to avoid the pollution of rivers. You can use cloth bags, biodegradable containers or other materials such as glass or metal. If there is no other alternative for the use you need to give it, it is preferable to choose those plastics that can be reused and / or recycled and not those for single use. When the useful life of these plastics comes to an end, make sure to give them a correct final disposal.

Here you can learn more Tips to reduce the use of plastics and How to avoid plastic pollution.

Reduce the use of oils and batteries

The oils are highly polluting, it is estimated that a single liter of oil pollutes a thousand liters of water. Batteries and cells have a toxic composition that, when dissolved in water, can be ingested by fish and other living beings in the affected ecosystem. The use of these elements, and their poor final disposal, pollutes rivers and, consequently, affects aquatic biodiversity, affects the food chain (these pollutants can reach us through food, if we consume fish from said contaminated environment). Therefore, decrease the use of oils and batteries constitutes a good initiative to reduce river pollution.

Reduce the use of chemicals in the home

In general, Cleaning products They are used diluted in water and at the end of their use, they are discarded, finally culminating in the rivers and the sea. Except for places where very good water treatment processes are carried out, but it is still not the most common.

Many of these products, such as detergents and bleaches, have chemicals in their composition that are highly toxic to aquatic life. Given this, it is urgent reduce the use of these chemicals if we want to conserve rivers and their biodiversity.

Consume more vegetables than animal products

In case you didn't know, you can avoid river pollution from what foods you choose for your diet. In fact, eating more plant products than animals will help preserve rivers for two reasons. In the first place, it takes thousands of liters of water less to produce a kilo of vegetables than to produce a kilo of meat. Second, the livestock industry produces a large amount of polluting waste that ends up in rivers and other bodies of water.

Consume food from organic farming

In relation to the previous advice, you better increase the consumption of food from organic farming. The reality is that the agrochemicals used in industrial agriculture not only persist in our food, but many of them seep into the groundwater layers and end up in the rivers, polluting them and affecting biodiversity. In this way, by consuming food from organic farming, you will be promoting the production of food free of agrochemicals and, ultimately, you will reduce the amounts of harmful substances that end up in rivers.

Here you can read about what is organic farming.

Dispose of waste properly

Some substances like paints or chemicals for pools can be lethal for the flora and fauna species of rivers. For this reason, if you have to use any of these products, make sure they have a proper final disposal and do not throw them directly in the water or on the ground, as they seep and end up in the groundwater and in the rivers.

Pay attention to the origin of the products we consume

Have you ever paid attention to how the products we consume daily are produced? Get involved in production processes, find out if industries are involved in forest deforestation, and demand that these industries carry out a correct effluent and waste treatmentIt will undoubtedly contribute to avoiding contamination of rivers and other ecosystems and biomes.

Do not waste water

Save water it is an important way to preserve this natural resource. Some of the habits that we can incorporate are:

Take short showers instead of long showers or baths.
Close the taps when we are not using the water directly.
Make sure that the taps do not leak water.
Do not over water the lawn.
Water with rainwater.

Raise awareness and educate about river pollution

To finish with the advice and indicate possible solutions for river pollutionIt is important that we become aware of how important rivers are for the development of our activities and for the proper functioning of ecosystems. Education is precisely a great tool to raise awareness among the general public and teach what actions we can take to preserve rivers and also all natural resources.

In this link you can learn about How we can take care of water and here about The most polluted rivers in the world, which should be seen to be more aware of the great problem of river water pollution.