CAUSATIONCAUSATION| What effect do things cause on our river
system?
All the pollution that ends up in our waterways can affect the environment in many ways. At the beach for example... Some lady was walking along with a plastic bag, it flies out of her hands and she thinks. Oh well, it won't hurt. An hour later... The plastic bag has washed out into the depths of the sea. Giant turtles eat jellyfish. A giant turtle swims past the bag and mistakes it for a jellyfish. It will eat the plastic bag and the bag will prevent the turtle from breathing. Oil, grease and hydrocarbons can harm some aquatic life and makes our waterways unsightly! Suspended olids and sediment accumulation (Primarily soil particles from poor building and construction activity and erosion from land and within watercourses) causes smothering of plants and animals that live on the bottom of rivers, creeks and the ocean. it also modifies
light penetration limiting plant growth and fish and invertebrate food
sources
Nutrients (nitrates
and phosphates) can cause high nutrient concentrations cause problems such
as algal blooms, excessive growth of aquatic weeds and a loss of species
diversity. Algal blooms lead to increases in pH and production of toxins
and odours and it reduces the beauty of the water.
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