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Essay / Water Quality Essay - 598
The quality of groundwater or surface water is a function of natural influences and human activities, individually or together, without human influences, water quality does not would be influenced only by natural processes such as weathering of bedrock minerals. ; atmospheric processes involving evapotranspiration; deposition of dust and salt by the wind; natural leaching of organic matter and nutrients from the soil; hydrological factors leading to runoff; and biological processes in the aquatic environment that can result in changes in the physical and chemical composition of water. Water can therefore, in the natural environment, contain dissolved substances as well as undissolved particles. Minerals and dissolved salts are necessary components of good water quality because they help maintain the health and vitality of organisms that depend on this ecosystem service (Stark et al., 2000). Water quality is affected by both nonpoint sources and diffuse water sources. pollution in both rural and urban areas. Some of these sources include sewage discharges, industrial discharges and agricultural runoff. W...