More than 300 chemical compounds, many dangerous to human health, have been found in the water. Cancerous tumours, thought to be linked to toxic contamination, have been found in fish of Lake Ontario. Similarly, two rivers in the south of the Soviet Union have been virtually killed by the pesticide-laden run off from nearby cotton fields. The area has the highest infant mortality rate in the country, which is attributed primarily to the infection and disease spread by its contaminated water. To some extent, both the quantity and quality of freshwater resources are managed worldwide.
Diarrheal diseases result in the death of about five million infants and children annually.
In developed countries, toxic chemicals are freshwater's greatest threat, emanating from effluent pipes and smoke stacks of factories, seeping into groundwater from landfill sites and running off agricultural land into surface and ground water. The main problem for industrialized countries is pollution of the water resources, which has an impact on drinking water and on the proper functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Protection, therefore, depends on closer cooperation between governments, whether the money spent will have an immediate benefit domestically or not. The Mar del Plata Action Plan, which was worked out under UN auspices almost fifteen years ago, provides an overall action framework for the entire international community. Some limited progress has been achieved under this framework, most notable the accomplishments of the International Decade on Water Supply and Sanitation which was one of the key recommendations of the Mar del Plata Action Plan, but numerous gaps remain.