Industrial Effluents as a Source of Drinking Water Contamination Industrial Effluents as a Source of Drinking Water Contamination Contamination of drinking water supplies from industrial waste is a result of various types of industrial processes and disposal practices. Industries that use large amounts of water for processing have the potential to pollute waterways through the discharge of their waste into streams and rivers, or by run-off and seepage of stored wastes into nearby water sources. Other disposal practices which cause water contamination include deep well injection and improper disposal of wastes in surface impoundments. Industrial waste consists of both organic and inorganic substances. Organic wastes include pesticide residues, solvents and cleaning fluids , dissolved residue from fruit and vegetables, and lignin from pulp and paper to name a few.
Effluents can also contain inorganic wastes such as brine salts and metals .
The Clean Water Act has standards for the permitted release of a limited amount of contaminants into waterways. Run-off from crops contain pesticides, fertilizer, sediment. Run-off from animal production facilities contain bacteria, organic matter, nitrates, and phosphates. Fruit and Vegetable Processing . Waste water contains high concentrations of dissolved organic matter and may be highly alkaline from the use of lye.