Industrial waste water usually contains specific and readily identifiable chemical compounds. During the last fifty years, the number of industries in India has grown rapidly. But water pollution is concentrated within a few subsectors, mainly in the form of toxic wastes and organic pollutants. Out of this a large portion can be traced to the processing of industrial chemicals and to the food products industry. Most of these defaulting industries are sugar mills, distilleries, leather processing industries, and thermal power stations.
Most major industries have treatment facilities for industrial effluents.
But this is not the case with small-scale industries, which cannot afford enormous investments in pollution control equipment as their profit margin is very slender. T he effects of water pollution are not only devastating to people but also to animals, fish, and birds. Polluted water is unsuitable for drinking, recreation, agriculture, and industry. It diminishes the aesthetic quality of lakes and rivers. More seriously, contaminated water destroys aquatic life and reduces its reproductive ability.