The ancient Greeks considered water to be one of the four basic elements that make up the earth. Yet it is taken for granted, like the air we breathe, and is largely ignored, even now that it is being threatened. Let s start with the basics. And what it can t take into solution it can carry in suspension. Great care must be taken to keep contaminants away from water.
Scientists divide the sources of water contamination into two categories.
Point sources are those that come from a distinct identifiable place, for example, factories. Indeed, industrial processes create wastes, some of which may be emitted from the ends of pipes into convenient water courses. There are many Niagara examples including paper mills in Thorold, whose foamy effluent can often be seen and smelled bubbling down the Old Welland Canal into Twelve Mile Creek and then into Lake Ontario. And spills can occur. Niagara s most infamous spill is at Smithville where PCB laden oils and fluids have penetrated the clay soil and contaminated the underlying bedrock and groundwater.