Water Pollution

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

The earth is a place people need to protect, but often people forget about protecting the earth's water!

Water pollution is a serious problem that affects everyone around the world.

Water pollution can occur in lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, oceans, and ground water. Pollution occurs when people throw trash into water, use pesticides and lawn chemicals, and leave trash near running water.

Pollution isn't always easy to spot.

Look at the beautiful lake pictured below. Even though the lake looks clean, there still may be pollutants in the water. Remember, even if water looks clean, you should never drink unfiltered water. This can make you very sick.

• What would happen to this lake if people dumped their trash in it?
• How would it affect the animals and plants that live there?

When people use water as a trashcan, they affect all the animals that live there. The more the water is polluted, the less oxygen the water will have. This kills off the fish and other aquatic animals living in the water.

Water pollution can kill all the plants and animals that live in a body of water. It can also harm animals that rely on that body of water for drinking.

Oceans are frequently used as trashcans as well. People dump loads and loads of garbage into the ocean. This is extremely harmful to all the animals and plants that live in the ocean.

It also affects humans as well. The fish people catch out of the ocean to eat can have poisons in them. The polluted water affects the fish we eat and can cause health problems for anyone who eats a lot of fish.

Even though humans have done significant damage to the earth's water, there is still hope that we can clean polluted waters.

Continue to the Got It? section to find out how you can help stop water pollution!