Reduce Water Pollution

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Water is where life began and why life continues, but it is also the world's most threatened essential resource. In addition to the accelerating climatic-driven threat of drought, where water sources all over the world face the threat of potentially drying up as the warming climate accelerates, water is becoming increasingly polluted every year. Water pollution affects drinking water, rivers, lakes and oceans all over the world. This consequently harms human health, wildlife and the natural environment. According to the NIEHS, water pollution is any contamination of water with chemicals or other foreign substances, such as fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural runoff, sewage and food processing waste, lead, mercury and other heavy metals, chemical wastes from industrial discharges, and chemical contamination from hazardous waste sites, that are detrimental to human, plant or animal health. Polluted, unsafe water is the leading cause of sickness and death with half of the world's hospital beds filled with people suffering from water-related illnesses. You can help purify, conserve and protect water resources by following the many actions listed below. Learn more.
Why Cleaner Water?
"We have the ability to provide clean water for every man, woman and child on the Earth. What has been lacking is the collective will to accomplish this. What are we waiting for? This is the commitment we need to make to the world, now." ~Jean-Michel Cousteau
Discover the EPA's 'Do's and Don'ts Around the House' to Reduce Polluted Water Runoff

U.S. Composting Council: Using Compost Can Reduce Water Pollution
“Five million people die unnecessarily each year because of illness related to lack of potable water. Half of them are children under the age of five. To bring it home, think about this: one child dies from lack of clean water every twelve seconds.” ~Thomas M. Kostigen

  • Correctly Dispose of Hazardous Household Products and Make Your Own Non-Toxic Cleaning Product - Huffpost Green, Care 2, Sharing Sustainable Solutions, The Modern Pet Blog, Wired Mamas and Eco-Cycle can help make this little experiment a success and into a family activity. Everything you need is probably already in your pantry! Hazardous household chemicals, such as toxic cleaning products, contain harmful substances, including sodium hypochlorite, petroleum distillates, phenol and cresol, ammonia and formaldehyde. These chemicals usually make their way into drains, sinks, and toilets, which end up polluting nearby water bodies and the humans and wildlife that depend on them. NRDC offers the following advice: "Contact your local sanitation, public works, or environmental health department to find out about hazardous waste collection days and sites, or check Earth911.com for local recycling options. If a local program isn't available, request one. Additionally, incorrect disposal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products leads to the presence of pharmaceutical residues in our waterways and, ultimately, our drinking water. To keep pharmaceuticals and personal care products out of waterways, never flush them down the toilet. The best way to dispose of these items is through "take-back" programs where drugs are returned to a facility that can dispose of them properly. Contact your local health officials or household hazardous waste facility to find out what options exist in your region."

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Don't Be A Litterbug! Litter consists of waste products, usually man-made objects thrown onto the ground, that have been disposed of improperly, without consent and in an inappropriate location. Research shows about 85% of littering is the result of individual attitudes. Changing individual behavior is key to preventing litter. Once litter is on the ground, it attracts more litter and will eventually become ocean litter since the ocean is downhill to everything. On the flip side, a cleaner community with more readily available trash and recycling receptacles actually discourages littering and improves community appearance and quality of life. Ultimately, littering is a personal choice that can stem from a lack of personal responsibility for one’s actions and surroundings. Litterers may also have a sense of entitlement, a feeling that other people, especially those who get paid to, should clean up after them. According to KAB, "Nearly one in five, or 17% of all disposals observed in public spaces were littering, while 83% disposed of litter properly. And 81% of littering was intentional, e.g., flicking, flinging, or dropping. On the other hand, individuals who hold the belief that littering is wrong, and consequently feel a personal obligation not to litter, are less likely to do so. Some people feel no sense of ownership for parks, walkways, beaches, and other public spaces. They believe someone else will pick up after them; that it’s not their responsibility." Learn More About Litter and Litterers

"Water and sanitation problems have reached boiling point: children are dying unnecessarily at the rate of 20 jumbo jets crashing every single day."
~Ravi Narayanan



  • Recycle Used Motor Oil and Avoid Pouring Waste Oil Down Storm Drains or Gutters. A single quart of motor oil that seeps into groundwater can pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water. You can check Earth911.com for local recycling options for used motor oil or ask your local sanitation or public works department to create one and be sure to keep up with car maintenance to reduce the leaking of hazardous fluids, such as oil and antifreeze.

  • Conserve Water - The less water you use, the less will be running down the drains and into gutters carrying pollutants with it and the more money you save. Explore EPA's Conserving Water Page
  • Help Identify and Stop Polluters by joining local clean water or environmental groups that monitor industry and sewage treatment plants that are discharging wastes. You can find a local clean water organization in your area by contacting the Clean Water Network or Waterkeeper Alliance.

  • Try to Plant Vegetation at Lower Elevations Than Nearby Hard Surfaces to allow runoff to seep into soil rather than travel on asphalt or concrete collecting and dispersing pollutants into storm drains or nearby water sources.


  • Avoid Over-Watering Lawns and Gardens, which can not only waste water, but can also increase the leaching of fertilizers into groundwater. Watering before the sun comes up, or after it sets, will also decrease the amount of water lost to evaporation.

  • Decrease Concrete, Asphalt and Hard Surfaces Around Your Home to reduce runoff from your property and try to create landscapes with vegetation, gravel or other porous materials, such as wood decking and interlocking bricks for walkways.

  • Strategically Plant Grass Buffer Strips Along Rivers and Streams, between fields and surface waters, such as rivers, streams, lakes and drainage ditches, to protect water quality and prevent contaminants, such as fertilizers and pesticides, from entering the environment and traveling to other non-targeted species and locations. Learn more.
  "Clean water, the essence of life and a birthright for everyone, must become available to all people now." ~Jean-Michel Cousteau
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