05-02-2011, 08:20 AM
1. INTRODUCTION
Water is vital to the existence of all living organisms, but this valued resource is increasingly being threatened as human populations grow and demand more water of high quality for domestic purposes and economic activities. Water abstraction for domestic use, agricultural production, mining, industrial production, power generation, and forestry practices can lead to deterioration in water quality and quantity that impact not only the aquatic ecosystem (i.e., the assemblage of organisms living and interacting together within an aquatic environment), but also the availability of safe water for human consumption. It is now generally accepted that aquatic environments cannot be perceived simply as holding tanks that supply water for human activities. Rather, these environments are complex matrices that require careful use to ensure sustainable ecosystem functioning well into the future. Moreover, the management of aquatic environments requires an understanding of the important linkages between ecosystem properties and the way in which human activities can alter the interplay between the physical, chemical and biological processes that drive ecosystem functioning.
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2. CONCEPT
Defining Water Quality
The quality of any body of surface or ground water is a function of either or both natural influences and human activities. Without human influences, water quality would be determined by the weathering of bedrock minerals, by the atmospheric processes of evapotranspiration and the deposition of dust and salt by wind, by the natural leaching of organic matter and nutrients from soil, by hydrological factors that lead to runoff, and by biological processes within the aquatic environment that can alter the physical andchemical composition of water. As a result, water in the natural environment contains many dissolved substances and non-dissolved particulate matter. Dissolved salts and minerals are necessary components of good quality water as they help maintain the health and vitality of the organisms that rely on this ecosystem service. Figure 1 shows the distribution of water hardness, a water quality parameter that is most influenced by the geology of the surrounding drainage basin, in lake and river monitoring stations worldwide.
Water can also contain substances that are harmful to life. These include metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium, pesticides, organic toxins and radioactive contaminants. Water from natural sources almost always contains living organisms that are integral components of the biogeochemical cycles in aquatic ecosystems. However, some of these, particularly bacteria, protists, parasitic worms, fungi, and viruses, can be harmful to humans if present in water used for drinking.
The availability of water and its physical, chemical, and biological composition affect the ability of aquatic environments to sustain healthy ecosystems: as water quality and quantity are eroded, organisms suffer and ecosystem services may be lost. Moreover, an abundant supply of clean, usable water is a basic requirement for many of the fundamental uses of water on which humans depend. These include, but are not limited to: