Dwindling Ecological Balance of Freshwater Systems – Why Should You Be Concerned?

Dwindling Ecological Balance of Freshwater Systems – Why Should You Be Concerned?

Mankind has always depended on freshwater rivers and lakes to sustain farms, reactors, and industries. Today our freshwater biomes are in extreme danger of being vanquished due to the constant threat of industrialization and proliferating toxicity in foods. Freshwater is a necessity for wildlife to thrive; the constant degradation of rivers and lakes can affect our ecosystem and make life inhabitable in future years to come.

Reservoirs and Dams greatly affect freshwater balance
Freshwater lakes promote life in the form of a variety of fish and wildlife dependent on the water flow of a particular lake. When we build dams and reservoirs, we are restricting the water flow to these parts and altering the flow of water completely. By not receiving the appropriate amount of water, these regions can start to decline rapidly and extinction is imminent.

Water Irrigation: The Bane of our Survival
Water irrigation is a major cause for dams and reservoirs to exist, irrigation projects require aquifers to divert water from the natural stream, causing a severe unbalance in the environment. In order for us to sustain freshwater lakes for future generations, we have to normalize habitat alteration by eliminating irrigation projects near vital streams and lakes to preserve our biosphere.

Many farmers are unaware of the destruction their farms are causing to the proximate biodiversity of their regions, and part of the blame is on poor awareness.

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Industrial Expansion and the overuse of sewers
Technology has reached new heights for mankind; while this should be a cause for celebration, the question remains – are we using the right methods to modernize our lifestyles? Think again! Every day, copious amounts of toxic wastes are being rerouted from industrial sewers to freshwater lakes and rivers. These untreated molds of waste destroy various underwater biodiversity and pollute the aquatic environment.

With every passing day, factories are multiplying by the hour and there are absolute no changes initiated to preserve the nearby environments. Lakes are being wiped out from the face of the planet, with no fresh water to quench the thirst for wildlife; many animals migrate from their habitat to more urban environments, causing a threat to humans as well as to their own.

Birth defects due to toxic water consumption
Water is the most important resource after air necessary for survival. With rising toxicity levels in lakes, ponds, and rivers, water that is sent to our taps via municipal systems can directly influence our growth and nourishment. With rising level of polluted water entering our bodies, we pass on an alarming number of birth deformities to our future generations.

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If this continues, our future is in dire threat of being extinct due to poor health standards and contracting newer and more powerful diseases types. By utilizing water from fresh lakes, we are also stripping wildlife, aquatic life, and amphibians off their natural source of water.

Acidification and Synthetic Organics causing Health Hazards
With many power plants and steel plants directly introducing toxic chemicals such as Sulphur into freshwater lakes, fishes are completely open to being contaminated by these acidic compounds. This affects agricultural run-offs greatly, with fishermen fishing out infected fish and routing it to the local markets.

Preserve Ecological Balance to Sustain Life
The only blueprint to reversing the damage done to our freshwater lakes is that we, as humans need to take more precautions in preserving the environment. Support groups that encourage greener environments are a brilliant initiative to take part in and make the world aware of the tragedies plaguing our freshwater lakes. Factories need to treat waste before disposing them into lakes; recycling is a process void plaguing the operations of corporations. We have to be the change that our planet needs; eliminating the use of plastic use can help save our aquatic species from going extinct.

As humans, we’ve done more than what was warranted in terms of looting the biodiversity from freshwater ecosystems. To arrest the damage and salvage the situation, we have to make ourselves aware of the dangers affecting the same environment and ask ourselves the question: Are we evolving or inching closer to extinction?