Health

• Water pollutants are detrimental to animals and human health. The accumulation of heavy metals originating from industries may be toxic to the aquatic animals such as fish and, by extension, human beings who feed on them. These toxins from heavy metals may cause birth defects, slow development and cancers among humans. Microbial pollution from sewage may often cause infectious diseases which affect both terrestrial and aquatic life. Developing countries may be more affected by microbial pollution with the rise in the outbreak of water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, particularly those with poor sanitation and sewage systems.
  
  

Death

• The presence of organic nutrients and matter may increase the aerobic algae, leading to the depletion of oxygen in water and suffocation of aquatic organisms and fish. Conversely, contamination of lakes and rivers resulting from sulfate particles due to acid rain may also increase mortality of aquatic life. Diseases such as cholera attributed to microbial pollution in developing countries are some of the leading causes of high infant mortality rate.
  
  

Growth

• The contamination of water by mercury may result into reduced development, growth, and reproduction of marine life. Chemical pollution might lead to a decline of the tadpole mass and frog biodiversity. Oil pollution may affect the development of aquatic organisms negatively. Suspended particles within water may often decrease the quantity of sunlight penetrating it, thus inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and photosynthetic plants.
  
  

Economy

• Prevention and treatment of water pollution is expensive, and this may slow down the economic growth of a country. Simple techniques of water treatment such as sand filters, chemical additives and biological filters geared toward prevention of pollution might be expensive to install and maintain. Treating diseases and cleaning up of water where pollution has occurred is expensive and time-consuming. The marine animals are a source of food and livelihood to many people and when they are depleted by pollution, the economy is negatively affected.