The view of a calm lake or river is pleasant for many people. Someone, looking at the expanse of the water, dreams of fishing, someone about boating or just about a relaxing holiday by the shore. However, there are lakes, rivers and lagoons, which are life threatening to dive into. Reasons for their dangers include industrial pollution, human waste, bacterial growth, and even the whims of Mother Nature.
Here is a ranking of the 7 most toxic water bodies on Earth.
7. Blue Lagoon
This “lagoon” in Buxton, England is actually an abandoned quarry that has been flooded and has become a popular swimming destination. People are attracted by the beautiful color of water. But in reality, blue water is extremely toxic. Its turquoise color is due to the leaching of chemicals from limestone into water. Calcium oxide, used as an integral part of the quarrying process, gives the lagoon a pH of 11.3, approximately comparable to ammonia. Because of this, people who risk taking a swim in the Blue Lagoon can suffer from skin and eye irritation, stomach problems, fungal infections, and a rash.
One of the warning signs, located near the lagoon, reads: “Contains wreckage, parts of dead animals, excrement, garbage.” Despite warnings of toxicity and unsanitary conditions, families continue to flock to the Blue Lagoon. In June 2013, the city council decided to paint the water of the lagoon black to keep prudent swimmers away from the water. But by 2015, the water returned to its turquoise color.
6. Titicaca
In sixth place in the top 7 most ecologically dangerous rivers and lakes in the world is the largest lake in South America, located between Peru and Bolivia.
Titicaca was once one of the most sacred places for the Incas, who considered it the birthplace of the Sun. But modern people treat the lake without the slightest respect and many factories dump production waste into it. Because of this, the water is full of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic. In addition, more than half of the people living on the shores of Lake Titicaca do not have a water supply.
In 2015, 10,000 dead Titicacus whistlers, frogs belonging to an endangered species, were found on the shore of the Titicaca. The reason for the mass death of these amphibians are considered wastewater and heavy metals that pollute the lake.
5. Pinto Lake
California Lake is known as the most toxic lake in the United States, due to the abundance of blue-green algae - cyanobacteria, which feed on nitrogen and phosphorus. These chemical elements exist in sediments at the bottom of Pinto Lake. Blue-green algae produce a toxin called microcystin. Touching or swallowing microcystin can cause nausea, fever, and even liver failure. The toxin has been linked to the deaths of birds, fish, sea otters, and dogs in this area. Therefore, any direct contact with water is dangerous, and fish caught in Pinto Lake cannot be eaten.
4. Buriganga
The fourth place in the list of the most polluted rivers and lakes on Earth is occupied by the river in Bangladesh, which is the main source of water for the country's capital, Dhaka. It is also the main landfill for waste from many local tanneries. Every day, these plants dump approximately 22,000 liters of toxic waste into the river.
Leather waste contains meat and animal hair, as well as numerous chemicals, dyes, oils and heavy metals. However, the slum dwellers in Dhaka have no particular choice and they use river water for bathing, cooking and even drinking. The result is health problems such as headache, diarrhea, and jaundice.
3. The Yamuna River
Part of the Yamuna River is crystal clear, as it originates from a glacier in the Himalayas. To the north of Delhi, turtles, crocodiles, many species of fish and numerous aquatic plants live in the river. But if you look at the Yamuna, which flows through the city, you simply don’t recognize the river.
Data from the 2011 water quality report showed that the water leaving Delhi contained more than one billion fecal coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters. The standard for swimming is 500 coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters.
More than five million Delhi residents live in illegal settlements without sewer services. They defecate in places that flow directly into the river. Industrial wastes containing heavy metals and other pollutants are dumped daily into the river. In Hinduism, the Yamuna is not just a river, but a goddess. And the sad condition of the Yamuna bothers some believers who say that the goddess is dying and needs help. Others argue that since the river is a goddess, it can never be polluted, despite its appearance and smell.
One could discuss whether the goddess dies or not, but there is ample evidence that the river harms mortal beings. Its dirty waters are responsible for numerous cases of typhoid fever, as well as unusually high infant mortality. Heavy metals contained in water are leached in local fields and contaminate vegetables. As a result, children in the area suffer and even die from arsenic and lead poisoning.
An interesting fact: in March 2017, the Ganges and Yamuna were recognized as living beings endowed with legal rights, according to the decision of the court of the Indian state of Uttarkhand.
2. Matanza or Riachuelo
The name of this Argentinean river is translated as “slaughter stream”. It flows through Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, and is used as a landfill for waste and wastewater. Chemical plants and factories dump an average of 82,000 cubic meters of industrial waste containing heavy metals and pesticides in Matanza Riazuelo every day. Citizens living in the slums of Buenos Aires and using river water suffer from various skin diseases, respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal diseases so serious that they can lead to death. In 2005, the Argentine Minister of Ecology, Maria Julia Alsogaray, promised to purify Matanza within 1000 days, adding that she would drink purified water first. And did not fulfill any of these promises.
1. Jacuzzi of death (despair)
In the first place in the ranking of the deadliest lakes in the world is an underwater lake, whose name sounds like a low-grade horror film. It is located at a depth of 1000 meters under water, at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
A whirlpool of despair was formed as a result of leaching of salt from the seabed. Salt made the water in one area very salty until it became so dense that it could no longer mix with the surrounding sea water.
The shape of the lake resembles a pool, which rises 3.7 meters above the ocean floor. The water temperature in it is about 18 degrees Celsius, while the surrounding sea water is much colder - only 4 degrees. Heat draws marine inhabitants into the “pool”. However, due to the huge amount of salt and methane, the water in the Jacuzzi of despair is extremely toxic to most living things.
But there are microorganisms that have managed to adapt even to such terrible conditions of existence. Scientists believe that these creatures can resemble life forms that flourish on other planets.
