How is water polluted?

Water pollution can affect rivers, groundwater, rainwater, snow, and polar ice. It is defined by the presence of microorganisms, chemicals, or industrial waste.

This pollution can have different causes:

Industrial pollution: Hydrocarbons or PCBs emitted by industry, as well as water drained by factories, are released into the water in the form of chemicals.

Agricultural pollution: Agriculture is a factor in agricultural pollution, in fact, animal waste and pesticides contained in fertilizers will penetrate the soil and directly pollute groundwater.

Domestic pollution: Urban society will encourage this domestic pollution, particularly with wastewater from toilets and the use of cleaning and cosmetic products.

Please note : In France, in 2013, 48.2% of surface water and 67% of groundwater were in good chemical condition.

Our water sources Are they victims of pollution?

Rainfall feeds our rivers and groundwater. This is how water pollution is fueled. Rainwater flows through our land and picks up urban and agricultural pollutants before ending up in our waterways, contaminating them. Rivers also receive water treated by our treatment plants, which aim to decontaminate our wastewater and rainwater as best as possible. However, it is possible that this treated water can also contaminate our rivers with pollutants when they are insufficiently treated.

It should be noted that groundwater is renewed slowly: over days, months, or even years. This is why, when an aquifer is affected, it takes a long time for pollutants to be absorbed. For example, a river flows at a rate of one meter per second, while groundwater can take a year to travel one meter.

In summary, our waters are Exposed to pollution, even if the water in our taps is treated and completely drinkable, it is possible that remnants of these pollutants may be present. Our Stéfani filter fountains allow us to filter out a large part of pollutants such as bacteria, heavy metals, pesticides, chlorine and even medication residues.
Find at Fontaine Backes all our BPA-free plastic water filters and our terracotta water filters from the Stefani brand!