www.watershedwatch.net

Water pollution is as old as waste itself, and dates back to well before recorded human history. Moving bodies of water in particular have long been regarded as easy and harmless ways for individuals and even entire communities or civilizations to dispose of their waste and pollution. For millions of years, the impact upon the environment was negligible, as human populations were still small and the waste they generated tended to be organic and treated naturally by the bodies of water they were using as the town dump. Over time, though, and with the explosions in population growth, population density and environmental contaminants being dumped in waterways, the damage to rivers, lakes, aquifers and oceans has grown considerably.Get more information here. http://marksubryan71.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/the-ganges/

Initially, people just threw things away in the fast-moving river that was often the focal point for many communities. The waste was whisked away up or downstream, never to be seen again, and no damage or pollution was terribly noticeable. The historic and holy Ganges River of India, for example, has long been the primary means for the indigenous inhabitants to dispose of their dead, often building biers and setting loved ones afloat down the river. Today, though, the Ganges River is a cesspool, full of waste, dangerous pollutants, and serving as a threat to those living nearby.