In the guide below, we outline some of the cities, countries and regions around the world that might have the most water pollution, also tap water contamination.
We also list what might be the top water polluting countries in the world.
(Note – this guide contains general information only. It does not contain professional advice)
Summary – Countries & Cities With The Most Water Pollution & Contamination
Firstly, What Is Water Pollution?
We outline what water pollution is, along with discussing other important aspects of the issue in this guide.
Potential Difference Between Water Pollution & Water Contamination
Many reports refer to water pollution and water contamination as being the same or a similar thing
However, in the guide below, we outline what a potential difference between the two might be
Freshwater Pollution vs Marine Water Pollution
It’s worth pointing out that we are mainly referring to freshwater pollution over marine water pollution in the guide below
Cities, Countries & Regions With The Most Water Pollution
What we can see in the guide below is that there are notable levels of water pollution in almost every region and country across the world
%’s Of Different Water Sources That Are Polluted In Different Cities & Countries
Parts of the Phillipines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Laos and Indonesia may have notable %’s of water pollution to different water sources across these countries or regions
For example, over 50% of specific fresh water sources, or more, may be polluted in some of these regions
Main Causes Of Water Pollution, & Main Water Pollutants In Different Countries & Regions
Cities & Countries With The Most Contaminated Tap Water
There are many countries and cities that are reported to have contaminated tap water around the world.
Moldova is one country that is identified by two separate reports as having contaminated drinking supplies. Mexico is another.
Some reports list specific States in the US that might have tap water contaminated in specific ways, whilst one report goes as far as to say that all States in the US experience tap water contamination in some way.
There can also be parts of some countries worldwide, even in rural areas of more developed countries, that can have issues with access to drinking water that meets basic health guidelines.
Cities & Countries With The Least Safely Managed Water Supply
Contamination is only one aspect of a city’s water supply.
The overall management of a city’s water supply can also be measured by indicators such as water availability, water accessibility, and other measures.
In the guide below, we reference a report, and identify the top 10 countries they list as having the least safely managed water supplies.
Biggest Water Polluting Countries & Regions
The biggest water polluting countries in the world right now might be China, the United States, India, Japan, Germany, Indonesia, Brazil
Having said that though, this list can change, and it can be hard to fully measure water pollution
Biggest Water Polluting Industries & Companies
Something that we haven’t examined in this guide that we probably could expand on is the top water polluting producers, such as farms, companies, industries, and so on.
This type of information might help address the problem of water pollution/contamination in a local area on a deeper level
Water Pollution Differs Everywhere, & Can Change Over Time
What we see from the guide below is that water pollution differs everywhere in terms of the water sources being polluted, the main types of pollutants, and the main causes of pollution.
Additionally, water pollution can change over time as countries pollute less, and clean up existing water pollution.
Potential Solutions To Water Pollution & Contamination
You can read this guide which outlines some of the general and also specific solutions for addressing water pollution and contamination.
Water Pollution As A Measure Of How Sustainable Or Green A City Is
The level of water pollution and water contamination in a city is one of the factors that contributes to how sustainable or green a city is.
What Is Water Pollution?
We outline what water pollution is, along with discussing other important aspects of the issue in this guide.
Potential Difference Between Water Pollution & Water Contamination
Water pollution and water contamination can be considered as a similar issue, and many reports refer to them as such.
However, a potential difference between the two might be …
– Water pollution being the broader issue that causes a degradation of water quality to bodies of water like lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water
– Water contamination on the other hand might be a particular type of pollution that results in water not being fully clean or safe for human consumption or use.
So, water contamination considers the quality or suitability of the water for end use and human consumption of the water, whereas water pollution simply considers whether the water quality degraded or not
lorecentral.org goes into more detail about what the technical difference between the two might be
Freshwater Pollution vs Ocean Water Pollution
Freshwater pollution and ocean water pollution might be considered as two separate types of water pollution
It’s worth noting that in this guide we are primarily referring to, and discussing freshwater pollution and contamination
Cities, Countries & Regions With The Most Water Pollution
Water pollution appears to be happen in a number of regions, countries and cities across the world.
There doesn’t appear to be one country that stands out above the others.
China may have notable levels of water pollution though to both surface water and ground water sources according to one report.
Different Regions Around The World
all-about-water-filters.com lists the cities and regions around with notable levels of water pollution, in addition to where water pollution occurs in each city or region, the biggest causes of the water pollution, the main types of pollutants, how widespread water pollution is, and potential health risks.
In no particular order (and paraphrased):
Places in Africa, & Central & South America …
Such as Johannesburg (South Africa), Harare, (Zimbabwe), Algiers (Algeria), Port Au Prince (Haiti), Bogota (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), and Tunis (Tunisia)
United States Cities …
Such as Jacksonville (FL), Reno (NV), Houston (TX), Riverside (CA), Las Vegas (NV), and Pensacola (FL)
Places in Asia and the Middle East …
Such as Ulan Baatar (Mongolia), Vientiane (Laos), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines), Kabul (Afghanistan), and New Delhi
China Specifically
From bestlifeonline.com:
[In Beijing, China] … almost 40 percent of the water was so dirty in 2015 that it couldn’t be used for any purpose
From wikipedia.org:
China … Almost 90% of underground water in cities are affected by pollution and as well as 70% of China’s rivers and lakes
% ‘s Of Different Water Sources That Are Polluted In Different Cities & Countries
Parts of the Phillipines, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Laos and Indonesia may have notable %’s of water pollution to different water sources.
All of the regions listed below have 50% water pollution rates or higher of certain freshwater sources, or, have water sources that are currently degrading at high rates
From all-about-water-filters.com:
Manila, Philippines … 50% of the rivers in the Philippines are considered biologically dead [including the] Marilao River …
Kabul, Afghanistan … Water pollution percentage [is] 85% …
Jakarta, Indonesia … open defecation [is one of the reasons that around] 90% of the groundwater in Jakarta is polluted with E. coli bacteria …
Vientiane, Laos … The percent of the water that has been polluted in Vientiane is just over 72%
[Indonesian] water resources degrade by at least 15% and up to 35% every year
Main Causes Of Water Pollution, & Main Water Pollutants In Different Countries & Regions
Countries & Cities With The Most Contaminated Tap Water
There are a range of cities & countries reported to have tap water that is contaminated in some way.
Some of the contaminants and causes of contamination are listed in the section below.
Multiple reports make comment on the contamination of Moldova’s drinking water supplies. Mexico is another.
In regards to the US, on report lists individual States with notable tap water contamination, whilst another report indicates all States in the US have some form of tap water contamination.
Worldwide
bestlifeonline.com lists the 25 countries in the world that might have the most unsafe or contaminated tap water, and we’ve also outlined some of the causes of contamination for some places in brackets. In no particular order:
Ukraine [industrial and agricultural run-off, and poor infrastructure]
The Bahamas
Brazil
China
Fiji
Mexico
Russia
Cuba [sewage waste]
Puerto Rico [urine, hazardous waste, and runoff]
Taiwan [trace amounts of arsenic]
Costa Rica [some bodies of water have toxic industrial waste]
Argentina [industrial influences, urbanization, and harmful agriculture]
Morocco
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Peru
Egypt
The Maldives [heavy toxic metals]
Belize [oil based lead paint from rooves collecting water]
Kenya
Panama [agricultural runoff]
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic
Moldova [nitrates, ammoniac, and fluorine]
Also from bestlifeonline.com:
[In India] … Over 21 percent of the country’s diseases stem from the water supply …
[In Moldova] … 80 percent of the drinking water in the country’s villages is not safe for consumption [and] The quantities of nitrates, ammoniac, and fluorine are two or even three times higher than the norm …
From all-about-water-filters.com:
Greater Mexico City … 23% of the wells in the region don’t meet the national standards for bacteria presence
Kabul, Afghanistan … Of the water used for drinking, 81% is still polluted …
Potential Causes For Tap Water Contamination Worldwide
bestlifeonline.com also notes that the reasons for unsafe tap water and contaminated water can vary
But in general, they list some of the causes as sewage discharge in the water, industrial waste, agricultural waste, arsenic or lead from water pipes, a lack of water treatment infrastructure, other hazardous waste, runoff, and bacteria and water borne diseases.
United States Cities Specifically
businessinsider.com.au also lists the cities in the US that allegedly have the worst tap water (i.e. that might be contaminated with specific contaminants)
Pittsburgh
Milwaukee
Flint
Detroit
Newark
Washington DC
Brady, Texas
Baltimore
Dos Palos, California
Charleston, West Virginia
Newburgh, Upstate New York
[In the US] … potentially harmful contaminants—from arsenic to copper to lead—have been found in the tap water of every single state (nrdc.org)
From all-about-water-filters.com:
[In Omaha, Nebraska] … Manganese was found at levels more than forty percent the legal amount in Omaha water samples [and] Atrazine and nitrates also surpass the legally safe amounts that can be present in water
Rural Or Remote Regions Of Some Countries May Have Questionable Access To Healthy Drinking Water
It’s also possible that even in some developed countries, some remote or rural areas may not have consistent access to drinking water that meets health guidelines.
According to abc.net.au, one example of this might be in remote Australia:
Almost 200,000 people in remote Australia don’t have access to drinking water that consistently meets health guidelines
Other Places With Questionable Tap Water Quality
Read more in this guide about the cities and countries that might have unsafe drinking water, or drinking water of a questionable quality.
Cities & Countries With The Least Safely Managed Water Supply
Contamination is only one aspect of having a basic water supply.
Poorly managed water supplies can also be measured by other indicators such as accessibility of water, availability of water, and other indicators.
wtop.com lists the top 10 countries with the least safely managed water supply, and those countries are:
1. Uganda
2. Ethiopia
3. Nigeria
4. Cambodia
5. Nepal
6. Cambodia
7. Bhutan
8. Pakistan
9. Congo
10. Mexico
In their slideshow, wtop.com also lists the reasons for the poorly managed water supply, and for several of the countries that mention several significant causes of water contamination.
Biggest Water Polluting Countries
Below are lists for general pollution, and also plastic pollution in the ocean.
It’s worth noting though that it might be difficult to fully measure the scope of water pollution of each country.
General Water Pollution
all-about-water-filters.com also lists 7 of the biggest water polluting countries in the world, in no particular order:
China
United States
India
Japan
Germany
Indonesia
Brazil
Plastic Pollution In The Ocean
In terms of purely plastic pollution in the ocean, statista.com lists China and Indonesia as the biggest polluters.
Water Pollution Differs Everywhere, & Can Change Over Time
What we can see from the guide above is that water pollution happens in many places, but it differs everywhere in terms of the bodies of water that are polluted, the causes of pollution, the types of pollutants, and so on.
Additionally, water pollution can change over time as countries pollute less, and clean up existing water pollution.
Potential Solutions To Water Pollution & Contamination
You can read this guide which outlines some of the general and also specific solutions for addressing water pollution and contamination.
One of the things we note in that guide is that some contaminated and polluted water can be treated and cleaned to become safe and clean for use, whilst some can’t
Sources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Water_pollution_by_country
2. http://all-about-water-filters.com/cities-where-water-pollution-occurs-the-most/
3. http://all-about-water-filters.com/producers-water-pollution-around-the-world/
4. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/23-countries-with-best-and-worst-water/
5. https://bestlifeonline.com/countries-with-worst-tap-water/
6. https://wtop.com/world/2017/07/10-countries-with-the-worst-water-supply/slide/1/
7. https://www.lorecentral.org/2017/10/difference-polluted-water-contaminated-water.html
8. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/cities-worst-tap-water-us-2019-3?r=US&IR=T
9. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/pollution/
10. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-need-know#prevent
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources_of_China
12. Various ‘Better Meets Reality’ guides
13. https://wtop.com/world/2017/07/10-countries-with-the-worst-water-supply/slide/1/
14. https://www.statista.com/chart/12211/the-countries-polluting-the-oceans-the-most/
15. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-11/remote-water-quality-doesnt-meet-health-guidelines-indigenous/101318826
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