Bangladesh is a deltaic land created and flown over by numerous rivers; the land is also consistently nourished
by their water flows. Pollution of river bodies has become a major problem that is becoming critical because of
inadequacy or non-existence of surface water quality protection measures and sanitation. Lagoons, rivers and streams
36
Water Pollution and its Impact on the Human Health
are sinks for wastes. Wastes are most often discharged into the receiving water bodies with little or no regard to
their assimilative capacities. The discharge of raw sewage, garbage, as well as oil spills are threats to the diluting
capabilities of the lagoons and rivers in the major cities. The natural purification of polluted waters in itself is never
fast, while heavily polluted water may traverse long distance in days before a significant degree of purification is
achieved [1, 2]. In addition, rivers and canals are becoming increasingly polluted from industrial wastewater dumped
by factories, many of them in the textile industry. Leather tanneries are also a significant source of toxic pollutants to
the air and water. The water pollution threatens food production and is raising both environmnetal and human health
concerns [3–8].