How are pollutants transported through water?
Pollutants can exist in water in different states. They can be dissolved or they can be in suspension, which means that they exist in the form of droplets or particles. Pollutants can also be dissolved in droplets or absorbed by particles. All states of pollutants can travel great distances through water in many different ways. Particulate matter may fall to the bottom of streams and lakes or rise to the surface, depending on its density. This means that it mostly remains on the same location when the water does not flow very fast. In rivers, pollutants usually travel great distances. The distance they travel depends upon the stability and physical state of the pollutant and the speed of flow of the river. Pollutants can travel farthest when they are in solution in a river that is fast flowing. The concentrations on one site are then generally low, but the pollutant can be detected on many more sites than when it would not have been so easily transported. In lakes and oceans pollutants
