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Impacts

Impacts from point source pollution to waters are caused by oxygen consuming substances, like ammonium or other substances, indicated by the measurement of the biological oxygen demand (BOD), nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, hazardous substances, emerging pollutants, pathogens, like bacteria, viruses, or parasites, and microplastic particles.

The BOD shows how much dissolved oxygen is needed for microorganisms to decompose the organic matter. The resulting oxygen deficit in highly organic polluted waters causes impacts on aquatic communities, e.g. the loss of several macroinvertebrates and acute toxic impacts on fish.

Overall, concentrations of oxygen consuming substances (BOD, ammonium) and nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) have decreased over the last 25 years (Figure 3). It needs to be mentioned, that nitrate as well as phosphorus in rivers is not solely attributable to point sources of pollution. Those substances can also be released from diffuse sources, like agriculture. 

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