How does cleaning a stream help the enviorment?

Answer 1

It depends on how it is cleaned and what it is cleaned of.

Any chemicals, plastics etc would obviously cause a problem. The things that cause the biggest problems are often unseen. Animal effluent, and discharges from sewage works produce phosphates which are very bad for water quality and lead to the death of fish and perhaps even more importantly the invertebrates and other life in the stream they feed off. Even simple run off of rain water into a stream can carry pollutants from roads such as deposits from exhausts and worn rubber.

So clearing rubbish is the first step. Checking water quality and contamination is the second and much harder to deal with.

Care should be taken to cause as little disturbance to the bank and bed of the stream. In some case streams need the silt dredging out but professional advice is best before deciding to do this.

In cleaning a stream you are seeking to do good for the environment and wildlife but over enthusiastic cleaning can actually work against that.

Answer 2

Too many hazardous toxins are thrown into the streams, lakes and oceans. Some of which are thrown onto streams either chemicals that is harmful and eventually run into the oceans disturbing the ecological balance of wildlife in the waters. Or even items being thrown into streams such as plastic canned soda handles that can become embedded into the body of say a fish and kill it.

Look at it this way....What do you think would happen to your house if you kept throwing things in it and NEVER cleaned it? Toxic waste to the point if left there, you would probably die.

I say clean them, even if you didn't dirty them.!

Answer 3

Although it doesn't affect the environment much we don't need to live like pigs.