Reversing the damage: ecological restoration of polluted water bodies affected by pollutants due to anthropogenic activities

Aquatic ecosystems provide a large number of cultural, regulating, and supporting services to humans and play a pivotal role in sustaining freshwater-dependent ecosystems. However, an increase in human population coupled with economic growth in the last few decades has severely affected their functioning and ecological health. This has led to an increase in concentrations of pollutants originating from anthropogenic activities such as heavy metals, plastics, semi-volatile organic compounds, and endocrine disruptors. These pollutants provoke deleterious impacts on aquatic biodiversity and affect the water quality and functioning. In this paper, we discuss the sources and impacts of such pollutants as well as restoration techniques for reducing their impact on aquatic ecosystems. Several physical and chemical ecological restoration techniques, such as dredging, sediment capping, water diversion, adsorption, aeration, and flushing, can be employed to improve the water quality of water bodies. Additionally, biological techniques such as phytoremediation, phycoremediation, the use of biomembranes, and the construction of ecological floating beds can be employed to increase the population of aquatic organisms and improve the overall ecological health of aquatic ecosystems. Restoration techniques can effectively reduce the concentrations of suspended solids and dissolved phosphorus and increase the levels of dissolved oxygen. The restoration techniques for improving the ecological health of water bodies should not be limited to simply improving the water quality but should also focus on improving the biological processes and ecosystem functioning since it is essential to mitigate the adverse effects of pollutants and restore the vital ecosystem services provided by water bodies for future generations.