Organic waste is an important source of water pollution. Firstly, it increases oxygen consumption, BOD. Secondly, nutrient salts can cause secondary problems in the form of eutrophication. Organic waste in soil can follow groundwater or surface runoff, and end up in water.

Dr Arne Andersen thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Sewage containing organic waste should not be disposed in water bodies because it causes major water pollution. Fishes in such a polluted water die because it decrease the amount of dissloved oxygen in water. Solid waste pollution is unsightly and damaging to the health of aquatic ecosystems and can harm wildlife directly. Many solid wastes, such as plastics and electronic waste break down and leach harmful chemicals into the water, making them a source of toxic or hazardous waste.The most important mechanisms of transport of contaminants through soil are volatilization, leaching, and erosion or suspension of soil particles. Mechanisms that control transport may be the same that control availability to organisms, and thus contaminant fate. Therefore, these concepts are closely related. The amount of contaminant being transported is a function of its concentration in the groundwater and the quantity of groundwater flowing, and advection will transport contaminants at different rates in each stratum. The four general processes that control the transport and fate of contaminants in the environment are advection, dispersion, interphase mass transfer, and transformation reactions. Particles coming from the pavement, its maintenance or the traffic enter the soil carried by water and more pollutants transferred by air are dispersed in different distances, also polluting the soil. The fate in the soil, including retention or mobility to other environmental compartments and effects on living organisms is determined by the intrinsic characteristics of the contaminant and by the local soil properties. The most important mechanisms of transport of contaminants through soil are volatilization, leaching, and erosion or suspension of soil particles. Mechanisms that control transport may be the same that control availability to organisms, and thus contaminant fate. Therefore, these concepts are closely related. Once a chemical enters the groundwater regime, several transport mechanisms are present that may aid in the spreading of the contamination. These mechanisms include diffusion, advection, mechanical dispersion, and hydrodynamic dispersion. Organic contaminants are degraded in water bodies through various transformation processes in the natural environment such as photodegradation, biodegradation, microbial degradation, and enzymatic degradation. Organic matter is considered as a major source of water pollution caused by wastes of food, animal and human excreta, garbage etc. Leachate is the liquid waste that is produced as organic waste decomposes. If leachate enters a stream, it can be extremely polluting. Naturally occurring bacteria in the stream will break down the waste quickly using oxygen in the water. As the oxygen levels fall, aquatic life in the stream will die. Organic substances constitute the major freshwater pollutants, coming from domestic sewage discharges and from certain industries such as food processing. The runoff of the organic matter leads to the pollution of water. Excessive growth of phytoplankton in water can also be among the causes of water pollution. However, these wastes are biodegradable. The large bacterial population present in the water can decompose the organic matter.

phosphate and nitrate are the primary drivers of eutrophication, not "organic waste" (whatever that means).

Dr Phil Geis thank you for your contribution to the discussion