10. Matanza-Riachuelo river
Located in Buenos Aires province, this river has been polluted with various toxic chemicals, particularly heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, mercury, zinc, lead and copper.
9. Cuyahoga river
The Cuyahoga River is famous for having caught fire numerous times. Flowing through the Cleveland, Ohio area, because it runs through a congested urban environment, has been subjected to numerous forms of pollution, particularly industrial waste.
8. Buriganga river
The Buriganga River in Bangladesh, one of the world’s most densely populated countries, suffers from just about every type of pollution imaginable: chemical waste, domestic garbage, medical waste, dead animals, plastics and petroleum...
7. Marilao river
The Marilao River flows through the Bulacan Province in the Philippines. The river suffers from various forms of pollution: textile factories, gold refineries and municipal dumps... The high levels of toxic chemicals and heavy metals in the water are particularly worrisome.
6. Sarno river
The Sarno River in southern Italy, it's widely considered the most polluted river in Europe. It’s covered by oily scum and chemical foam. Fouled by industrial and agricultural wastes and plenty of urban garbage, the Sarno River is considered the primary source for "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" (PAHs)
5. Mississippi river
Pollution of rivers is also widespread in the United States. The mighty Mississippi River, also called the Big Muddy, because its waters are generally brown, mostly from sediments. But the Big Muddy holds much more than mud, for its level of pollutants is great.
4. Citarum river
The Citarum River, located in West Java, Indonesia, flows through a basin populated by millions of people using the river’s water for drinking, fishing, agriculture and industrial applications.
3. Doce river
The Doce River, which means “sweet water,” runs through southeast Brazil for 853 kilometers, providing much needed fresh water for the largest steel making region in Latin America. Unfortunately, in November 2015, location Mariana, two containment dams ruptured, spilling 60 million cubic meters of iron ore sludge into the Doce River, killing at least 17 people and injuring scores of others.
2. Yellow river
The condition of the Yellow River, whose water is filled with a yellow sediment known as loess, hence its name, is essential to the well-being of China, though at times the river has flooded, killing millions of people.
1. Ganges river
The Ganges River, the most sacred river in Hinduism and the third largest river. Unfortunately, people dump their waste into the Ganges as they use it for drinking, bathing and cooking, giving rise to many water-borne illnesses.
