How do polluted waters look?

See link below: Answer: The popular image of polluted water is a stinking, black, septic fluid with bilious green foam and the odd dead fish or bird floating in it covering a bed of oozing sludge.. Wrong. Water hat is so polluted that you would become very ill if you drank it can be clear and cold with a neat sandy bottom. Iy all depends on the pollutant. Arsenic and other heavy metals, acids, alkalis, and microorganisms from sewage do not affect the appearance of water at all. This is why water must be analyzed to determine the presence or absence of pollution. Using your senses can give you very misleading information.