Final answer:
Lake Roosevelt's pollution can be attributed to industrial waste dumping, sewage discharge into rivers, and environmental mishaps like the Cuyahoga River fire and Love Canal chemical waste incident. Additional causes include oil spills, deforestation, and irresponsible tourist behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lake Roosevelt became polluted due to several factors, including the dumping of industrial waste and sewage by cities and factories into rivers, which was a common practice across the United States. This history of water pollution shares similarities with the environmental crisis of the Cuyahoga River, which was so burdened by pollutants that it caught fire in 1969. Moreover, the exploitation of natural resources such as overharvesting timber, and the mishandling of chemical waste as seen in the Love Canal incident, where chemical waste seeped into basements and caused health problems, has caused lasting environmental damage.
In addition to these factors, oil spills from transportation accidents and the wasteful practices of tourists have also contributed to the degradation of water quality in natural bodies of water. In areas like the Amazon Basin, the reliance on extraction industries such as oil has led to spills damaging freshwater supplies. Similarly, mining practices and deforestation by the timber industry have resulted in widespread erosion and loss of habitats, further polluting the rivers and affecting the ecosystems.