One antioxidant that has proven especially effective, zinc dialkyldithiocarbamate, is "not considered hazardous," according to its Material Safety Data Sheet but nonetheless should be kept out of contact with soil, waterways, drains, and sewers.
The Kufa Gate to the south-west and the Basra Gate to the south-east both opened on to the Sarat canal – a key part of the network of waterways that drained the waters of the Euphrates into the Tigris and made this site so attractive.
The government has also drained waterways along the southern part of the Iranian border, where so-called marsh Arabs have lived for 5,000 years, and largely scattered the population.
Today, an estimated 60-80% of marine pollution originates from land, reaching the water through harbours, dirty beaches and polluted waterways that drain into the sea.
The Braye du Valle, an inland waterway which was drained and reclaimed at the beginning of the 19th Century, was shown by the analysis to be vulnerable to waves from east or west overtopping sea walls.
So when it rains, basements flood and standing water mixes with chemicals in the streets before draining into the city's waterways.
In mid-18th century, the government conceived the idea of a canal as a means of draining the land & starting inland waterways.
The St. Lawrence River, draining the Great Lakes, provided a natural waterway and transportation corridor to the heart of the North American continent.
For example, draining the Mesopotamian Marshes and building artificial waterways has ruined some of the most valuable areas of biodiversity in Iraq.
Some of the worst-hit regions in 2005 lay along the Mithi River, a waterway clogged by silt, plastic and sewage that runs through the thickly populated and industrial areas of the city before draining into the Arabian Sea.
