Just as air pollutants affect the well-being of air breathers, so does chemical imbalance in water affect those who breathe water. Fortunately, water pollution is also similar in that a Rebman can tolerate a fair bit of deviation from the ideal conditions for sea water, with mild symptoms of illness or discomfort. Long-term exposure is the true deadly threat.
Whither Waste
The Sea is remarkably efficient at managing the waste of both Amber and Rebma when certain considerations are followed with regards to dumping. Amber's sewage drains from an area in the Lower City, and feeds into a few quick-flowing currents which whisk it out of the bay and along coastal channels to be flushed out into the Wild Waters and shadows lay beyond. Which route detritus takes is usually dependent on weight and solubility, though a Rebman custodial force, as well as the actions of salvagers, can affect what goes where. Also, things which carry a sense of history do not tend to escape the territory, but rather are snatched into currents running to the vast interior. The East Rebman Current is lined with scavenger shacks at certain intervals, from which enterprising collectors 'fish' potential lost valuables out of the grip of the rolling undersea river.
There is a well-circulated speculation among Rebman salvagers that a certain location in the Sea has amassed an astounding motherlode of unique items, more treasure than trash. Naturally, no one who has gone off in search of such a trove has come back with clear evidence it exists, if they manage to come back at all.
Unhealthy Conditions
Several areas in the realm have been identified as 'dead zones'. They are hypoxic: Oxygen-deprived and unable to sustain life. In other places, there is an imbalance which results in the overgrowth of algae to toxic levels, as the tiny plants devour, die, and provide for the next growth with their byproducts. There have been attempts to figure out why these places have come about and what might be done to cure them, ranging from the scientific to the metaphysical. Considering this is Rebma, the answers are not likely to fit into any one box.
Black Road activity in the past has resulted in pervasive issues in Rebma, where it is referred to as Black Water. Due to chaos-infected organic matter bleeding into the currents before the source could be located and sealed, there are numerous small occurrences to be found throughout the territory where the taint has taken root in some harmful way.
Unscrupulous and even malicious dumping from sailing ships into Rebma can at least temporarily be the cause of pollution which risks the health of denizens, whether it is a remote cloister of Sirens, or a large habitation held by a noble family. If tracked down, the ships involved are likely to receive some manner of censure; locals may take matters into their own fins, or file a formal grievance at Moire's Court.
