Pollution

Water Efficiency -- Pollution Prevention

Critical to preserving our increasingly scarce sources of freshwater is minimizing the pollution of rivers and streams, lakes and reservoirs, estuaries, wetlands, and groundwater. These precious water resources are continuously contaminated by the following array of pollutants:  

  • nutrients from sewage and fertilizers

  • suspended solids

  • pathogens

  • organic material 

  • metals and toxic organic chemicals

  • pesticides and herbicides

  • other contaminants such as salts, acids, oil, and grease

The sources of water pollution are classified as "point sources" and "nonpoint sources." Point sources discharge pollutants into surface waters or into groundwater through a detectable "point, " such as pipes from industrial facilities, treatment plants, and combined sewers. Most point discharges are strictly controlled through specific permits and are subject to enforcement actions. Although point sources still contribute some to water pollution, control measures have greatly reduced their impact.  

Nonpoint sources (NPS), however, are much more difficult to identify, and deliver the vast majority of pollutants to bodies of water. Nonpoint sources include atmospheric deposition,  contaminated sediments, and land practices that generate polluted runoff such as agriculture, logging, onsite sewage disposal, and municipal stormwater management.   

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