Unveiling The Impact: Understanding 9-Point Water Pollution

Water pollutants come from either point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system. A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a very broad unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter the water body, such as the runoff from an agricultural area.

Point source pollution is water pollution that comes from a single, discrete place

Water pollutants come from either point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system. A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a very broad unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter the water body, such as the runoff from an agricultural area. Point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources, because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to one single point where it can be treated. Pollution from dispersed sources is difficult to control, and, despite much progress in the building of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a large fraction of water pollution problems.

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters without a permit. Point source water pollution is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Regulated pollutants from point sources include wastes, soils, rocks, chemicals, bacteria, suspended solids, heavy metals, pesticides, and more.

The Clean Water Act specifically defines a "point source" in section 502(14) of the Act. That definition states: "The term "point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged." This term does not include agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.

The main point source of pollution to water is from sewage and waste water treatment, while for diffuse pollution, main sources are from farming and fossil fuel power plants (via the air). While sewage treatment plants are identified as a "point source", they are not the actual source as they treat what we put down our toilets and sinks.

By contrast, nonpoint source water pollution is caused by broadly distributed and disconnected sources of pollution, such as rain and snowmelt runoff, spills, leaks, and sediment erosion.

Nonpoint source pollution is caused by broadly distributed and disconnected sources of pollution

Nonpoint source water pollution is caused by broadly distributed and disconnected sources of pollution, such as rain and snowmelt runoff, spills, leaks, and sediment erosion. Point source pollution, on the other hand, is water pollution that comes from a single, discrete place, typically a pipe or channel.

Nonpoint source pollution is caused by a variety of agricultural activities, such as farming and irrigation. Nutrients and pesticides from farming activities can enter the water body through runoff, which can lead to diffuse pollution. Fossil fuel power plants and industry can also release pollutants into the air, which can then fall back to land and sea, causing diffuse pollution.

Nonpoint source pollution is often more difficult to control than point source pollution because the contaminated water has not been collected and conveyed to a single point where it can be treated. Despite much progress in the building of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a large fraction of water pollution problems.

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters without a permit. Point source water pollution is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. Regulated pollutants from point sources include wastes, soils, rocks, chemicals, bacteria, suspended solids, heavy metals, pesticides, and more.

Regulated pollutants from point sources include wastes, soils, rocks, chemicals, bacteria, suspended solids, heavy metals, pesticides

Point source water pollution involves pollutants that are discharged from any identifiable, singular source, such as a pipe, ditch, drain, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, container, or vessel. By contrast, nonpoint source water pollution is caused by broadly distributed and disconnected sources of pollution, such as rain and snowmelt runoff, spills, leaks, and sediment erosion. The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters without a permit. Point source water pollution is regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program.

The main point source of pollution to water is from sewage and wastewater treatment, while for diffuse pollution, main sources are from farming and fossil fuel power plants (via the air). While sewage treatment plants are identified as a “point source”, they are not the actual source as they treat what we put down our toilets and sinks.

The Clean Water Act specifically defines a “point sourcesection 502(14) of the Act. That definition states: The term “point source” means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.

The Clean Water Act makes it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters

The Clean Water Act specifically defines a "point source" in section 502(14) of the Act. That definition states:

> The term "point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.

This term does not include agricultural storm water discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.

Water pollutants come from either point sources or dispersed sources. A point source is a pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system. A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a very broad unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter the water body, such as the runoff from an agricultural area.

Point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources, because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to one single point where it can be treated.

Water quality is influenced by direct inputs, such as from a factory or sewage treatment plant

> The term "point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.

The main point source of pollution to water is from sewage and waste water treatment.

Regulated pollutants from point sources include wastes, soils, rocks, chemicals, bacteria, suspended solids, heavy metals, pesticides, and more.

Point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources, because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to one single point where it can be treated.

Despite much progress in the building of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a large fraction of water pollution problems.

Frequently asked questions