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Nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution regulations are environmental regulations that restrict or limit water pollution from diffuse or nonpoint effluent sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas in a river catchments or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. In the United States, governments have taken a number of legal and ...
The Clean Water Act has made great strides in reducing point source water pollution, but this effect is overshadowed by the fact that nonpoint source pollution, which is not subject to regulation under the Act, has correspondingly increased. [41] One of the solutions to address this imbalance is point/nonpoint source trading of pollutants.
Types of nonpoint source water pollution include sediment, nutrients, toxic contaminants and chemicals and pathogens. Principal sources of nonpoint source water pollution include: urban and suburban areas, agricultural operations, atmospheric inputs, highway runoff, forestry and mining operations, marinas and boating activities.
Topsoil runoff from farm, central Iowa (2011). Water pollution in the United States is a growing problem that became critical in the 19th century with the development of mechanized agriculture, mining, and manufacturing industries—although laws and regulations introduced in the late 20th century have improved water quality in many water bodies. [1]
TMDL is the end product of all point and non-point source pollutants of a single contaminant. Pollutants that originate from a point source are given allowable levels of contaminants to be discharged; this is the waste load allocation (WLA). Nonpoint source pollutants are also calculated into the TMDL equation with load allocation (LA). [7]
Federal regulation of nonpoint source water pollution is often cited as weak, in part because localities often lack the incentive to enforce federal regulations, and federal enforcers do not have the authority to countermand state decisions. [4]
Water pollution also reduces the ecosystem services such as drinking water provided by the water resource. Sources of water pollution are either point sources or non-point sources. [4] Point sources have one identifiable cause, such as a storm drain, a wastewater treatment plant, or an oil spill. Non-point sources are more diffuse.
Nonpoint source, or non-point source, or NPS, is a source that does not come from a single point. Point source, contrasts with nonpoint source; Nonpoint source pollution, water pollution; Nonpoint source water pollution regulations, water pollution regulations