Non-Source Pollutants

Point-Source Pollution

• Point-source pollution refers to any contaminant that enters the environment through a specifically defined point of entry. Examples may include smokestacks or sewage lines feeding directly into a river. During the last few decades of the 1900s, point-source pollution received much of the attention from protestors, lobbyists and educators, which led to tighter controls by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One example of legislation regulating point-source pollution is the Clean Water Act, which was enacted in 1972. The Clean Water Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate and limit effluents from industrial or municipal sources.

Non-Point-Source Pollutants

• As opposed to point-source pollution, non-point-source pollution comes from diffused sources such as runoff, drainage, seepage or deposition. There is no discernable entry point into the environment for pollutants that originate from non-point sources. Examples may include acid rain deposition, pesticide run-off from an agricultural area or sediment from construction sites. Educational efforts by environmental scientists and public educators have shifted since the 1990s to focus more on the importance of managing non-point-source pollution, as the origin of the pollutants stems from the habits and activities that individuals engage in on a daily basis.

Controlling Non-Point-Source Pollution

• While point-source pollution is controlled and regulated by the government, it is impossible to for the government to regulate non-point-source pollution because there is no definable source for it. According to the EPA, non-point-source pollution remains the leading cause of water quality issues. Further educating the public on water, land and air quality issues that result from the habits of individuals can raise awareness of the need for reducing pollutants through modifying our lifestyles and choices. Another way to help control non-point-source pollution is to enlist organizations and citizens in large-scale cleanup efforts. Alternatively, citizens can lobby local government to reduce impervious surfaces within municipalities by installing greenways and introducing pervious surfaces for roads instead of traditional asphalt surfaces.

Pollution Facts

• According to Protecting Water, 40 percent of all lakes and streams in the United States have high enough levels of pollution to make fishing and swimming dangerous to people's health. Americans use over 2 billion pounds of pesticides per year, with over 70 different types of pesticides currently found in groundwater sources (Green Networld). Estimates for cleaning and maintaining 24,000 contaminated U.S. federal nuclear facilities range between $100 billion and $400 billion (Green Networld). According to DoSomething.org, 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, industrial waste and storm water runoff are discharged into freshwater sources in the United States every year.