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Pollutant Sources
Agricultural Pollution
Farming wastes, including runoff and leaching of pesticides
and fertilizers; erosion and dust from plowing; improper disposal of animal
manure and carcasses; crop residues; and debris.
Water Quality Research Database
Agriculture
Agriculture is the use of fields, pastures, orchards and
feeding operations to produce food and fiber for people (source: http://www.epa.gov/maia/html/agrilands.html).
Rural communities develop in and around an agricultural based economy.
http://www.epa.gov/owmitnet/mab/smcomm/index.htm
Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs)
Agricultural operations where animals are kept and raised
in confined situations. AFOs generally congregate animals, feed, manure,
dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Feed is
brought to the animals rather than the animals grazing or otherwise seeking
feed in pastures. Animal waste and wastewater can enter water bodies from
spills or breaks of waste storage structures (due to accidents or excessive
rain), and non-agricultural application of manure to crop land. AFOs that
meet the regulatory definition of a concentrated animal feeding operation
(CAFO) have the potential of being regulated under the NPDES permitting
program.
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=7
Atmospheric Deposition
Atmospheric Deposition Pollution from the atmosphere and
includes dry deposition in the form of dust, wet deposition in the form
of rain and snow, or deposition as a result of vapor exchanges. Source
of definition (Great Lakes Atlas http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/glat-app.html#Glossary)
http://www.epa.gov/asmdnerl/
Combined Sewer Overflow
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) is a mixture of storm drainage
and municipal-industrial wastewater discharged from combined sewers typically
when the flow capacity of a sewer system is exceeded during rainstorms.
Can also include dry-weather flow (DWF) discharged from combined sewers
due to clogged interceptors, inadequate interceptor capacity, or malfunctioning
CSO regulators.
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=5
Cumulative Impacts
The combined, incremental effects of human activity, referred to as cumulative
impacts, pose a serious threat to the environment. While they may be insignificant
by themselves, cumulative impacts accumulate over time, from one or more
sources, and can result in the degradation of important resources.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/glwqa/usreport/part2.html
Fish Farming
ORD/NCER: "Fisheries Research"
Forestry
Silvicultural nonpoint source pollution impacts depend
on site characteristics, climatic conditions, and the forest practice
employed. Sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and temperature are pollutants
commonly associated with forestry activities.
Forestry Chapter Factsheet (http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/MMGI/forestry.html)
Grazing
The consumption by livestock and wildlife of range or pasture forage. Although strictly grazing refers to consumption of Forbs (i.e., an Herbaceous plant other than a Graminoid) and graminoids (i.e., grass or grasslike plants), it is often used in a general sense to include both grazing and browsing.
Mining
The act, process or industry of extracting ores, coal,
etc. from mines.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/induindustmining.html
Sanitary Sewer Overflow
Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) or bypasses from sanitary-sewer
systems resulting from stormwater and groundwater infiltration and/or
inflow (I/I). These types of discharges have a variety of causes, including
but not limited to severe weather which prompt occasional unintentional
discharges of raw sewage from municipal sanitary sewers, improper system
operation and maintenance, and vandalism.
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/watestormsanitaryseweroverflowsssos.html
Septic Systems
An on-site system designed to treat and dispose of domestic
sewage. A typical septic system consists of a tank that receives waste
from a residence or business and a system of tile lines or a pit for disposal
of the liquid effluent (sludge) that remains after decomposition of the
solids by bacteria in the tank. Must be pumped out periodically.
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/decent.html
Stormwater
Stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface runoff
and drainage; rainfall that does not infiltrate the ground or evaporate
because of anthropogenic land use causing impervious land surfaces or
other geomorphological changes. The flow of stormwater runoff onto adjacent
land, through watercourses or into drain/sewer systems may transport pollutants.
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=6
http://www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/wswrd/
Suburban/Sprawl
The predominant post-World War II land-use trend in the U.S. has been a major shift from high-density urban areas to low-density suburban and rural areas. Known as "sprawl", it is characterized by low-density residential development; automobile dependency; scattered rural subdivisions; high cost of utility expansion/extension; strip residential development along country roads; reduced retail shopping opportunities downtown; strip commercial development at the edges of town; loss of unique character; energy inefficiency; high ratio of road surface to development served; and high land consumption (Michigan Society of Planning Officials. 1995. Patterns on the Land: Our Choices--Our Future. Michigan's Trend Future Report. Lansing, Michigan: Planning and Zoning Center). http://www.epa.gov/maia/html/sprawl.html
Urban
As a minimum, defined urban areas includes the urban and urban fringe areas within the 405 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) holding at least 50,000 people based on the 1990 census and proposed as the preferred option under President Clinton's Clean Water Initiative for implementing Phase II of the CWA. These include, at a minimum, MSA stormwater runoff, sanitary- and combined-sewer outfalls, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted industrial and commercial outfalls.
Wet Weather Flows (WWFs)
Usually referred to as the flow in a combined sewer system
with stormwater, but may also constitute the flow in a separate storm
or sanitary drainage system with stormwater.
http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/
http://cfpub2.epa.gov/npdes/wetweather.cfm?program_id=0