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Clean Water
Pollutants And Human Activities
Healthy Watershed And Water
Testing For Water Quality
The Earthday Project
Graph and other pictures
Testing Your Drinking Water
Information on Water Quality Testing Kits
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Water Pollutants
There are many different sources of water pollution. Water quality changes quickly as water composition is altered by various ground surfaces over and under which it flows and combines with rock, minerals, other elements and numerous materials, which are a direct result of human activities. The latter will be of particular importance to people as it relates to how their daily lives can affect our water sources.
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Point Source Pollution, Non-point Source Pollution
Pollution that comes from a single, identifiable source, such as a factory or discharge from a sewage treatment plant, is called point source pollution. Once the source is identified, it becomes easier to improve water quality. Non-point source (NPS) pollution is attributable to diverse sources. The EPA reports that NPS pollution is a leading cause of water quality problems. NPS is primarily caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground causing run off to pick up and carry away natural and human-made pollutants. This run off finally deposits the pollutants into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.
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Examples of NPS Pollutants
Excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agriculture and residential areas, Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production, Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding stream banks, Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines, Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic systems are all examples of pollutants.
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Stopping NPSP
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