Excerpt
THE water pollution generated by nonpoint sources, from a nationwide perspective, can appear over-whelming. The sheer size of the land area involved, the vast number of activities that contribute to nonpont-source pollution, and the institutional considerations that come into play in managing nonpoint sources can lead to the feeling that the nonpoint problem is too big to address. But such is not the case.
What is required is a narrowing of focus on the problem. First, states must identify the most important water quality problems caused by nonpoint sources. Second, to maximize the effectiveness of limited funds, states must concentrate on a limited number of water bodies where there is potential for improvement if nonpoint sources are controlled and where other sources will not preclude such improvement. Third, states must identify the major types of nonpoint sources or land use activities within watersheds that contribute nonpoint pollutants to affected water bodies. Finally, states must determine exactly what types of best management practices (BMPs) are needed and where they should be located within watersheds.
Experience has shown that in many watersheds a significant percentage of the pollution load and consequent water quality problems come from limited portions of …
Footnotes
Carl F. Myers is chief of the Nonpoint Sources Branch and James Meek is chief of the Water Quality Management Branch of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460. Stuart Tuller is a program analyst and Anne Weinberg is an environmental protection specialist, both in the Nonpoint Source Control Section of EPA's Nonpoint Sources Branch, Washington, D.C. Portions of this article were extracted from the 1984 “Report to Congress: Nonpoint Source Pollution in the U.S.,” prepared by EPA with assistance from The Synectics Group, Inc.
- Copyright 1985 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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