Title: Nutrient Pollution: A Persistent Threat to Waterways

John Manuel of Durham, NC, is a regular contributor to EHP and the author of The Natural Traveler Along North Carolina’s Coast and The Canoeist. Background image: © Jodie Coston/Getty Images About This Article open Citation: Manuel J. 2014. Nutrient pollution: a persistent threat to waterways. Environ Health Perspect 122:A304–A309; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.122-A304 News Topics: Agriculture, Drinking Water Quality, Fertilizer, Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), Laws, Regulations, and Policy, Marine and Coastal Science, Sanitation, Water Pollution, Water Treatment Published: 1 November 2014 PDF Version (2.6 MB) Point-source releases of nitrogen and phosphorus have declined dramatically since the 1970s, but nonpoint-source pollution continues to pose a significant threat to water quality. © Sean Brubaker/Water Rights/Corbis Passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972 brought many improvements to surface waters by curbing much of the toxic and organic pollution going into waterways. But 42 years later, we have yet to make significant reductions in two major pollutants in our rivers, lakes, and coastal sounds—the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. Although nitrogen pollution overall has gone down in U.S. streams and rivers since 2004, it remains a serious problem in many waterways, and phosphorus pollution has gone up significantly.1 The problem is especially challenging in that the deleterious effects of nitrogen and phosphorus often occur hundreds or thousands ...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured News Spheres of Influence Agriculture and Policy Drinking Water Quality Fertilizer Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) Laws Marine and Coastal Science November 2014 Regulations Sanitation Water Pollution Water Treatment Source Type: research