|
|
- Info
Urban diffuse pollution: Sources and abatement
| Author: |
Novotny, V. |
| Date: |
1991 |
| Periodical: |
Water Environment and Technology |
| Abstract: |
In the first half of this century, water-quality deterioration was associated with urbanization, particularly the opening up of point sources, which were industrial and commercial operations and sewage treatment plants that discharged wastewaters-treated and untreated-to surface-waters. By 1970, however, it was realized that a significant portion of pollution originated from diffuse urban sources, such as construction sites, impervious surfaces, and unsewered suburban zones. Defining and classifying these diffuse sources has been difficult or at (cast confusing. Traditionally, pollution sources have been classified as either point or nonpoint and the term diffuse pollution was used synonymously with nonpoint sources. Today, however, since the passage of the 1977 Clean Water Act and the 1987 Water Quality Act, these definitions have acquired a statutory and legal, rather than technical, meaning. For instance, municipal, industrial, and some agricultural sources are designated point sources and diffuse sources are designated in both source categories-point and nonpoint. Redefining these terms and source characterizations is, thus, necessary. Rather than looking for exact legal definitions of point and nonpoint sources, one may categorize these sources according to the latest statutory regulations. |
|
