This will occur naturally but we can increase it by encouraging soil erosion through poor farming practices, construction sites, timbering, and removal of riparian zones. Soil can bring in more minerals, nutrients, and metals. Rain can also wash excess nutrients into a stream if too much fertilizer is placed on cropland or lawns. Since nutrients are a component of TDS, any human practices that contribute nutrients to streams will increase TDS levels. See the Nitrogen and Phosphorus Information Sheets.
Road salt used on roads in the winter can wash into waterways.
Each component that makes up TDS has a specific water quality limit also. A summary of these data is below to provide an understanding of past values of total dissolved solids and to demonstrate relationships of past TDS levels with discharge.