page_title: Water pollution in the United States
section_title: Agricultural wastewater treatment
hierarchical_section_title: Water pollution in the United States / Solutions / Agricultural wastewater treatment
caption_attribution_description: View of a silt fence installed on a construction site
context_page_description: Water pollution in the United States is a growing problem that became critical in the 19th century with the development of mechanized agriculture, mining, and industry, although recent regulation has drastically reduced water pollution throughout the nation. Extensive industrialization and rapid urban growth exacerbated water pollution as a lack of regulation allowed for discharges of sewage, toxic chemicals, nutrients and other pollutants into surface water.
  In the early 20th century, communities began to install drinking water treatment systems, but control of the principal pollution sources—domestic sewage, industry, and agriculture—was not effectively addressed in the US until the later 20th century.
  These pollution sources can affect both groundwater or surface water depending on their mode of contamination, which could include point source, nonpoint source, or transboundary pollution. Multiple incidents such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, have left lasting impacts on water quality, ecosystems, and public health in the United States.
  Multiple solutions to water pollution in the United States can be implemented to curtail water pollution.
context_section_description: Agricultural run-off is one of the leading causes of water pollution in the United States.Funding from Clean Water Grants are available to farmers to install projects to help control agricultural pollution before it enters water sources. Methods to minimize and contain water pollution from agriculture in the United States include watershed efforts, nutrient management, cover crops, buffers, management of livestock waste, and drainage management. Buffers are small strips of land covered in plants that are able to remove pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment prior to discharge in a water body. Both buffers and crop covers are used to remove these pollutants from agricultural runoff.
caption: Silt Fence used for sediment control.
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