The Environment Magazine

Agricultural Runoff is one of the main sources of water pollution in the Mississippi River. Current agricultural practices cause nutrient loading and in turn eutrophication. Topsoil, fertilizer, pesticides, and other potential pollutants are being carried from the farm to the waterway.

One of the major difficulties in regulating this type of pollution is that it is non-point source. The Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates both point source pollution directly and non-point source pollution through ambient water quality standards, however, it is much more difficult and ineffective to regulate non-point source pollution.

Courtesy of http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org