Pollution that enters any waters of the state from any dispersed land-based or water-based activities, including but not limited to atmospheric deposition; surface water runoff from agricultural lands, urban areas or forest lands; subsurface or underground sources; or discharges from boats or marine vessels not otherwise regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program.
Pollution that does not originate from a definable point (e.g., soil or urban runoff).
Pollution that, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and manmade pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water. Loadings of pollutants from NPS enter waterbodies via sheet flow, rather than through a pipe, ditch or other conveyance (www.epa.gov).
a pollution source by which contaminants are discharged over a widespread area or from a number of small inputs rather than from distinct, identifiable sources
Large land area such as crop fields and urban areas that discharge pollutant into surface and underground water over a large area. See point source.(Source: US Environmental Protection Agency, 1999a)
An area from which pollutants are exported in a manner not compatible with practical means of pollutant removal (e.g. crop lands.)
pollution that enters the water from a variety of sources including homes, farms, streets, and construction sites
pollution: Pollution which does not come from a direct source, but rather comes from many sources. Non-point pollution includes run-off from parking lots, streets, lawns, roofs, or any other impervious surface. Non-point pollution also includes fertilizer or pesticide run-off from lawn or garden maintenance.
sources of pollution that cannot always be traced to an exact point of entry. Non-point sources of pollution include land runoff that goes directly in the river, illicit sanitary sewer connections to a storm sewer and streambank erosion.
pollution from a variety of small individual locations such as neighborhood storm drains Minnehaha Journey of a Raindrop
a combination of a variety of pollution sources that are difficult or too small to measure on an individual basis
an activity that takes place over a broad area and results in the release of pollutants from many different locations
pollution that has no one exact source or origin.
A source of pollution that does not have a single point of origin. Pollution from a farmer's field or from urban street runoff falls in this category. Compare point source.
A source of water pollution that originates from a broad area, such as agricultural chemicals applied to fields or acid rain. See point source.
A source that is so broad, it cannot be pinpointed. such pesticide runoff from farmland. Contrast with point source.
Wastewater discharge other than from point sources. See also: point source.
This is the diffuse sources of pollution including combined sewer overflows and urban and rural runoff (that is, not attributable to one specific source)
Diffuse pollution sources (i.e., without a single point of origin or not introduced into a receiving stream from a specific outlet). The pollutants are generally carried off the land by storm water. Common nonpoint sources are agriculture, forestry, urban, mining, construction, dams, channels, land disposal, saltwater intrusion, and city streets.
Scattered, not-easily identified sources of discharge or contamination (e.g., runoff).
Entry of effluent into a water body in a diffuse manner so there is no definite point of entry.
Water contaminant that cannot be traced to a specific point of origin, but rather comes from many different non-specific sources.
a source not easily identified at a particular place, often referred as diffuse sources
NPS) pollution Non-point source pollution is contamination that occurs when rainwater, snowmelt, or other water sources washes off rural fields, city streets, or suburban backyards. As this runoff moves across the land surface, it picks up soil particles and pollutants, such as nutrients and pesticides.
a source of pollution that comes from no single identifiable point of discharge. Example: topsoil erosion into a lake or stream.
Constituents in water (including pollutants) originating from diffuse, land?based sources, and generally transported in runoff from precipitation. This contrasts with point sources, or "end of the pipe" constituents generally transported in wastewater from a discrete source. The regulatory definition of non-point source is "anything not a point source."