Question

Explain why reducing surface runoff is the most general way to reduce water pollution.
short paragraph

Answer 1

Surface runoff is the primary transport pathway by which fertilizers, pesticides, soil, oil, heavy metals and other contaminants from urban, agricultural and industrial lands are carried into streams, lakes and coastal waters. Reducing runoff therefore cuts the delivery of a wide range of pollutants at once—both dissolved and sediment-bound—while also lowering peak flows that cause erosion and re-suspension of contaminants. Measures that increase infiltration, retention and filtration (green infrastructure, buffer strips, cover crops, stormwater ponds) act on the landscape to prevent pollutants from leaving their source and to enhance natural breakdown and settling, making runoff reduction the most general and effective approach to decreasing overall water pollution.