What are point and non point sources of water pollution?
Pollutants in water come from either concentrated or dispersed sources.
A pipe or channel, such as those used for discharge from an industrial facility or a city sewerage system, is an example of a point source.
A dispersed (or nonpoint) source is a large, unconfined area from which a variety of pollutants enter a body of water, such as agricultural runoff.
Because the contaminated water has been collected and conveyed to a single point where it can be treated, point sources of water pollution are easier to control than dispersed sources. Pollution from dispersed sources is difficult to control, and despite significant progress in the construction of modern sewage-treatment plants, dispersed sources continue to cause a significant portion of water pollution problems.
Point Source
Point-source pollutants are typically found in a plume, with the highest concentrations of the pollutant closest to the source (such as the end of a pipe or an underground injection system) and decreasing concentrations further away from the source. The various types of point-source pollutants found in waters are as diverse as the businesses, industries, agricultural, and urban sources that generate them.
Point-source Pollution
Point-source pollution is easy to identify. As the name implies, it is derived from a single source. Nonpoint pollution is more difficult to detect and address. Pollution originates from a variety of sources at the same time.
Factories and power plants can be a source of point-source pollution that affects both the air and the water. Carbon monoxide, heavy metals, Sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, or "particulate matter" (small particles) may be released into the atmosphere by smokestacks.
Effluent—wastewater containing harmful chemical pollutants—can be discharged into rivers, lakes, or the ocean by oil refineries, paper mills, and automobile plants that use water in their manufacturing processes.
Another common sources of point-source pollution is municipal wastewater treatment plants. A treatment plant's effluent can introduce nutrients and harmful microbes into waterways. Nutrients can stimulate the growth of algae in water.
Nonpoint-source pollution
Nonpoint-source pollution is the polar opposite of point-source pollution in that pollutants are dispersed over a large area.
Consider a city street during a thunderstorm as an example. Rainwater washes away drops of oil leaking from car engines, tire rubber particles, dog waste, and trash.The runoff enters a storm sewer and eventually flows into a nearby river.
Nonpoint-source pollution is primarily caused by runoff. It is a major issue in cities due to all of the hard surfaces, including streets and roofs. The amount of pollutants washed from a single city block may be small, but when the miles and miles of pavement in a large city are added together, you get a big problem.
Runoff in rural areas can wash sediment from roads in a logged-over forest tract. It can also flush pesticides and fertilizer from farm fields and carry acid from abandoned mines. All of this pollution will almost certainly end up in streams, rivers, and lakes.
Whatcan Netsol Water provide?
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Netsol Water is Greater Noida-based leading water & wastewater treatment plant manufacturer. We are industry's most demanding company based on client review and work quality. We are known as best commercial RO plant manufacturers, industrial RO plant manufacturer, sewage treatment plant manufacturer, Water Softener Plant Manufacturers and effluent treatment plant manufacturers. Apart from this 24x7 customer support is our USP. Call on +91-9650608473, or write us at enquiry@netsolwater.com for any support, inquiry or product-purchase related query.
