The Way Forward
Crystal Clear
Nitrogen and phosphorous are vital nutrients for plants and animals. But too much can overwhelm a waterway, causing massive algal growth that smothers and poisons aquatic life, and robs oxygen from the water. Nutrient pollution is a serious threat to human health — threatening drinking water sources, and making recreation in waterways and eating seafood dangerous activities.

Nutrient pollution comes from agricultural, sewage, urban runoff, air pollution and industrial waste. We know how to keep this waste out of our waterways. It’s time we take responsibility for the state of our waters, handle our fertilizers and waste responsibly, and invest in our infrastructure. Immediate action is necessary to stop our waterways from turning toxic green.

Keeping Nutrient Pollution Out of Our Waterways
Life holds many mysteries. But how nutrients end up in our water in harmful amounts is not one of them. The uncontrolled flow of this pollution into our waterways is the result of irresponsible industry practices and lax enforcement of existing safeguards by state and federal environmental agencies. In addition, EPA has refused to create enforceable limits on the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus into our waters. We know who the main culprits are and we know what solutions are available. It’s time to take care of this problem.

Agriculture
Irresponsible agricultural practices — allowing animal waste and fertilizer to run off fields and into surrounding waterways — are the largest source of nutrient pollution nationwide. This pollution should be controlled. Large farms are required to develop nutrient management plans and implement best management practices to keep their waste out of our waters. But these requirements are inadequately enforced or ignored by environmental officials around the country. In the case of factory farms, water pollution is a part of their economic equation. Industrial animal factories cannot compete with family farms if they are held to environmental standards. For these facilities, dumping huge amounts of animal waste into surrounding waters is the standard business model.

There are many measures a farmer can take to keep nutrients out of our water. In fact, methods to safely handle manure and prudently apply fertilizers are common sense for family farmers. Some examples are applying only as much fertilizer or manure to a field as plants can absorb, not spraying fertilizer on water saturated or frozen fields, not storing waste in the open and keeping animals fenced out of streams. Sensitive areas such as steep slopes and wetlands should be protected and restored. Establishing vegetation along the banks of a waterway — called riparian. More advanced technologies also exist, for instance “precision farming,” which uses global positioning system technology and computer-navigated tractors to ensure that fertilizers and manure are applied in the correct amounts and in the right places to prevent excess from running into waterways.

There are federal and, often, state and local funds available to help farmers pay for pollution prevention. This may require that farmers cultivate less area or raise fewer animals, but these measures ensure that waterways are clean and safe. Most farmers — in contrast to animal factory operators — are good stewards. We must empower farmers to protect the environment, establish strong environmental standards and help with funding when necessary.

Human Waste
Wastewater from sewage treatment plants and septic tanks are another major source of nutrient pollution. Sewage treatment systems are mainly designed to disinfect waste, that is, to kill human pathogens. Nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater pass through most treatment plants and are discharged directly into our waterways. Today, technologies are widely available that remove nutrient pollution from sewage. EPA estimates that the cost of installing these technologies ranges from $1.82 to $10.95 per ratepayer per year — far below the ‘sky is falling’ estimates of sewage plant operators. Yet only the most advanced treatment plants currently use nutrient removal technology.

That’s because EPA hasn’t changed the standards for wastewater treatment in more than 20 years, despite Congress’ requirement that EPA occasionally reevaluate treatment standards. It’s time to update federal wastewater treatment standards to include nutrient removal, and increase federal and state grants and loans to help fund upgrades at wastewater treatment plants.

Nutrient removal technologies for septic systems remain relatively expensive. But proper siting, installation and maintenance to ensure that septic systems work correctly, along with nutrient removal technologies, will help protect groundwater.

Our wastewater treatment infrastructure is antiquated and our waterways are paying for it in toxic algae. It’s time we include nutrient removal as a basic requirement for how we treat our wastewater.

Urban Runoff
Stormwater picks up fertilizers, animal and yard waste, detergents, sewage from leaky sewer systems, household chemicals and other nutrient pollution as it flows over yards, rooftops and streets. In most cases, this runoff flows into stormwater pipes and directly into streams and other waterways. There are two main approaches to stopping urban runoff. The first, is reducing the use of fertilizers and properly storing and disposing wastes so they don’t end up in stormwater. The second is slowing and treating stormwater before it reaches our waterways. Roads and developments should be designed to manage polluted runoff so our waterways are protected.

In cities where stormwater and sewer systems are combined, sewage and stormwater can be released into waterways when rain overwhelms pipes. Raw sewage in our water is a serious threat to public health. Sewer systems nationwide must be upgraded to ensure that sewage makes it to wastewater plants for treatment, regardless of the weather. Our sewer systems nationwide are suffering from neglect — pipes and treatment plants that are far beyond their design life, operating beyond their capacity and relying on antiquated technology. It’s time that we upgrade our sewer and stormwater infrastructure. This will take federal and state commitment and investment. But we must maintain and upgrade our infrastructure to keep pace with new technologies and growth.

Air Emissions
Nitrogen from air emissions is a significant source of nutrient pollution in water. EPA estimates that air pollution is the source of 32 percent of the man-made nitrogen load in the Chesapeake Bay. Most of this nitrogen comes from vehicle emissions, power plants and other industrial facilities burning fossil fuels, and factory farms. The nitrogen is deposited onto water surfaces or land, where it is picked up by stormwater. Federal air quality standards must be tightened and strictly enforced. This is another good reason to drastically improve energy efficiency and switch to renewable fuels.

Industrial Wastes
Slaughterhouses, breweries, agriculture product processing facilities and other factories release nutrients in their wastewater. These facilities are required to have a permit to discharge waste into our waterways. Permits need to be strong and strictly enforced to stop industrial plants from adding nutrient waste to our waterways. Like wastewater treatment plants, new and affordableadvanced nutrient removal technologies should be required.

Call to Action
State and Federal Priorities
All states should incorporate nutrient limits into all Clean Water Act permits.

Many states have notoriously weak stormwater permits, especially for nutrients; they need to be brought to a high national standard.

Congress must pass the Clean Water Restoration Act to ensure that all our waters receive protection from pollution and destruction.

Local Motion
Municipalities must ensure that their sewage treatment plants are running at an optimal level by testing effluents and upgrading systems where necessary.

City and town planners need to prioritize eliminating combined sewer overflows.

Communities should pass zoning rules that limit development in nutrient-sensitive areas, and restore and protect vegetation buffers and wetlands that filter pollutants from stormwater.

Individual Responsibility
Limit or eliminate the use of fertilizers on lawns. Use only phosphorus-free fertilizers.

Consider planting native vegetation, trees and shrubs to replace grass lawns.

Ensure that organic wastes are stored properly and treated before release. Pet wastes should be picked up and disposed of properly. Septic systems should be inspected and pumped out regularly. When boating, use pumpout facilities to empty marine toilets.

Have your furnace and chimney checked and cleaned annually.

Ensure your car is well tuned to run at peak efficiency to reduce air pollution.

Get involved. Urge public officials to act.

Join your local Waterkeeper program.