How serious a threat is Nonpoint Source Pollution?
A 2000 report on the status of Tennessee’s water reveals that 7.6 percent of sampled river miles are too polluted to support at least one of their desired uses (drinking, swimming, fishing, etc.) and 23.5 percent are only partially supporting. Of the sampled acres of lakes in Tennessee, 17 percent fail to fully support all uses, and 5.2 percent are partially supporting. Today, NPS pollution causes more harm to our waters than do discharges from wastewater treatment systems and other point sources. According to reports from the EPA, about 40 percent of waters nationwide are affected by NPS pollution.