Why is sediment pollution a problem?
Sediment is the largest pollutant by volume in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Sediment from roads, farms, construction sites, logging, and a host of other sources combine to form the largest single contributor of pollution of the state’s waters. With the growing environmental awareness of the seventies and eighties, most point source pollution (pollution that has a particular entry site such as a factory’s smokestack or pipe) sites have been under strict regulation. With the decline of point source pollution problems, non-point source pollution (pollution generated over a broad area instead of originating from an identified source) has become a growing concern. Pennsylvania’s roads are a great example of non-point source pollution. There are hundreds of thousands of miles of road in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania also has the largest network of rivers and streams in the United States with the exception of Alaska. Unfortunately, this network of streams becomes an all to convenient dispos
