InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Future of Food > Student Materials > Module 4: Food and Water > Module 4.2: Impacts of Food Production on Water Resources > Water Quality Impacts
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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These student materials complement the Future of Food Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Water Quality Impacts

Runoff from agricultural areas is often not captured in a pipe and discharged into a waterway; rather it reaches streams in a dispersed manner, often via sub-surface pathways, and is referred to as non-point source pollution. In other words, the pollutants do not discharge into a stream or river from a distinct point, such as from a pipe. Agricultural runoff may pick up chemicals or manure that were applied to the crop, carry away exposed soil and the associated organic matter, and leach materials from the soil, such as salts, nutrients or heavy metals like selenium. The application of irrigation water can make some agricultural pollution problems worse. In addition, runoff from animal feeding operations can also contribute to pollution from agricultural activities.

The critical water quality issues linked to agricultural activities include:

  • Fertilizers – nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus)
    • Eutrophication – dead zones
  • Pesticides
  • Soil erosion
  • Animal Feeding Operations
    • Organic matter
    • Nutrients
  • Irrigation and return flows
    • Salinity
    • Selenium

Review the following fact sheet on agricultural impacts on water quality:

Protecting Water Quality from Agricultural Runoff, 2005, EPA Fact Sheet on Agricultural Runoff (Acrobat (PDF) 119kB Jan3 18)

Check Your Understanding

Answer the following questions:

What is nonpoint source pollution?

What agricultural activities contribute to nonpoint source pollution?

What are the major water pollutants contributed by agricultural activities?

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »