Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management

Agricultural runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus is a primary driver of water contamination and eutrophication in the U.S., particularly affecting the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. While the Clean Water Act does not regulate water leaving farmers' fields, various state-level initiatives and federal programs, such as the USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), promote voluntary best management practices to reduce nutrient loading. Climate change is expected to worsen these issues by increasing the frequency of extreme weather events that trigger higher runoff.

• Agricultural nonpoint source pollution is a leading cause of water contamination, with nitrogen and phosphorus runoff driving eutrophication and hypoxic zones. In the Gulf of Mexico, agricultural nonpoint source pollution is responsible for 60 percent of nitrogen loads and 49 percent of phosphorous loads.
• Nutrient runoff has caused severe water quality crises, including a 2014 harmful algal bloom in Toledo, Ohio, that left 400,000 people without safe drinking water for three days. In Lake Erie, nonpoint nutrient sources from agriculture account for 71 percent of the lake's nutrient loading.
• The hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico significantly exceeds targets; in 2015, it was over 930 square miles larger than the five-year average of 5,543 square miles and three times larger than the Hypoxia Task Force’s target of 1,991 square miles.
• Climate change is projected to exacerbate water quality problems by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heavy rains, which lead to increased nutrient runoff.
• The USDA's Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, uses cross-sectoral partnerships to implement best management practices. The USDA plans to invest up to $1.2 billion, with an expected total of $2.4 billion including partner funds through 2018.

APA

Zayas, G. (2016). Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-addressing-water-quality-through-nutrient-management

Chicago

Zayas, Gabriela. Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2016. https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-addressing-water-quality-through-nutrient-management.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zayas |first1=Gabriela |title=Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=1 December 2016 |url=https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-addressing-water-quality-through-nutrient-management |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zayas2016addressing, author = {Zayas, Gabriela}, title = {{Addressing Water Quality through Nutrient Management}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-addressing-water-quality-through-nutrient-management}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }