Water Pollution
The majority of all water quality pollution comes from parking lots, our farms, our communities, and even our very own backyards. The water that runs across our watersheds inadvertently transports pollutants such as excess nutrients, bacteria, oils/gases, and sediments that impair our Kansas waters. These pollutants are known as nonpoint source pollution and are the leading cause of water pollution in the United States. They are called nonpoint source pollutants due to their origin as not a single defined source but many diffuse sources.
Protecting Watershed Quality
Watersheds, which are any area of land where water drains to a single point, come in all shapes and sizes. How we use and maintain the land in the watershed directly affects water quality for our downstream neighbors. The Kansas Department of Health Environment's Watershed Management Section invites all Kansans to become clean water neighbors to help keep our state waters clean. We are all part of the solution to protect and restore this valuable natural resource. Questions? Contact the watershed management team.
What We Do
The Watershed Management Section implements Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, coordinating programs designed to eliminate or minimize pollution that does not come from the end of a pipe. The section develops and reviews strategies, management plans, local environmental protection plans, and county environmental codes intended to control nonpoint source pollution.