Nutrient pollution is one of the top causes of water quality impairment in our nation's surface waters. When too many nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, enter streams, rivers, and lakes, they cause excessive algal growth. This can harm aquatic life and, in many instances, produce toxins that can also harm people and animals. Excess nitrogen in the air can make breathing difficult, cause acid rain, limit visibility, and alter plant growth.

Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are natural and necessary components of aquatic ecosystems. However, water quality can become impaired when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter aquatic ecosystems through runoff. Many environmental factors influence the amount of nutrients entering the waterways. For example, the geology and topography of a watershed impact the quantity of nutrients that enter lakes and streams via surface runoff. Human activities are major drivers of excess nutrients entering waterways. Some of the primary sources include:

• Agriculture: Animal manure, fertilizer applied to crops and fields, and soil erosion
• Urban Stormwater
• Wastewater
• In and Around the Home: Fertilizers, yard and pet waste, ammonia-based cleaning products, and soaps and detergents containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus.

Excess nutrients in runoff can be one of the contributing factors for Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in waterways.

Resources:

• Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs): The U.S. EPA Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in water bodies page covers HAB basics, monitoring and management information, and HAB research.
• Michigan Sea Grant: An overview of HABs in the Great Lakes region
• Nutrient Framework: Links to EGLE resources about nutrient pollution
• Nutrient Pollution: An EPA overview of basic information, stewardship action, data, and research about nutrient pollution
• Nutrients and Eutrophication: A USGS overview of the sources, transport, and impact of excess nutrients

• Plant native plants
• Install a rain garden
• Install a rain barrel
• Community engagement campaign