what are the diferent ways in …

Though water pollution may occur from a variety of sources, there are two terms used to describe how the water became polluted.

When water is polluted from point sources, this is pollution from a discrete location. This discrete location could be a factory, a sewer pipe or a runoff from a single farm. The BP oil spill in 2010 is an example of point source pollution, because the massive amount of oil leaked from a single point of origin.

Water pollution may also be from non-point source pollution, which is when several points of contamination over a large area contribute to the pollution of a water body. For example, one water body may be contaminated by multiple sources like agricultural runoff, city street runoff, construction sites and residential lawns. The Mississippi River is at great risk for non-point source pollution because it is so large and is exposed to a variety of possible pollution sources.