This one-page Ag quickCAST contains excerpted material from its companion CAST document (SP 31),Assessing the Health of Streams in Agricultural Landscapes: The Impacts of Land Management Change on Water Quality.

The Clean Water Act of 1987 states that the elimination of pollutant discharge into navigable water is a national goal. Agriculture has been identified repeatedly as a significant contributor of nonpoint source pollution to surface waters. Despite conservation efforts, water quality problems still exist; all agricultural states struggle with balancing productive landscapes and water quality.