Non-Point Source (NPS) Pollution is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as any pollution that does not travel to rivers and streams through a pipe.  All pollution that comes out of pipes is regulated by permits as point-source pollution.  NPS pollution is what is carried by rainfall runoff.  It is not regulated by permits.

In the Barataria and Terrebonne Watersheds NPS Pollution includes things like disease-causing organisms, turbidity, and organic-matter enrichment.  The damage caused by these pollutants can limit the way we use waterbodies in these watersheds.

Frequently it is possible to predict the type of pollution that will affect a waterbody by examining the way the land draining into it is used. 

The image below is a 1993 Thematic Mapper image of the Barataria and Terrebonne Watersheds with 30m resolution.  Click on the name of one of the basins to view that basin and then higher resolution aerial photograph images of the smaller watersheds (we call it a subsegment) that make up each larger watershed.  This will allow you to learn more about land uses in the subsegment and whether the waterbodies in the subsegment are polluted.

Click for more information about viewing the Aerial Photographs of each subsegment.