Runoff

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Oil in waterway

Many pollutants enter nearby waterways by efficient movement across surfaces These surfaces do not allow for penetration and percolation which would normally occur in a well vegetated, open-soil area. Heavy concentrations of pollutants can enter a water system during storm events where a large amounts of water flow across impervious areas and flushes the compounds into the local river or stream. Pollutant levels from non-point sources can be decreased by supplying adequate vegetative ground cover throughout the riparian area (See best management practices).